Puppy with bad breath - Answered by Dr. Van Lienden

[brooks_jen]

my puppy is 4 months old ive had her a month but only really noticed the problem a couple of weeks ago. She has the worst breath i have ever smelt on a dog.(fishy kind of/dead) smell. Ive changed her food, and her teeth and gums looks fine.
Otherwise seems in good health.
Any suggestions would be great!

[Carina]

She's still teething, and bad breath is quite normal in teething puppies.

Check all her teeth & gums to make sure none are impacted (the baby tooth hasn't been pushed out by the adult tooth) or for redness & gum swelling. If all looks OK & she's chewing normally, it's probably no big deal.

If you're not sure, or you have a hard time checking, have your vet take a quick look-see in her mouth. Sometimes a baby tooth gets impacted & will get infected.

[Murph's Mom]

At what age is teething done? Murphy is 6 months now and I can tell he is still teething but it looks like all his teeth are in.

Sorry to jump in here!

[Carina]

I think depending on the breed of dogs (maybe smaller dogs are done teething faster?) 5-6 months. I know with Rottweilers the back teeth finish growing about 6 months...

[brooks_jen]

Thanks for that Carina
Actually since my last message i have been discussing the smell with all my house guests and have come to the conclusion that her breath actually smells like blood. Her mouth/gums look fine. and she doesn't have any sores to pick at.
Any ideas?

[Luba]

Found some neat stuff



Yes. Many puppies experience episodes of hiccupping that may last several minutes. This is normal and will not last but a few weeks or months. All puppies have a characteristic odor to their breath that is commonly called "puppy breath." It is also normal and will last only until the puppy matures.

One of the characteristics of puppies is chewing. Puppies are trying their new teeth so chewing is a normal behavior. The puppy's baby teeth are present by about four weeks of age. They begin to fall out at four months of age and are replaced by the adult (permanent) teeth by about six months of age. Therefore, chewing is a puppy characteristic that you can expect until about 6-7 months of age. It is important that you do what you can to direct your puppy's chewing toward acceptable objects. You should provide items such as nylon chew bones, and other chew toys so other objects are spared.

[Carina]

You can give her ice to chew, it helps soothe sore gums, and chewing is important to help loosen puppy teeth. Ice cubes, or ice frozen in larger things like youghurt tubs. You can put little hot dog shavings in the ice to encourage chewing. Also try soaking an old t-shirt or something in water, knotting it up & freeze that.

The blood smell is common during teething. The earlier "garlicky" type puppy breath is due to puppy digestive juices, which change after they are weaned.

You might also notice her ears setting crooked, this is also due to teething & will go away.

[Luba]

Carina is right the ice really works wonders...

I freeze bits of food in the centre of them as well, makes it worth the chew to get to the treat!!

[wAggie]

haha.... I remember Chocolate's bad breath...

even changing his diet to I doubt his breath would'ave been eliminated!

(btw, I don't believe those things work)


his bad breath probably came from the changes in diet as well as teething.

[amaruq]

Wow has Chocolate ever changed lol!

[wAggie]

LMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAO!!!!


yup, I gave him a good trim just recently

[mona_b]

ROTFLMFAO

TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny.

[petdr]

Teething can cause foul odor, and full adult dentation won't be in until sometime between six and seven month so this is a possibility. Eating feces, some puppies will, whether their own or another animal's, can also give the same results.

Finally, don't overlook an anal sac origin--dogs will groom
this area and the odor has often been described as fishy/dead. Obviously, such gasto-intestinal problems as parasitism can also cause foul odors, but I'm assuming that you've had this puppy appropriately dewormed and vaccinated.

Dr. Van Lienden

Dr. Raymond Van Lienden DVM
The Animal Clinic of Clifton
12702 Chapel Road, Clifton
Virginia, U.S.A. 20124
703-802-0490

[Karin]

Originally posted by mona_b
ROTFLMFAO

TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO funny.

The infamous Butt breath. I have to express Ciara's anal glands every bath day. I learned way back in 1980 from the first Vet I worked for to *keep your mouth shut* during this procedure. Dr. Holt lost 20 pounds after that incident.
I had trouble holding down food also.

[mona_b]

OMG

I just got back from Wing night....Don't think I should have read that........ (my pukie face)

[DogsyDog]

Originally Posted by Carina

You can give her ice to chew, it helps soothe sore gums, and chewing is important to help loosen puppy teeth. Ice cubes, or ice frozen in larger things like youghurt tubs. You can put little hot dog shavings in the ice to encourage chewing. Also try soaking an old t-shirt or something in water, knotting it up & freeze that.

The blood smell is common during teething. The earlier "garlicky" type puppy breath is due to puppy digestive juices, which change after they are weaned.

You might also notice her ears setting crooked, this is also due to teething & will go away.

Hi Carina

Great Posts, I hope you still apart of this forum. Just as you said, I had thought that is what is going on with my Staffie pup, interesting with the ear info though, thanks

kind regards

DogsyDog

[DogsyDog]

Have just made a whole batch of "Slush Puppies" Mixed Dog Treats and Biscuits in Zip Lock bags with sterilized water and placed them in the freezer(in SA we call our refrigerator a fridge and our frozen section the freezer)

Coffee gonna enjoy her teething treats(Slush Puppies) later


Thanks again Carina


Kind regards



DogsyDog

[morganj]

I just bought a new puppy named Julie--she's an Australian Shepherd and Yellow Lab mix--and her previous owners smoked. Her breath smells like cigarette smoke, and I'm wondering if there's any way to fix it.
--morganj

[qfusarah]

Thank you for the information. I was really concerned about my puppy, her breath is horrible. Now that I know that it is normal I fell a bunch better.

[dogs]

Not uncommon in dogs.
I would feed your dog dry food in the morning and wet at night.

Also try brushing your dogs teeth twice per day.
Check that there is no rubbish around that may be being eaten.

[lucky_17]

Hi. My puppy just turned 4 months yesterday ..I noticed a few days ago her breath smells very bad & her private area too. She keeps cleaning herself ...anything I can do to help that smell go away? I will take suggestions please help