Why does my dog's breath smell so bad? What are the common causes?

I recommend getting her seen by your vet for an oral exam. There may be some hidden oral disease you cannot see, she may have a tumor or polyp somewhere in her mouth or nasal passages, kidney disease can cause bad breath, there are a number of possibilities. You vet will do a thorough exam, possibly bloodwork and based on these results, be better able to tell you what is going on with your dog and how best to treat it.

Yes, this can be a sign that something is wrong with Daisy's mouth causing this smell, but it could also be due to something she is eating. Eating poop is common in puppies, and this will cause bad breath. I'd have her seen by a vet for this bad breath.

The foul odor is most likely related to dental disease and infection. It is likely that Lila has dental disease as this is very common in Yorkies. You should have her examined by your veterinarian so a dental procedure can be scheduled. Many times this dental infection requires the extraction of teeth to fully resolve the issue. Dental infection is painful and can lead to other systemic issues so I'd recommend having Lila checked out soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Dogs with bad breath usually have terrible teeth...ie their teeth are full of tartar which harbors gas producing bacteria and that stinks. These bacteria also cause severe gingivitis (inflamed gums) which allows the bacteria to enter the blood stream and eventually cause heart and kidney problems. Another reason for bad breath could be a tooth root abscess, a wound in the oral cavity and renal failure. Please take Voodoo to a veterinarian for an exam to find the cause of the bad breath. Treatment can then be initiated, ie a dental cleaning, antibiotics to kill those bacteria and/or early detection of renal failure.

The most common reason we will see a dog suddenly develop bad breath would be that something abnormal is stuck somewhere in their mouth (such as a stick or piece of food) or they have a tooth root infection under the gum, so it is not visible. Doxycyline is actually used to treat pockets of infection under the gum and to help control periodontal disease, so I would not expect that to cause any problems with bad breath. I would start with having your veterinarian perform a thorough oral examination to see if they can find any hints of what is going on with Scout. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Halitosis is the word we use for bad breath. It is most commonly caused by dental disease. I am attaching a handout below with more information on halitosis. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=129 Since Luckyboy appears to have some pain in his mouth, I would definitely recommend having him evaluated by your veterinarian. In order to determine the severity of his dental disease, they will need to perform a dental under anesthesia so they can fully evaluate each tooth under the gumline. If they find a broken, painful or infected tooth, they will be able to remove that tooth and resolve Luckyboy's pain. I am attaching a handout below that discusses periodontal disease. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=222 Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Luckyboy will feel better soon. Thanks for using PetCoach.

You may want to have Rudy Sue examined by your vet - sometimes food or debris can accumulate near an extraction site or the sutures can break down. It’s also possible hat the bad breath is not a dental problem - dogs with chronic gastrointestinal issues can have halitosis. I have never heard reports of lung cancer causing halitosis and I think this would be much less likely.