My dog has bad body odor, gas, and stinky breath. Will changing food help?

Gizzy is adorable! Thanks for including a picture! You didn't mention if the gas or diet was a recent change, but if the diet is the same and the gas and eating stool is new, then it certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to have your veterinarian examine Gizzy just to be on the safe side. There are a large number of reasons that dogs will eat their own stool. I am attaching a link to a handout that discusses that in more detail below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1613 There are food additives that you can use for this problem, but if Gizzy's diet has not changed recently, then it would be worth having your vet look for a reason for this behavioral change. If your vet examines Gizzy and does not find any medical cause for his problems, certainly a diet change is a good thing to try. I have been pleased with Wellness Senior and Orijen Senior if you are looking for a senior dog food. Be sure to transition slowly to a new diet to prevent an upset stomach. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Change his diet to boiled chicken and rice a GI formukabsince it is easy to digest. You can also add a probiotic to the food to help replenish the good, normal bacteria. If this does not help you can try gas x. If it continues then I would consider a check for parasites and blood work to make sure oral medicine is it needed

If he is a young dog it is possible that he has a mild food allergy or an easily upset stomach (sometimes this is irritable bowl syndrome). Typically strong smelling gas in from the diet. I think slowly switching Ziggys food to maybe a different protein source of purina would help calm down or stop the gas. However, if you want to try an over the counter probiotic every day in the food and see if helping the good bacteria grow improved the gas. Do not forget to have a fecal checked for parasites just incase! hope that helps

Without seeing Diesel it is hard to say. I would first make sure he is intestinal parasite free. There a several different parasites and there is not one deworming medicine that treats them all. I recommend bringing a stool sample to your vet to look at under the microscope. Otherwise the issues could be coming from his food. Make sure you are feeding a high quality puppy food like Iams, Science Diet/Hills, or Purina One. Good luck and kisses to Diesel!

I am sorry to hear about Chico's current condition. Based on the clinical signs you have described, two top differentials come to mind. The first one is dental disease. This causes a wretched odor to emanate from the mouth and when bad enough, will make a dog not want to eat anything at all. The pain can be quite severe in some cases. The inability to defecate may actually be a indication that Chico hasn't been eating and doesn't have to go. The other differential that comes to mind is kidney disease. When kidney disease becomes severe, dogs can develop something known as a uremic scent from their mouth. It also causes anorexia, and subsequently, lack of defecation. I would definitely have Chico taken to the vet sometime soon for both an oral exam and some blood work. Best of luck with him!

Hi there. I suggest you use a probiotic for Bentley. Fortiflora is my favorite but you can use any probiotic made for dogs (no human products or dairy). I would give it daily for one month to see if there are any changes. The probiotic adds "good bacteria" to his intestinal tract that may quiet the gas. The box of Fortiflora contains 30 doses. https://www.amazon.com/Purina-Fortiflora-Canine-Nutritional-Supplement/dp/B001650NNW/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1513899555&sr=1-1&keywords=fortiflora Now, that being said, a very common reason for young dogs to have bad gas is parasites (like roundworms). So, I suggest you speak to your vet about deworming him. Finally, diet recommendations for dogs with gas is a diet that is highly digestible with low fibre and low fat content. Grain or no grain has no bearing on the issue. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Even with minimal tartar buildup and gingivitis, a dog’s breath may smell without daily/regular tooth brushing (as with humans!). I recommend purchasing an enzymatic (chicken flavored) doggie toothpaste from your local pet store or veterinarian and brushing Marley’s teeth daily (with the enzymatic toothpaste he will not need to rinse and spit). I also recommend bringing him back to have his anal glands specially checked via rectal exam as vets don’t always do a rectal exam on every visit and I have seen dogs with very full anal glands that have not been scooting or licking as per the owner. Good luck!