Help, My Dog Has Bad Breath!

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     The dental health of your pet is very important to their overall health and wellbeing. If Fido has bad breath, check first to ensure that her gums are not infected. Infected gums not only cause bad breath, but it is also painful and could cause a problem to internal organs diseases to organs such as heart, kidneys, intestines and joints. These organs can be subsequently infected by the bacteria spread from mouth region. With regular dental care, you can prevent such serious side effects.

Dental Care Tips:

Allow your pet to chew on raw bones at least once a month to prevent tartar build up. Regular chew on raw bones will avoid dental visits at the vet. Avoid giving cooked bones as these bones may splinter when chewed and can cause potential damage to intestinal linings of your pet. If your pet has never had raw bones, monitor them initially and ensure that they are able to handle it well and not swallow the bones whole which can cause chocking which is dangerous and could be fatal. Most dogs naturally are able to handle raw bones well. To be safe, get the huge beef or mutton knuckle bone where they cannot chew it down but use it for exercising the jaws and cleaning their teeth.

If feeding your dog raw bones is not something you want to try, go for dried bones instead. Dried huge knuckle bones are commonly found in pet shops. Ensure you purchase the huge mutton/beef bones that they cannot swallow.

Another alternative you can consider is brushing Fido teeth regularly at least once a day. Focus on the upper teeth as plaque tends to build up faster. Do not dig into Fido teeth with a toothbrush immediately. Start by getting them used to the toothbrush and toothpaste taste first before you make your next move. This training cannot be rushed, be patient and only go a little further when Fido allows you to. This feat is best accomplished only when Fido enjoys it else it will be a daily struggle with her which can be stressful for her as well.

Avoid rawhide. Though they are used commonly to clean Fido teeth, most rawhide have been preserved and cured with toxic chemicals and that is really unhealthy for your dogs. Furthermore, if your dog do not chew on it properly and swallow it whole, it can cause intestinal blockage. Besides, rawhide beef source is questionable. Food sources meant for pet consumption may come from sources not appropriate for human consumption.

There are crunchy snacks that claims to have dental cleaning abilities, do not depend on this as it may not be that effective as eating such foods in the first place would cause build up of food bits stuck in the teeth. Best to take the necessary actions to ensure long term good dental health for Fido to avoid unnecessary repercussions to their internal health condition.