Alfie02 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Hi everyone! My eldest dog who is 11 has very bad breath! Its just so offensive! And to make matters worse he likes to sit really close to you and 'smile' and pant at you....so after two minutes the whole room smells like dog breath :D We feed him a chicken neck each night with dinner and give him chewy things such as pigs trotters and lambs ears occaisionally (maybe once a month). When he was at the vets getting his crutiate ligament in his back leg repaired (about a year ago) we asked if they could clean his teeth whilst he was under anesthetic, but they said that this could stir up bacteria or something which isnt good with his big operation. We really dont want him to have to go under anesthetic again to get his teeth cleaned as he is getting on in years. So is there anything we can do to make his breath more pleasant? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edenblue Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Sounds like he does need a dental under anaesthetic. Most of our Dental patients are geriatrics for obvious reasons, for an eleven year old we would reccomend running some pre anaesthetic bloods first just to check kidney function, as long those enzymes were close to within normal ranges we would go ahead with a dental with IV Fluids. If you really didnt want the dental you could try him with some aquadent which just goes in the drinking water to help with odours, you could brush his teeth daily with pet toothpaste or put him on one of the prescription dental diets, they might help breack off some of the tartar and might help his breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridie Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Sounds like he does need a dental under anaesthetic. Most of our Dental patients are geriatrics for obvious reasons, for an eleven year old we would reccomend running some pre anaesthetic bloods first just to check kidney function, as long those enzymes were close to within normal ranges we would go ahead with a dental with IV Fluids. If you really didnt want the dental you could try him with some aquadent which just goes in the drinking water to help with odours, you could brush his teeth daily with pet toothpaste or put him on one of the prescription dental diets, they might help breack off some of the tartar and might help his breath. Also like us bad teeth can give heart disease All other is just a "bandaide fix". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfie02 Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 Thanks for the relpies guys. I forgot to say that his teeth dont actually have a significant build up of tartare or anything. The vet said to us that his teeth in her opinion are pretty good for a dog his age. It was just us who wanted them cleaned to stop his breath smelling so bad in case that was the cause. So if its not his teeth could it be his diet? I will definatley try some of your sugestions ren83 I had forgotten having bad teeth can cause heart desease, thanks bridie :p I will keep my eye on his teeth in case they do get a build up and keep giving him his chicken necks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) Please get your vet to check his teeth as infection from untreated teeth can cause heart disease and other ramifications for his health. It's a sore subject with me - I rescued a purebred dog last year and 2 days later he died - aged 5, from untreated dental infection. Apart from the fact that he was in agony, when my vet tried to remove his teeth (and all of them needed to come out), his jaw crumbled so he was euthanased under anaesthetic. By the time I got him, the infection had run rampant and pus was coming out of his eyes and his ears/whole head were in pain. This is an extreme but I recently looked at a friend's dog aged about 12, he was having trouble eating and he stank - smell was coming from his mouth. When I asked about it, she said the vet had recommended a dental but she was too afraid to put the dog under anaesthetic. Apparently the vet had recommended it 2 yrs before. I told her my story and begged her to go back as they have light anaesthetics these days so suitable for older dogs. She took him back and he had 22 teeth out, he's a different dog now - he's so much happier. Ever had toothache yourself - off you go to the dentist and get it fixed. Now imagine having it in 22 teeth and having your pain ignored for 2 years? One tooth can be bad and cause all the trouble. I have a 16 yr old dog here, he's had 2 dentals within 4 months and each time has needed teeth out - the state of his teeth changed within 4 months requiring the second surgery, none of us could believe it. Edited October 11, 2010 by dogmad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Could be any number of things, has the vet had a really good look inside his mouth or only a little peek? Sometimes there is nasty stuff going on back there that you can't always see at a casual glance. If one of my animals developed halitosis I'd strongly consider getting his teeth cleaned if there was even just a little tartar, and seeing if that made a difference, & allowing the vet to have a good thorough look at the whole oral cavity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridie Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Please get your vet to check his teeth as infection from untreated teeth can cause heart disease and other ramifications for his health.It's a sore subject with me - I rescued a purebred dog last year and 2 days later he died - aged 5, from untreated dental infection. Apart from the fact that he was in agony, when my vet tried to remove his teeth (and all of them needed to come out), his jaw crumbled so he was euthanased under anaesthetic. By the time I got him, the infection had run rampant and pus was coming out of his eyes and his ears/whole head were in pain. This is an extreme but I recently looked at a friend's dog aged about 12, he was having trouble eating and he stank - smell was coming from his mouth. When I asked about it, she said the vet had recommended a dental but she was too afraid to put the dog under anaesthetic. Apparently the vet had recommended it 2 yrs before. I told her my story and begged her to go back as they have light anaesthetics these days so suitable for older dogs. She took him back and he had 22 teeth out, he's a different dog now - he's so much happier. Ever had toothache yourself - off you go to the dentist and get it fixed. Now imagine having it in 22 teeth and having your pain ignored for 2 years? One tooth can be bad and cause all the trouble. I have a 16 yr old dog here, he's had 2 dentals within 4 months and each time has needed teeth out - the state of his teeth changed within 4 months requiring the second surgery, none of us could believe it. Omg how many do they have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfie02 Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 Im so sorry to hear that Dogmad, how terrible for that to happen Thank you for pointing all this out . The vet just had a general look when we took him in last year and she said that his teeth were fine. However we have been to the vets quite a few times after this (as it has been a year since then) and have not had his teeth re-checked....so I think its time to make an appointment for the vets to have his teeth and mouth looked thoroughly at and then another to get them cleaned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Digestive problems can also manifest in bad breath. I'd be having the vet give the dog a thorough checkup, teeth, bloods, stool sample, urine, etc... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfie02 Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 Thanks tdierikx, I was thinking it may be that before I got the teeth answers as he does have a beef allergy (so we do not feed him any beef products), so he may have some digestive problems aswell, so will get that checed out at the vets that same time as the teeth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverdog Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Chronic bad breath can also be a sign of kidney problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 ..he could also be eating poo of some sort .. or have a chronic throat infection.... or .. Ask your vet next time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfie02 Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 Will definatley ask the vet about all these possibilties so we can get to the bottom of this all! Thank you very much for your help DOLers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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