Jess has horrible breath.

[Irish Collie]

My 6 year old Jessie has the most awful breath normally in the morning. She gets on our bed at 7.30 every morning and breathes in our faces. We don't mind her being an alarm clock but all I can smell is putrid dog food on her breath and it is very strong. She is otherwise quite healthy and happy. She does pick up some leaf mould in the woods. What can we do to help.

Thank you.

[gcv-border]

The first thing I would do is check her teeth. Are they clean or do they have tartar on them? Depending on how dirty they are, you could get her checked out soon by a vet, or if they aren't too bad, try attacking the problem yourself until Jessie's next check-up and make sure you have a conversation with your vet about her teeth and bad breath.

In the short term, I would consider getting a doggie toothbrush and toothpaste and trying to brush them. Also, (as recommended to me by a vet), give her a Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic dog chew once a week. She says her dogs' teeth have never been so clean. I just started using them so can not provide a review. Other people use raw, meaty bones once a week or so to keep the dog's teeth clean.

It may be something else, but I would start with checking out her teeth.

[Irish Collie]

1 hour ago, gcv-border said:

The first thing I would do is check her teeth. Are they clean or do they have tartar on them? Depending on how dirty they are, you could get her checked out soon by a vet, or if they aren't too bad, try attacking the problem yourself until Jessie's next check-up and make sure you have a conversation with your vet about her teeth and bad breath.

In the short term, I would consider getting a doggie toothbrush and toothpaste and trying to brush them. Also, (as recommended to me by a vet), give her a Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic dog chew once a week. She says her dogs' teeth have never been so clean. I just started using them so can not provide a review. Other people use raw, meaty bones once a week or so to keep the dog's teeth clean.

It may be something else, but I would start with checking out her teeth.

Thank you, will go shopping. 

[GentleLake]

@Irish Collie, sorry to be so late in replying. At this point I'd be interested in knowing if you've had any noticeable results.

I'd also like to suggest that, if you haven't done so already, you have a vet check your dog's health, including oral health. Many dogs these days already have some pretty serious gum disease or other dental issues by the time they're 3 years old. Periodontal disease can cause bad breath, as can broken teeth, and can also lead to other health issues.

Another reason to discuss this with your vet is that bad breath can also be an indicator of other health issues unrelated to teeth and gums. My old guy who had chronic kidney failure at the end of his life had increasingly bad breath, even though he was raw fed and had always had remarkably good breath - to the point that other ppl would remark on it - prior to that. Bad breath can be an indicator of other illnesses as well.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd like to know what you've done so far and how it's working out for you.