bad breath in dogs with kidney disease
Bad Breath in Dogs: Causes and Treatment
You may love getting kisses from your dog as a greeting when you get home, except when theyre accompanied by bad breath. Is it normal for a dogs breath to stink?
Bad dog breath can actually be a sign of a number of health issues, and some that you would never guess could be related to your dogs breath. Understanding why your dog has bad breath is the first step in appropriately treating not only the smell but the underlying cause.
Why Does My Dog Have Bad Breath?
In the past 10 years, dental hygiene in dogs has changed from occasional tooth extractions to yearly dental examinations and routine teeth cleaning. Preventative dental care options have become widely available, as well as the knowledge of what a dogs mouth can tell us about our canine patients. Bad breath has evolved from being a nuisance for pet parents to a veterinarians tool for diagnosing certain health issues.
Here are some of the most common:
Dental or Gum Disease: The most common cause of bad breath (halitosis) in dogs is periodontal disease. Similar to humans, dogs with crowded teeth or crooked, misaligned teeth (malocclusions) may be at a higher risk for secondary dental disease; however, most dogs will develop some tartar or plaque buildup (dental calculus) or gingivitis at some point in their life. Dental disease develops when an overgrowth of bacteria in the mouth forms a plaque, which leads to tartar buildup. Tartar can lead to inflammation of the gums (gingivitis). If enough tartar is allowed to build, hair and other debris can get stuck between a dogs gumline, adding to the development of bad breath.
Something Stuck in Your Dogs Mouth (bone, stick, foreign body): Dogs fond of chewing on toys, ropes, and sticks are at greater risk of getting foreign material stuck in their mouths. Cloth materials tend to get stuck between the teeth, whereas sticks or other firm material such as chew toys may get wedged in the roof of a dogs mouth. Some foreign bodies, like splinters, can get stuck under the tongue or in the cheek and may be hard to see. In some circumstances, strings or linear foreign material may get hooked under the tongue, and the bad breath could be accompanied by not eating and vomiting.
Kidney Disease: The kidneys function as the bodys filtration system. When theres underlying disease or kidney failure that causes the kidneys not to function, a dog may start to build up toxins called urea in their blood. The urea can make a dogs breath smell like ammonia or urine, which may be an indicator of serious kidney dysfunction. Excessive urea, called uremia, can cause ulceration in the mouth as well, which your vet may see on examination.
Liver Disease: Bad breath along with yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice) in conjunction with weight loss, poor appetite, and vomiting may indicate that your dogs liver may be affected. Along with the kidneys, the liver acts as a filter for the bodys toxins. When theres a problem with your dogs liver function, toxins can build, and this can show up as bad breath.
Diabetes: When diabetes becomes unregulated or untreated for a long enough period of time, the body starts breaking down fat, creating molecules called ketones. Dogs that are producing ketones secondary to diabetes may have an acetone or sweet smell to their breath. Dogs with diabetes often have other symptoms such as weight loss, changes in appetite, and increased thirst and urination.
Ate Something Toxic: Certain toxins like plants can cause rancid or a rotting smell in a dogs breath. Dogs who eat cigarettes may have a nicotine odor to their breath. There are hundreds of toxins present in the environment, and being able to detect what your dog may have been exposed to could help determine the right treatment.
Ate Something Gross (non-food item): Puppies or adolescent dogs may be more inclined to eat feces of other dogs or be curious about what is in the cats litter box. Dog breath that smells like fecal matter may be linked to simply eating poop. Alternatively, dogs who eat household objects or toys can develop rotten-smelling breath and may vomit if they arent able to digest the foreign material.
Oral Tumors: More common in older animals, the development of oral cancers or tumors can lead to bad breath. As masses grow, they can become infected, and parts of the tissues can start to die (necrose), leading to persistent bad breath despite good dental care. The most common oral tumors in dogs are melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and peripheral odontogenic fibromas.
Dietary Deficiencies: Feeding your dog raw or home-cooked diets may disrupt the normal balance of bacteria in the mouth or gut. Imbalances of bacteria and increased likelihood of Salmonella overgrowth in a dogs gut caused by raw diets may contribute to bad breath. If you feed your dog a raw or home-cooked diet, try to consult with a veterinary nutritionist (or if not, your regular vet) to help prevent dietary deficiencies.
