breath problems

Question
our cocker is 11 years old and has ALWAYS been in perfect health with the only exception being three cysts that after being biopsied turned out to contain nothing clear "fat" cells. we also had her spayed after she was over her first "heat". A month ago we switched her to "High Hopes" dog food for seniors. she's on her second bag. her previous diet has always been strickly lamb and rice. her stools appear to be normal and consistant in color. also, her urine appears her normal color. My question is: apart from the normal amount of plaque for a dog of her age with no cavities that we can observe; in just two days her breath has turned into what can best be described as FOUL STENCH! She's always on a leash coming and going so it's nothing she could have picked up and eaten. Can you help with this?        Our Thanks.                            J. DeWitt

Answer
Hello Mr DeWitt,

There all only 2 things I can think of that this could be. She may have started eating her own stools. As disgusting as this may sound the dog does it for good reason, usually when there is a deficiency in their diet. This could be because you have changed her food. Perhaps the High Hopes food has something missing in it that her lamb and rice diet had.

The other possibility is that she could have a bacterial build up in her stomach. It tends to cause bad breath. The only thing is, diarrhoea is usually a common symptom as well and your dog doesn't have this.

Perhaps the best bet would be to take her to the Vet and see if the he or she has any suggestions.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Yours sincerely,
Lynne Clacher.