# Bad Breath!



## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

I have an unusual problem with one of my girls and hope someone can give me some tips. Lexi is two and has horrible breath!! I brush her teeth, and she only eats SO diet from the vet. She does not get treats except for the SO wet food that I cook and refrigerate. Of course she is my one that loves to give kisses but it is really bad. I dont want to get in the habit of giving her treats as they could cause crystals in her bladder. Does anyone recommend a good toothpaste, or natural remedy? Thanks!


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

I should add after thinking about it, I have had her checked several times by the vet and they find no reason. So my thought is just a better toothpaste.


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## Guest (Dec 18, 2006)

At the HCA National Specialty I bought some PetzLife Oral Care Gel. The dogs like it and it seems to be working well for us.

Here's the website listed on the bottle: www.PetzLife.com


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Thanks I will look in to it. It seems pretty expensive - does it last a long time at least? Do you prefer the spray or the gel??


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## Melissa Miller (Aug 2, 2006)

Im not sure this would work all of the time. I buy those rawhide type chewies from the Pet Deli and they are vanilla flavored. The dogs love them, and their breath smells like vanilla. They are not bad like some rawhide chewies. 

Ill have to find the website for the Pet Deli. I know they are very popular.


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## Melissa Miller (Aug 2, 2006)

Here is a link. They are called Vanilla Cow Ears.

http://store.petdelistore.com/vanillacowears.html


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## Guest (Dec 19, 2006)

The PetzLife stuff does last a long time...I got mine in October. It's a small bottle but there is still a lot left.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Thanks for the input, have you found that the petzlife cleans the tarter off like they adverstise?

And - Melissa - do the cows ears stain the carpets or furniture like the regular ones do? I found that the dows ears I have bought have a oily residue that gets on the furniture. I just want to go with the easiest but most productive product, but dont want to have to clean my furniture from the stains.


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## Melissa Miller (Aug 2, 2006)

They are real light, so No I dont think so. They turn almost white. And they dont nasty and stringy like some of the rawhides. 

Im not sure it would cure the bad breath all the time, but it will be nice when they chew on them. Good thing is, they are not very expensive.


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## Dawna (Aug 3, 2006)

I use the Petzlife products too, and like them enough that last time I bought a case each of the gel and spray. If their teeth are already clean, then the spray is perfect. If they need tartar removal, then you will need the gel for several weeks to clean it off. (you will still have to brush or wipe their teeth to speed up the process after the gel starts to loosen it).
Dawna


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## Susan in Central NJ (Dec 29, 2006)

I have an 8 year old female havanese who would never let us brush her teeth. We bring her to the vet to have the tartar scraped off about every 2 years. Some other health problems she has had; at age one, she developed cherry eye. We leave the eye alone, just make sure no infection develops. She has a fatty tumor (benign) on her shoulder she developed at age 7. The vet keeps an eye on it at checkups. 

Recently she developed a salivary mucocele. (salivary gland stopped functioning for unknown reasons and saliva built up under her jaw forming a jello-like mass). She had to have surgery to remove the non-functioning salivary gland, and is now fine so far. We don't know what caused it, it happened after she came back from being groomed, the vet said it could have been due to an injury from the collar/noose the groomers use to secure the dog during grooming. We now have her in a harness instead of a collar. Be careful when having your dog groomed, groomers can be rough and you have no idea what they do to your dog while you leave the dog in their care. 

These dogs are generally healthy according to my vet. Also make sure their anal glands around their rectum are expressed, infection can occur if the glands become impacted.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

We use the Petzlife gel too. I do the holding and Pam does the brushing. After a few sessions with both of us the dog learns the drill and Pam can do it by herself. The way the dog is held is the key but I would have a hard time explaining it in writing. The holder ONLY uses pressure when the dog resists and then only to match the force of the dog and release the pressure the INSTANT the dog relaxes. This timing is used in all sorts of training dogs and horses. The release is the important part. I still have my arms and hands in position but I'm applying no force when the dog relaxes.

We also use some dental tools to scrape off the tartar. The picture of teeth that I posted in the Gallery is a 3 1/2 year old dog. We started doing teeth ourselves because we felt we could do a better job of both the teeth and handling our dogs. It really is pretty easy once you learn how and all our dogs teeth stay in good shape.

I really don't have an answer for the bad breath.


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## Kathy (Nov 9, 2006)

Actually, I have found that the petzlife works great for bad breath too. I have one that had bad breath really bad, but once I started using this gel it is all gone. Great product!!!


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## Rita (Jan 1, 2007)

Great info. With all this talk of tooth care, I just thought of one question, what kind of toothbrush do you use? Anything special?


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Pam found some baby toothbrushes that are really soft. The brush end is offset from the handle and there is a large place for the users thumb. I think it's a training toothbrush for toddlers. None of the dogs mind it going in their mouths.

We also use a dental tool for scraping off any tartar. The teeth picture in the gallery is one or our 3 1/2 year olds.

We went to visit Pam's parents this weekend who have one of our retired dogs, which they love dearly. Pam's Mom says that Abbie won't let her clean her eyes. Pam walked over to Abby with the same cleaning stuff that her Mom would use. Pam's Mom asked why Abbie let Pam do it when she wouldn't let her do it. Pam said, "Because she KNOWS I'm going to do it." The same goes for teeth.


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## Rita (Jan 1, 2007)

Thanks for the info. That is funny about Pam's mom and the dog. It is definitely true. Once they know that you hesitate about doing something, they will do the same thing next time. They are smarties!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Pam found the toothbrushes at Whole Foods. It's called Radius Kidz.


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## Rita (Jan 1, 2007)

Thanks Tom.


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## Lynn (Jan 2, 2007)

thanks for all the infor, this helps out alot!


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## whitBmom (Nov 27, 2006)

Well Oreo is definately teething and losing his puppy teeth! His breath is horrendous!! The other day as I was examining his teeth one of his baby molars popped off. That is when I realized the "why" as to why their breath gets so bad when teething. Sorry to sound gross, but when I examined the first tooth that I actually saw popped off, it was filled with blood. I noticed that the baby teeth that were ready to fall off, are darker and full of old blood - hence the foul smell. Man, some of you were not kidding when you mentioned how bad it could get - it is bad  The only teeth that, for the moment are not loose, are his canines. The others are coming out with no problems, so I will have to wait and see how the canines progress, the adult canines are coming in already and it looks odd with Oreo having two sets of canines right now.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Thats kinda funny cause Logan lost his canines first, then the molars - which were also full of food & blood. It was stinky , but it clears quick once the teeth are out.
Give Oreo a kiss for me.
Laurie


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## whitBmom (Nov 27, 2006)

Awwww, thank you Laurie, but for now I will give him a huge hug and pretend kiss - his mouth is a little too stinky - if you know what I mean 
Wow, as I am writing this I am realizing that Oreo has reached another milestone in his life - awwww, time just flies!!


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## dboudreau (Jan 12, 2007)

Helen: I'm sure Oreo will be his sweet smelling self before you know it. Now what happened to those pictures you promised. Hint hint!!


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## whitBmom (Nov 27, 2006)

OMGoodness, Debbie, I DID promise those. Just to add more frustration to my never ending sauga of my inability to get my pictures, it turns out that the batteries were not the problem, the actual camera died!!  Hubby is looking into getting another one this week, so that we can get some new pictures before Oreo's puppy cut grows out. We've had that digital camera for a good 4 yrs, and it worked so well, so we were shocked when we discovered it died on us


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