[pyrnet] Re: Dog Breath

[WOOF1@att.net]

Carol and all...
I use the Hill's Science Diet t/d food as treats to help 
with breath.  It is like their maintenance diet, which I 
choose not to feed my dogs for their actual food, but it 
is good for treats.  It is "puffed up" a bit, more 
porous in the kibble bits, and it is large, about an 
inch in diameter.  It is hard and crunchy, but doesn't 
crumble when they bite into it, like regular dry food.  
They have to crunch into it several times before it 
crumbles, causing a scrubbing action on the teeth.  
Gulliver came to us with a lot of tartar on the back 
teeth, so we're putting three pieces in his meals twice 
a day, and he gets one for a bedtime treat.  It won't 
probably eliminate a lot of built up tartar, but it will 
remove some, and it will prevent new tartar and plaque 
from accumulating.  Also good for getting rid of "poop 
breath" from our yard-snackers, too.  

Plus, of course, there are the doggie toothpastes, which 
even come in mint, and I usually put those in the ridges 
of a Dental Kong for general cleaning.

Just be aware that bad breath can also indicate another 
health problem.  You can smell ketones?  That is an 
actual physiological ability.  Some people can smell 
that odor, and others can't.  I can't.  It could also 
mean something like a stick stuck in the mouth (oddly, 
my Sprocket had this, and we never had a clue!  No bad 
breath, no stopping eating, no pain... our first clue 
was when he got an abscess and his face swelled!), or 
even a bit of some object stuck in between the teeth.

Good luck!

Lori

--
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