How to Get Rid of Bad Breath in a Dog

You may notice that your dog's breath smells a bit off from time to time — something common in most dogs, but unpleasant on occasion if the smell is very strong. Let's look at where this bad breath comes from and what we can do to fix it.

Origin of Bad Breath in Dogs

The million-dollar question has a very simple answer: bad breath, or halitosis, is caused by bacteria that can live in the mouth or in the stomach. So that bad smell can come from the mouth, the stomach, or both.

A dog's breathing, its panting, and the fact that its mouth is its main tool, means the bad smell produced by certain bacteria can spread easily and become quite unpleasant for humans (though not so much for the dogs themselves).

Although this is the correct answer in most cases, bad breath can also be due to a poor diet, taking certain medications, or can even be caused by an illness (with halitosis appearing as a secondary symptom).

How to Treat Bad Breath in a Dog

If it's due to an illness or a medication's side effect, unfortunately there's nothing to do until the dog recovers or stops taking those medications. However, if your dog has bad breath and isn't sick or on medication, these tips and home remedies can get rid of it for good.

Poor Diet

We're not here to criticize anyone for the quality of the food they give their dog — everyone works within their own means and options. However, we should make it very clear that the vast majority of dogs have strong breath simply because they eat low-quality kibble.

A healthy, natural diet based on unprocessed foods, or a high-quality, highly digestible kibble, will get rid of your dog's bad breath within just a few days.

Poor Dental Hygiene

We all know dogs can't brush their own teeth, and on top of that, they're fed kibble that can cause tartar, which is also directly linked to bad breath.

This causes bacteria to grow in the dog's mouth, which release a really bad smell, leaving the dog with horrible breath (halitosis). Fortunately, we can brush our dog's teeth and/or take it to a vet clinic to have a dental cleaning done.

Also, as a tip for getting rid of your dog's tartar, we recommend giving it raw meaty bones or deer antlers (sold at pet supply stores). These greatly help tartar disappear from the dog's teeth, getting rid of the bacteria that cause the bad smell.

Natural Remedies to Fight Bad Breath

There are some completely natural foods, such as parsley or carrot, that naturally act against bad breath. We can add a bit of fresh parsley once a day to our dog's food to see its effects.

We can also add a bit of raw apple cider vinegar to its food or drinking water — apple cider vinegar has a neutralizing effect on bad odor, so halitosis will go away. Although some pups don't like the taste, so just try it, and if it doesn't work for them... don't use it anymore (you can use it for your salads instead).

Many people recommend using "treats" for dogs specifically designed to clean their mouth. We don't rate that option highly, since it simply doesn't work in cases where tartar has already set in.

Bibliography Eubanks, D. L. (2006). Canine oral malodor. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association Lobprise, H. B. (Ed.). (2012). Halitosis. In: Blackwell's five-minute veterinary consult clinical companion: small animal dentistry

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