Watch the latest Alpha Paw episodes with host Bernie Zilio as she tackles your pet parent questions, along with our board of pet experts. You can watch the video and read the transcript below!

The Transcript

Bernie Zilio
Does your adorable, angelic, perfect pupper have stanky, gross, and just plain nasty breath? Let’s fix that…

And fortunately, we have an expert with us here today, Dr. Ross. Dr. Ross is a seasoned veterinary professional and pet care expert. He earned his doctorate degree in veterinary medicine at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and his work has been featured in several industry-leading publications, including the Journal of Veterinary Surgery.

He is our go-to vet for everything we want and need to know about our fur babies, so welcome back to Alpha Paw Dr. Ross…

Bernie Zilio
Before we get into how to fix our pup’s stinky breath, let’s talk about what actually causes bad breath or halitosis in the first place?

Dr. Ross
Poor oral hygiene, periodontal disease, dietary habits, diabetes, kidney disease, and liver disease may all be causes of bad breath.

Bernie Zilio
Ok so it seems like we really need to understand the root cause of the bad breath first so that we can properly address it…so let’s start with oral hygiene or periodontal disease…

Dr. Ross
If plaque, tartar, and periodontal disease are behind your dog’s 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 dog’s bad breath.

During the cleaning, your veterinarian may have to remove loose or damaged teeth, tartar, or plaque buildup; depending on the scope of the periodontal disease.

Bernie Zilio
What about dietary causes?

Dr. Ross
When it comes to unsupervised snacking, securing the trash and limiting your dog’s access to unpleasant outdoor finds, like roadkill, will resolve this issue.

Placing the litter box outside of his 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.

Bernie Zilio
And then more serious causes like liver or kidney disease?

Dr. Ross
Diabetes, kidney, and liver disease are all conditions that require treatment from a veterinarian. Once the underlying issue is resolved, your dog’s bad breath should go away, too.

Bernie Zilio
So that’s how to get rid of it once the bad breath is there, but if our dogs don’t have bad breath, how can we ensure that they don’t get it…or prevent it in the future?

Dr. Ross
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.

Providing your dog with plenty of chew toys 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 select chew toys appropriate for your dog’s size and age.

Bernie Zilio
Alpha Paw actually has two products that can really help here…the Dentalicious doggy bones that can help our doggos take care of their teeth naturally and of course, my personal favorite, I know I’ve talked about it a lot on the show…but the magic mouthwash..which can REALLY help with bad breath. So I will link both of those below.

THanks so much for being here, Dr. Ross. DO you have more questions about your dog’s oral hygiene and what you can do about it? Ask in the comments section down below. Again I’m Bernie Zilio and this is Alpha Paw, be sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss a single doggone episode and we’ll see you next time!