28 lb Brittany, 13 1/2 years old, generally very healthy. Had the full
pro anasthesia/teeth-cleaning Apr. 2010.

For years I brushed her teeth nightly. Months ago I cut back to every
other nite, then to twice a week. She hates it, of course.

She developed sour breath in recent weeks. I'm back to examinations,
teeth-cleaning nearly every nite for the last week or more. Breath is
still somewhat sour. I tried to scale a few teeth tonite, nothing came
off.

As mentioned, she is generally very healthy, particularly for her age.
She's arthritic but lively. Feed is about 2 1/2 cups Canidae ALS daily,
no apparent problem with eating/digestion.

What else should I check for? I'm guessing there's more to it than just
aged-pooch breath.

Thx,
P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

Indeed, it could just be (for lack of a different name) "old dog bad
breath". One cause could conceivably be that, with age, her body has
begun to process food differently than it did in the past. Another odd
cause I've read about is a low-grade chronic infection in the tonsils or
salivary glands. Oh, watch her to see if she is eating her own feces,
or those of other animals in the family.... Liver failure can lend an
ammonia scent to the breath.... but these dogs are usually obviously
ill. Elevated blood sugar (acidosis) can give the breath a flowery
smell. Or she may have gingivitis under the gum line, even without
accumulation of plaque on the visible parts of the teeth.

Anything new in a dog this age really does warrant a trip to the vet for
a closer look.

Some years ago, I switched from a manually operated toothbrush (which my
guys accepted, but weren't thrilled about) to one of the fairly
inexpensive human brushes that has a whirligig brush head..... Crest,
Colgate, etc., are common brand names..... battery operated, changeable
brushes. All of them since then have enjoyed (well-ll-ll-ll, have
stopped resisting) having their teeth brushed. I played around with pet
toothpastes.... and found that they prefered the peanut butter flavored
one the best.... poultry flavor was second place. I also continue to
use pet mouthwash.... a simple squirt in the mouth once a day.

I have noticed over the two years since I went grain-free with the dog
food (not so picky about treats.... I like junk food, too), there has
been markedly less tartar/plaque. I haven't looked up that version of
Canidae.... but have heard very good things about the brand.

One thing you might try is sprinkling her food with about a tablespoon
of minced fresh parsley if you feed once a day, or half tablespoon with
each meal if you feed twice a day. Use a blender or food processor to
buzz a couple of bunches of parsley, place one "dose" in each section of
a plastic ice cube tray, add water to just cover, freeze. Once frozen,
tip the parsley cubes into a freezer type zip top baggie and take one
out at each mealtime and drop into the food dish. And I have one dog
who loves to eat fresh mint leaves during the growing season....

But start with the vet visit.

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia

On 3/2/2011 11:02 PM, Puddin' Man wrote:

As mentioned, she is generally very healthy, particularly for her age.
She's arthritic but lively. Feed is about 2 1/2 cups Canidae ALS daily,
no apparent problem with eating/digestion.

There are a lot of different kinds of Canidae ALS. Are you feeding one
of the grain free ones? I would bet it would make a difference with her
teeth and breath. Dogs don't do well with grains as a general rule.

Indeed, going kibble free would make a bigger difference. I feed my dogs
and cat meat, bones and organ meats and their breath never smells. What
most vets miss is the actual cause of such problems and they tend to
treat symptoms. Garbage in, garbage out. Canidae is one of the better
kibbles but I don't believe any kibble is good for dogs for several
reasons. Dogs naturally eat a diet that includes lots of water which
kibble doesn't have. It makes dogs drink a lot more water and can cause
kidney problems at times. It's also cooked to such an extreme that much
of the nutritional value is lost and has to be put back in, along with
artificial good smells and tastes (flavor enhancers). Even a move to a
grain free canned food would be much better.

Jo Wolf had some good suggestions too.

Char

On Thu, 3 Mar 2011 01:17:40 -0500, (Jo Wolf) wrote:

Indeed, it could just be (for lack of a different name) "old dog bad
breath". One cause could conceivably be that, with age, her body has
begun to process food differently than it did in the past. Another odd
cause I've read about is a low-grade chronic infection in the tonsils or
salivary glands. Oh, watch her to see if she is eating her own feces,
or those of other animals in the family.... Liver failure can lend an
ammonia scent to the breath.... but these dogs are usually obviously
ill. Elevated blood sugar (acidosis) can give the breath a flowery
smell. Or she may have gingivitis under the gum line, even without
accumulation of plaque on the visible parts of the teeth.

No serious evidence of any of those conditions.

Anything new in a dog this age really does warrant a trip to the vet for
a closer look.

Some years ago, I switched from a manually operated toothbrush (which my
guys accepted, but weren't thrilled about) to one of the fairly
inexpensive human brushes that has a whirligig brush head..... Crest,
Colgate, etc., are common brand names..... battery operated, changeable
brushes. All of them since then have enjoyed (well-ll-ll-ll, have
stopped resisting) having their teeth brushed. I played around with pet
toothpastes.... and found that they prefered the peanut butter flavored
one the best.... poultry flavor was second place. I also continue to
use pet mouthwash.... a simple squirt in the mouth once a day.

Interesting, and not what I would've expected. Would appreciate a few
words about how you got them to accept the whirligig brush. I need to
try it.

I have noticed over the two years since I went grain-free with the dog
food (not so picky about treats.... I like junk food, too), there has
been markedly less tartar/plaque. I haven't looked up that version of
Canidae.... but have heard very good things about the brand.

It's good kibble, but it has several grains. I may switch to grain-free.

One thing you might try is sprinkling her food with about a tablespoon
of minced fresh parsley if you feed once a day, or half tablespoon with
each meal if you feed twice a day. Use a blender or food processor to
buzz a couple of bunches of parsley, place one "dose" in each section of
a plastic ice cube tray, add water to just cover, freeze. Once frozen,
tip the parsley cubes into a freezer type zip top baggie and take one
out at each mealtime and drop into the food dish. And I have one dog
who loves to eat fresh mint leaves during the growing season....

But start with the vet visit.

The vet didn't find any major problem, scaled a little plaque that I missed,
saw 1 cracked tooth (which looked "clean").

Bottom Line: appears that the oral hygiene regimen (I applied) for like
a decade was adequate then, but not now. She really doesn't like me
excavating in her oral area, so, if I can't get it done with a brush
and paste, this constitutes a new challenge.

Many Thanks,
P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

I just let the guys hear the soft whirr of the brush and used it......
Dogs arriving more recently haven't been used to oral care at all, and I
started with the fingertip "brush", then changed to the whirling
brush.... no problem.

I looked up Canidae.... most have grain.... and all rate only 4 out of 6
stars possible on my favorite "quick look-up" site at
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com under reveiws. The reviews are by
experienced Boxer breeders, not credentialled small animal
nutritionists.... Each food comes up with the ingredients and basic
facts in one block, and below that in a second block is the review. Can
tell you that since I've had my obedience students spending time at this
site, many have made changes up the scale and been very pleased with
results, even if they only moved up to 3-4 stars.... especially those
feeding "supermarket" foods.

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia