My dog has bad breath and sleeps a lot. Could it be kidney disease?

He may have eaten something bad or sometimes they can have stick stuck in between there teeth or on the top of their mouth. There may be an infection or an ulcer from eating something and getting a wound at some point. Kidney disease can be secondary from a infection such lepto or a toxin. However, they often feel bad. They can drink more than normal, vomit and have a poor appetite to go along with it. I would have your vet check the blood work or urine sample and examine the mouth for any wounds or infection to see if antibiotics are needed.

I'm sorry to hear that Caramel is not feeling well. The paperwork showing "female" instead of male is a typo somewhere. Nothing that was run in those tests determine's the dog's sex, so I suspect that was entered wrong at the lab. His kidney values are a bit high, but they aren't crazy high. If a urinalysis was not performed, talk to your vet about running a urinalysis as well, as this will help determine whether those values being high may be in part due to whether or not he is dehydrated (typically the "USG" or "urine specific gravity" is what we are looking for to help interpret this). You may also want to talk to your vet about an abdominal ultrasound (sonogram of the belly); having images of the kidneys and bladder as well as the rest of the abdominal organs (liver, pancreas, GI tract, spleen, adrenal glands) can be helpful in terms of what the most likely cause of his clinical signs are. Another consideration since he is "hardly able to get up" would be a painful condition that's making him not want to move; ask your vet if he seems painful anywhere. To summarize, here is what I recommend you do. Take him to your vet and ask about a urinalysis. Ask your vet if he seems painful anywhere (belly, back, neck, joints). Ask if your vet thinks he needs IV fluids. Ask about an abdominal ultrasound. Best of luck with him, I hope he feels better soon. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi there. Often, pups this age may have bad breath because they are in the process of teething - so there are traces of blood on their gums, and some inflammation due to eruption of the adult teeth. If this is the problem, it should improve on its own over the next month or two once all of the adult teeth are in. A pup this age should not have any significant tartar or periodontal disease, so this is unlikely to be the cause of the bad breath. :) You can try other types of treats designed to help with stinky breath such as Greenies or VeggieDent chews, to see if these may work better in the meantime. If the problem continues, I would recommend having him examined by a vet to make sure there is no other reason for his breath to be unusually bad, such as a GI problem or a wound or foreign body in his mouth.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Glad to talk to a fellow colleague. I think in a case like this the first thing to consider is what is causing the clinical findings. In an older Golden retriever with such a high fever, I would be very concerned about underlying causes that can cause fevers such as for example an upper urinary tract infection such as pyelonephritis which can explain both the fever and the high renal values or possibly cancer. I think further diagnostics that can be pursued include abdominal ultrasound and urine culture and susceptibility. If there is any concern for lymphoma (due to for example the presence of peripheral lymphadenopathy), I would recommend checking an ionized calcium secondary to lymphoma for example as that could explain the increased renal values and potentially the fever. A CBC would also be helpful to try to see if there is an immature neutrophilia for example that could further support an infectious disease though this can also occur due to cancer to some extent. Thorough fluid therapy is important though again, diagnostics to try to pinpoint the cause of the fever would be crucial. If you are unable to proceed with diagnostics and physical examination does not point out any other possible causes, I would consider using broad-spectrum antibiotics such as enrofloxacin and Clavamox. Best of luck! Feel free to get back to use to further discuss this case.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Buddy. My concern about his bad teeth is that they can become very painful causing him to have a loss of appetite. Without seeing him in person, I can't say what his anesthetic risk is, but if it's not bad, I would recommend having the dental work done. Have him seen by another vet for a second opinion. Best of luck.

Hello. Your blood work should have indicated if there were any kidney problems, so if nothing was said, I would rule this out. If she did well on antibiotics, but then regressed, she may need to stay on antibiotics longer. Some dogs remain on antibiotics for 6-8 weeks. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to see that Boomer is in renal failure. What I typically recommend for renal failure in dogs are the following products: 1. Rehmannia 8 liquid or tablets 2. Epakitin (to help bind excessive phosphorus) 3. Renal support by Standard Process 4. Azodyl probiotic capsules (if you are not already giving these) 5. Prescription kidney diet such as Hills K/D 6. Renal K+ 7. Anti-nausea medications (Cerenia / Zofran) Some of these are more natural products and obviously the anti-nausea medications are prescription drugs but can help keep Boomer more comfortable. I also managed a kidney failure patient who also had lymphoma with all of the above including subcutaneous fluids and also treating him twice weekly in a hyperbaric chamber. His original prognosis was 3 months and that prognosis was given 15 months ago. If you have someone in your area that has a hyperbaric chamber, you can speak with them about treating Boomer with it. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.