My dog has bad breath

Question
Please help. My Cocker Spaniel has really bad breath. I have changed his food from Alpo to Purina puppy chow and bought milk bones without any results. Sometimes his breath is so bad that it makes his whole body stink. I have inspected his teeth and they are good. He has regular bowel movements, soft formed, not dirrhea or constipation. His only other problem is that he itches alot. He doesn't have any fleas, and he was groomed last week,I had him shaved thinking that his hair was making him stink so bad. Please tell me what I can do to help my dog. He will be 1 year old in June.

Answer
Have you discussed this with your vet?  Did the vet examine his ears?  Often a bad smell is coming from the ears.  Are you feeding the dry Purina?  Chewing the dry food helps remove odor causing tartar.  You could switch him to the adult version which has larger kibbles requiring more chewing.  The early switch is routine for larger breeds promoting slower growth and sturdier joints.  

Don't use the dental chews such as Greenies.  There have been too many cases of dogs choking on them.  Does he have some of the nubby textured Nylabones or the softer Flexibones and Gumabones?  Any chew needs to be discarded if gnawed down to small or large pieces start coming off.  Greenies and other consumables go too quickly to count on catching them while they are still safe.  Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.