I remember the first time my uncle brought a 3 month old, white Spitz home. He was the cutest thing in the world (at age 6, he still is the most adorable dog, for me) and I have watched him grow. Over the years, he's had his share of bad spells, health wise. Although most of the incidents were age related, what my aunt and I always used to confused about was the bad breath which kept coming back. Even though bad breath in dogs is very common, it can give you sleepless nights in hopes of finding the cause and treatment method. The first thing we concluded was that perhaps his teeth need to be brushed properly. However, after researching about the bad breath causes, this problem can be a result of various issues. So in order to keep receiving and giving kisses to your darling dog, you need to understand what could be the reasons for the bad breath. Also, we will be reviewing some at home treatment methods.

Causes of Bad Breath

It is recommended that you visit the veterinarian on a regular basis as this practice will keep your dog from harm's way. Also, following specific advice from the veterinarian can help keep your dog healthy for a long, long time. However, there are some unavoidable health concerns that requires your immediate attention. One of which is bad breath. Following are few causes concerning the same.

Cause 1 - Diet
As we mentioned earlier, there can be several reasons why your dog has bad breath and knowing where to begin can be confusing. So the first place to begin will be his/her diet. There are some dog owners who like to give canned foods to their dogs. Now I'm not saying that these brands are bad for your dog but the issue of bad breath can come from here. A healthy, young or adult dog should be given dry food along with the soft canned food. Keeping a balance between the different food textures will prevent bad breath.

Cause 2 - Tooth Decay
Many times, if gone unnoticed, a broken tooth or tooth decay can be one of the major bad breath causes. It could be possible that there is a piece of bone or food stuck in his/her teeth and while brushing the teeth, you couldn't locate and/or remove it properly. Over time, this can turn worse and cause bad breath.

Cause 3 - Gastrointestinal Infection/Disease
If your dog has diarrhea, is losing weight, has blood in stool, has bad breath, constipated, doesn't want to eat, vomits, and the abdominal area has enlarged, it could be a sign of gastrointestinal infection. It should not be taken lightly. Although the bad breath is just a symptom, this could lead to a more serious issue.

Cause 4 - Gum Disease
Gum disease, a.k.a. periodontal disease, is a health problem related to age. Also, there are many dogs who have overgrown gums which can even go over their teeth. This is called gingival hyperplasia, very common with older dogs. Both these health concerns allow the growth of bacteria in your dog's teeth. This in turn results in bad god breath.

Along with these causes, there are other bad breath causes - mouth tumors, sinus infection, kidney infection, inflammation of tissue around his/her mouth, and diabetes, which is why consultation with the veterinarian is a must.

Foul Breath Remedies

In this section, we will be looking at steps on how to get rid of bad dog breath. Of course, though proper oral hygiene is required, there are other steps which you can take.

Step 1 - If the veterinarian suggests, brush your dog's teeth daily or weekly. Use toothpaste made for pets and not the ones which humans use. Once in a month, take your dog to the veterinarian and get the teeth brushed professionally.

Step 2 - We discussed this earlier as well; feed your dog dry foods. Wet, canned foods can get stuck to the teeth and may stay there for a while. This results in bad breath. You can also give him/her tough dog biscuits. If there is evidence of plaque, it will be removed due to these hard biscuits.

Step 3 - Give him/her breath mints. Along with brushing the teeth properly, you can give him/her homemade or store-bought breath mints. This will temporarily eliminate the bad breath.

Step 4 - Give your dog a hard bone to chew on. You can improve his/her breath considerably with this regular practice. And also make sure that the bone is clean.

Step 5 - For our final remedy, we recommend a consultation with the veterinarian. However, a mix of live cultures, raw carrots and turkey all mixed in yogurt can be given to your dog. Many times, this mixture is a wonderful oral care option for bad breath in dogs.

Now that you know what are the different bad breath causes and how to get rid of bad breath in dogs, I hope that you will take proper precautionary methods to keep your best friend from getting this health concern back.