Why a Dog Has Bad Breath After Running
Dog bad breath is not a laughing matter especially because it may be a sign of some serious medical condition that the pet may have. However, there are some cases that are temporary and should not be much of a concern for a dog owner.
One such occasion is when a dog has bad breath after running. This can be possibly attributed to excessive drooling on the part of the dog while running.
Here are some tips on how to resolve this problem in a dog.
Make brushing your dog’s teeth a habit. Most cases of bad breath are a result of improper oral dog hygiene. Because your dog cannot properly take care of itself, the responsibility falls on the owner. Brush your dog’s teeth daily if the bad breath continues. If not, brushing it 2-3 times a week would surely help.
Mixing some water rinse into your dog’s water may actually help to keep its fresh sweet smelling. It is important also to feed your dog hard food rather than soft and wet food. The hard variety helps to scrape the dog’s teeth and mouth free from bacteria and plaque while the soft and wet ones tends to get stuck in between the dog’s teeth and mouth. Raw food is best in the opinion of many experts.
It is also important to take your dog to the vet for an annual check up. That way, the vet will be able to keep track of the dog’s progress and possible diseases. So to speak, if there is a problem the vet will be able to cut the problem at its root.
If these tips do not help with the problem then it could be a case of some medical issues that the vet must look at. Here are some possible medical conditions that may be responsible for the foul smelling breath.
Gingivitis- This is easily detected because of the redness and swelling coupled with some bleeding in the dog’s gums. A healthy dog’s gums are pinkish. If the gums turn red and swollen then this is a warning sign that gingivitis has crept in. Bad breath also starts to manifest in the dog’s mouth.
Periodontitis- This is an acute and worse condition of gingivitis because it is accompanied by bone loss. Also, some teeth will have to be extracted from the dog’s teeth thus causing more pain for the dog. Before gingivitis becomes worse, it is better to take care of the problem. Besides, it might place the dog in some serious medical danger.
There are other more serious diseases in dogs that may be responsible for bad breath. This can be anything from kidney disease to liver damage as well as diabetes.
A vet will surely be able to diagnose the problem better than anyone else. He can do anywhere from a full dental check up to a dental x-ray. In time, the dog will be running around without any foul breath in its breath.