# Bad breath - high protein food linked?



## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

Those of you feed your dogs Evo, Orijen or other grain free, higher protein foods, does your dog have terrible breath?

Pippa had her teeth cleaned under anesthesia in July when she was spayed so I am pretty sure the bad breath isn't a tooth problem. She has the worst breath. Some days it's worse than others and smells very similar to what comes out the other end! I have never known a dog to have such horrible breath. I bought a tooth brush and doggy toothpaste and it doesn't seem to help. When we found out she had hypothyroidism I thought maybe it would go away once she started taking the pills but it hasn't. Just wondering if it could be the high protein food. I know they say when people are on the Atkins diet, etc. they can get bad breath. I am very close to going to the pet store and buying Canidae or something lower protein with grain to try for a bit.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Hmm, not at all, and the ones on the highest protein diet (raw) have literally *no* breath


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## Bailey & Bentley (Feb 25, 2007)

Not really. The only problem Bentley has with our current food is that he smells like fish afterwards, which is stinky but then it goes away. Neither of my dogs have every had really stinky breath. Not yet anyway


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

I hate to run back to our vet but I have read that really bad breath can be a sign of disease. I was the one who had to insist on the thyroid test for which she tested hypothyroid and I am not really sure how receptive he'll be to me going in and saying I suspect something else is wrong because of her breath. He did a full blood panel on her about 3 weeks ago. The results showed normal except her lymphocytes were elevated. He said it wasn't high enough to worry about but maybe I should press.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Is she a poop eater? That gives them really really bad breath.


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

No she doesn't eat poop. She does eat the odd bit of grass and leaves though. She just eats her Orijen kibble with either Trippet or Honest Kitchen mixed in for one meal. Then she gets 2-3 treats of Wellness biscuits or California Natural biscuits.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

If she is not eating poop, then she is either eating something else you are not aware of (sounds doubtful) or there is an internal issue causing the bad breath. I agree-I would take her to the vet to have it checked out. Although I know my dogs like to eat the fermented grass left behind by the mowers, and they can get kind of stinky breath from it, but not as bad as you describe.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

my first thought too was eating poo. A sickening sweet smell could indicate diabetes. I'd have some lab work done just to ease your mind. BTW, I've recently started using the Petzlife oral gel and it really works...........cleans their teeth and kills bacteria and freshens breath....much better than any doggie toothpaste I've used.


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

I don't have time right now to fully go into all the details so let me provide you with an excerpt from a HUMAN health website... the percentages are different for canines but the general advice, I believe, still holds true...


"...that's because a diet in which protein makes up more than 30% of your caloric intake causes a buildup of toxic ketones. So-called ketogenic diets can thrust your kidneys into overdrive in order to flush these ketones from your body. As your kidneys rid your body of these toxic ketones, you can lose a significant amount of water, which puts you at risk of dehydration, particularly if you exercise heavily. 
That water loss often shows up on the scale as weight loss. But along with losing water, you lose muscle mass and bone calcium. The dehydration also strains your kidneys and puts stress on your heart. And dehydration from a ketogenic diet can make you feel weak and dizzy, give you bad breath, or lead to other problems."


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

Monomer, Do you recommend that I switch to a food with grain like Canidae?


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Go me! (VEGAN) lol and back to being hardcore Vegan as of last week LOL (and have been a veggie for a year, but had started cheating a bit with fish and some cheese on pizza lately). And sweeeeet breath! LOL

But dogs are NOT people!!!!


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

None of mine do.... There on Evo.....


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## kalkid (Feb 22, 2007)

No bad breath for my Evo girl either. However when I was using salmon oil for a while it of course as expected had a bad fishy smell which also smelled on her breath. I gave her those listerine breath strips. Just seeing the look on her face was worth it and it did make her breath smell good.


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## Rosco's Mom (May 1, 2007)

speaking of bad breath.....Rosco's breath stinks...it just started like a month ago...We just switched him back to Nutro.


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## Scorpio118 (Jul 9, 2007)

Mine both have sparkling white teeth and BAD ASS BREATH!! :yuck:

They were on Chicken Soup - I just changed them to Merrick....


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

KayCee and hunter, littermate brother and sister. When hunter died 4 years ago today at age 4 years and 2 months 9killed by proheart6 heartwom preventative injction--his teeth were as clean and white as the day they came in. KayCee, littermate had had to have her's cleaned twice. The inside of her canine teeth were stained an ugly brown tht not even dentals took care off. Also, mackeral or salmon 2 nights a week caused bad breaht in both her and honey.