How to Get Rid of Your Dogs Bad Breath
If your dog has bad breath, your first step is to schedule a dental exam. If you allow a veterinary professional to routinely exam your dogs mouth, they can detect dental disease and other health issues earlier.
If your dog is prone to periodontal disease, routine cleaning may be needed to help prevent excessive tartar formation and frequent dental extractions (having teeth pulled).
Here are some other ways to improve your dogs oral health and keep their breath smelling better:
Regular Brushing: Weekly to daily brushing with canine toothpaste and toothbrushes can be the most effective way to prevent plaque formation. Many dog toothpastes are flavored to be enticing to dogs.
Dental Treats and Products: Dental treats can either help physically remove plaque as your dog chews or may contain additives that promote a healthy oral environment. Other products like dental water additives can be used to help mask bad breath as well as promote oral health. These are typically unflavored, and you simply add a small amount to your pets water dish each day.
Dental Diets: There are dental diets made for dogs that can help reduce plaque buildup. They use a larger kibble size and a course texture to scrape along the tooth and remove plaque as your dog chews.
The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) can be a useful resource in picking veterinary-recommended dental diets, treats, and supplements that are safe and effective.
Featured image: iStock.com/adamkaz
Bad Breath in Dogs FAQs
Are there home remedies to treat bad breath in dogs?
The only way to completely resolve your dogs bad breath is treating the underlying cause. However, there are products that can help to lessen the bad breath and prevent it from worsening. The Veterinary Oral Health Council has a list of recommended products that may help.
Can halitosis in dogs (bad breath) be cured?
Halitosis is a symptom of an underlying medical condition, and successful treatment depends on the underlying cause. Its commonly caused by dental disease, which can be treated, but halitosis frequently returns if dental disease recurs.
What Your Kidneys and Bad Breath Have in Common
No one enjoys having bad breath, also known as halitosis. It can even be anxiety provoking, and understandably so. The causes of halitosis, better known as bad breath, can range from poor hygiene, dry mouth, cancer, diabetes, and even kidney disease. It can be one of the warning signs of more serious medical conditions.
Just because you have halitosis, doesnt mean you have kidney disease, but it is one of the dozen or so common signs to be cognizant of it. Over 37 million American adults are unknowingly living with kidney disease. Here are a few things to know about the correlation between the two bad breath and kidney disease.
Why can kidney disease cause bad breath?
If your kidneys are not functioning properly, the toxins your body would typically expel instead build up in your system and those toxins cause your breath to smell. It is often called ammonia breath. The buildup of waste in the blood, uremia, can lead to halitosis. Some patients have cited that it can smell like fish or even urine.
Why can kidney disease cause changes in taste?
Just like uremia causes poor breath, it also can cause changes in how food and drink taste. This may discourage individuals from wanting to eat and some describe a foul taste, citing that it makes their mouth taste like iron. Uremia has also been known to make meat and other proteins off-putting.
When should I see a doctor?
If you feel that you have strong oral hygiene practices and make some adjustments like increased flossing, brushing, and drinking water, yet still experience poor breath, it may be time to visit your healthcare professional, beyond your dentist, to see what the root case may be.
Gum disease could be another cause of your halitosis. South Gables Dental offers top periodontic services in Coral Gables, FL if you suffer from gum disease.
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Few smells are as unpleasant as a dog with bad breath. Your dog might think that you appreciate their kisses, but if they have bad breath, then getting up close and personal is the last thing that you want to do.
Bad dog breath isnt just gross it could also be a sign of a health problem. Before you pop your dog a doggy breath mint, take a moment to do a little research into the possible causes of bad breath and what you can do to treat and prevent it.
Causes of Bad Dog Breath
Dog owners tend to dismiss bad dog breath as just dog breath, but there is usually a very good reason behind the odor. This can range from needing to brush your dogs teeth more often, to more potentially dangerous effects. Check with your vet to get to the bottom of your dogs bad breath.
Oral Hygiene and Periodontal Disease
The most common causes of bad breath in dogs are bad oral hygiene and periodontal disease. Just like in humans, the build-up of plaque and tartar can lead to the development of the bacteria that cause bad breath. If your dog is not a chewer and you do not regularly brush their teeth or have their teeth cleaned, then the likely cause of their bad breath is plaque build-up. Over time, poor oral hygiene can lead to periodontal disease. Too much plaque and tartar build-up can push the gums away from the teeth, exposing new areas for bacteria to develop. This not only inflames the dogs gums, but it can lead to cavities, infection, tissue destruction, tooth loss, and even pus formation. Needless to say, it also leads to very, very bad breath.
