Bad Breath and dental issues

You can use some dental sprays - Naturel Promise Pet Dental Water
You can also give your dog fresh parsley to chew on.
Your vet can recommend a good chew for your dog, the chews your using are great but they could recommend a cheaper but better one.

 

if she wont eat it raw mix it in her food.

 

why didn't i think of this??!!

 

Do you brush her teeth? If not, it might be a good idea. You can start to get her used to the sensation of something against her teeth using a clean, loose woven cloth on your finger (the j-cloth type things on a roll are quite good). There are several products on the market - human toothpaste is NOT advised partly because it foams and partly because you need to be careful of ingredients such as Xylitol which is toxic to dogs. Enzymatic toothpastes such as Virbac are available from your vet or online. There is another product called Dentisept which I have started using fairly recently, which breaks up plaque/tartar and after initial cleaning doesn't have to be used daily as it is supposed to leave a coating on the teeth that stops the build up of plaque. Canident is supposed to be very good but is virtually impossible to get - apparently stocks have been withdrawn, not because of the product itself but a patenting or licensing issue or something like that. As an alternative i have started using Tropiclean (daily but with Dentisept twice a week) but it is too soon to say how effective it is. It is however minty fresh which is rather nice.

Also, and in my view this is a great thing for dental hygiene, I feed a raw chicken wing a couple of times a week. As well as the abrasive action of crunching bone there is a sinew or something that does a sort of flossing action. A larger dog might need something bigger.

But - you should also consider whether the problem is definitely dental and not further into the digestive system.

 

@JudyN - we did it again!

 

Interesting thread. I've been thinking about this for a while. Our dog has what I'd describe as normal dog breath and our vet actually recommended Logic gel after he had a tooth removed (it was split, he came to us like this), but we didn't use it. We do try and brush his teeth, but he's not such a willing volunteer meaning we only get to do the outside of those he'll let us get at. He gets a Dentastix each day and has a few crunchy treats (e.g. dried fish skins) to help as well. I gave him a bone once, and whilst chewing it he suddenly yelped, so I haven;t gone down that route again (separate thread about that on here somewhere). We did use an additive to help keep their teeth clean ages ago, but I couldn't actually tell you if it worked!

Interested in the parsley - what's the thinking behind how this works? Is there a recommended amount?

 

A few sprigs, not excessive amounts because there is a toxin but its only affective if its given in a huge amount. I’m not sure where it came from. I have googled but no answer to your question.

 

My understanding is that parsley can freshen breath but doesn't clean teeth.

 

yeah exactly.