Cowering

Question
All my puppy does is cower when I reach down to pet him, or when I go to open his kennel door. He is almost five months old and his breath smells so bad, some say it smells like fish but I try to stay away from his bad breath, cause it smells that bad. Can I get rib of his bad breath with house hold items? I've tried dogie tooth paste but it doesn't work.

Answer
Hi Tori,

I can't say whether there is any connection between your dog cowering and his bad breath.  Are you aware that your dog eats his own poop when in the kennel?  This may be a cause of bad breath.  Poop eating (called coprophagia) is normal in dogs, but a habit most humans would not like to live with.  If this is happening, the habit can be broken.  However, poop eating can also sometimes indicate a vitamin deficiency (usually in the B vitamins).

Bad breath can indicate a health problem, too, either an internal one or one in the mouth.  Since it's not typical for dogs to have bad breath, especially one as young as yours, I would see a veterinarian, and perhaps choose a holistic one for this issue, to help you figure out what may be going on.  I would not use anything but products formulated specifically for dogs on any dog, including as an example sunscreen (yes, human sun lotion can be dangerous for dogs and there is sunscreen actually formulated for dogs!), so it's good that you've been using only doggie toothpaste.  When caring for your dog, always use products developed for and safe for canines.

As for the cowering, this sounds like a fear or aversion issue of some type and for this I would suggest getting a professional in to help you identify what the dog may be responding to fearfully or find aversive, and to and help you learn to desensitize your dog to any fears or aversions he may be having.  As a tip, many dogs don't like to be patted on the head, and will dip or cower to avoid this.  See if petting him under the chin works better, and if it does, instruct others to pet him under the chin as well; but don't forget to work with a pro on desensitizing him to being patted on the head and with whatever is going on with his kennel, too!

Best of luck,
Madeline, NY-NJDogTrainer