Well, i read about this stuff you add to their drinking water and it is suppose to hep cut down on plaque and tarter, make their breath smell good and even their poop smell good. neither of my girls have ever had smelly poop so i can't swear it cuts down on the smell of poop---hubby tacked in some his shoe when home last and we only knew it because of what he "depostited" on the carpet.'

I decided to try it and got my first bottle back the first of june and am jut finishing up the 3rd and gonna order more. You add one capful of the stuff to 3 cups of water. has a slight mint scent. Well, the stains on KayCee's teeth are barely visable and no sinky fishy breath on fish days. It is called Plaque Off/Fresh Breath and i order it over the web I learned about it on another forum where a few use it. Get it from Triple Pet.


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## Rena450 (Apr 16, 2007)

Oakley had some real bad, stinky breath a couple of months ago, he would of been around 4 months old. He was on either Innova LBP or Canidae ALS. He was teething at the time, so I thought it could of been from him losing teeth, bloody gums, etc. Well, he is now 6 months old and no bad breath . . . . I really do think his was from teething.


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

3Goldens, I have seen some stuff at our pet food supply store that goes into the water. I will have to check to name next time to see if it's the same one you use. The owner said it could also be put directly in the mouth using a toothbrush. I will try it if it has worked that well for you. Thanks.


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## Goldndust (Jul 30, 2005)

I've had Kody on Evo in the past, never noted the breath problem here either. 

I know Royal Canine did a study on high protein diets, it is listed on there site. I think Evo did as well. Nothing noted like you mention. I know high protein isn't something you would want to feed an unhealthy dog, or a young dog though.


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## daddysgirl (Feb 27, 2007)

we were feeding Roxy Orijen adult formula, we recently switched her to the fish formula they just came out with and her breath is STINKY, but she is eating food made of fish. i think Orijen is great, she isn't itching anymore and her coat is silky smooth. don't know if that is due to the food or the thyroid medication or maybe a combo of both. Denise


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

3 goldens said:


> Well, i read about this stuff you add to their drinking water and it is suppose to hep cut down on plaque and tarter, make their breath smell good and even their poop smell good. .......................... Well, the stains on KayCee's teeth are barely visable and no sinky fishy breath on fish days. It is called Plaque Off/Fresh Breath and i order it over the web I learned about it on another forum where a few use it. Get it from Triple Pet.


There are people on the Showdog list that swear by Plaque Off. Most of them get it from Bichon Rescue

http://www.bichonbash.com/hvests2006.htm

Just scroll almost all the way down the page.

I am going to have to order some!


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

Thanks. I think I am going to try one of these solutions that go in the water before I switch her to another food. Like Denise's Roxy, Pippa has not been itching and has stopped pulling the hair out of her paws since being on Orijen. Her coat is nice and shiny now too. She was on the 6 Fresh Fish Formula for 2 months and we just switched to the Adult Formula (chicken, turkey, fish). There has been no change in her breath since changing formulas. Her breath is not fishy, it literally smells like poop. If she opens her mouth to yawn, the entire room stinks.


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## Elway&Prince (Sep 6, 2007)

I don't know but now you got me wondering. Prince has always had HORRIBLE breath since we got him but it seems like now that he's on the wellness CORE it has gotten worse. Our lab is on the CORE now too and her breath is a little different smelling than normal as well (and not in a good way).


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## Sunshine Goldens (Oct 31, 2005)

Our pug had HORRENDOUS breath when we first got him. I am not talking about "dog breath" I am talking about "clear the room" breath. It was putrid. My vet found he had extensive dental damage - his teeth were so rotted that there was infectious matter all throughout his oral cavity. That was the reason for the smell. He had to have all but 5 teeth pulled and now his breath is great!

I also heard of a Lab once who had a foul odor coming from its mouth - turned out there was a stick wedged toward the back of its throat up in the hard palate which caused an infection.


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

*update*

I spent another $30 on a gel (after buying toothpaste and a brush) that is supposed to be used 3 times a week to help with bad breath. That didn't work either. Our pet food supply store suggested trying raw. I tried it and the bad breath is gone. I called a golden retriever breeder who is friends with our breeder as she feeds raw. She gave me her "recipe" and told me to buy the book "The Holistic Guide to a Healthy Dog". I am following that program for now and will see how it goes. So far it's going great. No more bad breath, no more eye guck in the morning, she seems to have more energy and was RUNNING in the house last evening - something she has never done. We have only seen this girl with the "zoomies" a handful of times and she's 2.5 yrs old. I didn't think that was normal. Obviously she is feeling better these days.


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## alliegirl (Oct 26, 2007)

I tried Allie on Innova EVO and she got very stinky breath from it. I put her back on Nature's Variety.


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