Unpleasant Dietary Habits
Dogs can be gross. Sometimes their habits translate directly into bad breath. If your dog regularly gets into the garbage, or has access to decomposing animal remains, then their bad breath could be the result of unsupervised snacking. Dogs also universally seem to love cat poop, and a household with cats can offer too much temptation for your dog to resist. Not only is this smelly, it is also unhygienic. As if cat poop wasnt bad enough, some dogs eat their own poop or the poop of other dogs, a condition called coprophagia that causes bad breath in dogs and occasionally mild nausea in their horrified owners.
Diabetes
If your dogs bad breath has a sweet or fruity smell to it, you need to make an appointment with your veterinarian. Sweet, fruity breath is a symptom of diabetes, a serious but treatable condition. Talk with your veterinarian about the other symptoms of diabetes to look out for, like more frequent drinking and urination, and set up an appointment to get your dog examined.
Kidney Disease
A dog that eats poop might have breath that smells like poop, but if your dogs breath smells like urine, it is most likely not because they has been drinking pee. A urine odor to your dogs breath is a warning sign of kidney disease, and warrants a visit to your veterinarian. Kidney disease is serious and could be a symptom of a larger medical problem.
Liver Disease
If your dogs breath is truly foul and theyre also vomiting, exhibiting a lack of appetite, and has a yellow tinge to their gums, they may have a liver problem. Like kidney disease, liver problems can be a sign of a serious condition, and it is vital that you get your dog into the veterinarian or emergency clinic as soon as possible.
Treating Bad Dog Breath
As important as it is to understand the underlying issues behind malodorous doggie breath, what we really want to know is how to get rid of it. Curing bad dog breath depends on the cause, but luckily there are quite a few treatment options out there.
If plaque, tartar, and periodontal disease are behind your dogs bad breath, then the best thing you can do is to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to see if your dog is a candidate for a dental cleaning. Your veterinarian will run bloodwork to make sure your dog can handle anesthesia, and this appointment is also a great time to rule out any other potential causes for your dogs bad breath. During the cleaning, your veterinarian may have to remove loose or damaged teeth, depending on the scope of the periodontal disease.
When it comes to unsupervised snacking, securing the trash and limiting your dogs access to unpleasant outdoor finds, like roadkill, will resolve this issue. Placing the litter box outside of their reach is a simple solution that eliminates cat feces consumption, unless the cats are also pooping outside, and cleaning up directly after your dog can help prevent coprophagia.
Diabetes, kidney, and liver disease are all conditions that require treatment from a veterinarian. Once the underlying issue is resolved, your dogs bad breath should go away, too.
Preventing Bad Breath in Dogs
The simplest way to prevent bad dog breath is to brush your dogs teeth on a regular basis. Teeth brushing reduces plaque and promotes better oral hygiene, much as it does in humans, and with a little training, most dogs learn to enjoy having their teeth brushed. Dog toothpaste is formulated for dogs. Never brush your dogs teeth with toothpaste meant for people, as it may contain ingredients that are toxic to dogs, like xylitol.
Providing your dog with plenty of chew toys and dental treats helps them take care of their teeth naturally. Chewing prevents plaque and tartar build-up and relieves boredom, keeping your dog healthy and happy. Just make sure you pickdog chew toys appropriate for your dogs size and age.
Small breeds may require more dental care than large breeds as they are more prone to periodontal disease, according to the AKC Health Foundation. Smaller breeds tend to have teeth that are closer together, which promotes plaque and tartar build-up, so make sure you provide them with plenty of chew toys from a young age and brush their teeth regularly.
Feeding your dog a quality, balanced diet, providing them with plenty of exercise and taking them to the veterinarian for regular check-ups can help prevent systemic disorders like diabetes. Plus, keeping your dog healthy helps avoid a host of other health problems, and can help your veterinarian pick up on the underlying cause of your dogs bad breath before it gets too bad.
There are other oral health products aside from canine toothpaste on the market, including special oral health diets, dental chews, and water additives. Talk to your veterinarian about the products they recommend.
Say goodbye to your dogs bad breath today by making an appointment with your veterinarian to discuss the possible causes for your dogs bad breath and your treatment options. As with most health problems, prevention is the best cure, so pick up a tube of dog toothpaste and start brushing your dogs teeth at least once a day to prevent oral decay.
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