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Boston Terrier with Bad Breath?

I have a 5 month old Boston Terrier. He has the worst breath ever! I know it can't be tooth decay because he's so young. He also drinks his urine when he's in his kennel. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me with these problems? Thanks!

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Hollie from Aliso Viejo, Ca

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November 3, 20070 found this helpful

Did you get puppy from a pet store or large breeder? This is usually a result of the dog being caged for extended periods of time in its youth and it becomes habit when they move to a better environment. Try puppy a puppy pad in the crate with him to absorb the urine. He may just also be bored, so leave a toy with him, such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. This doesn't explain the breath though, since the urine only has the bacteria the dog has in its body.

If he has tarter build up, which is improbable, but possible in a dog that young, this would make his breath stinky though. The two may be unrelated. Smaller dogs have more problems with their teeth than large dogs, especially if they eat canned food instead of dry. Pull back his lips until you can see his back teeth, that's where tarter shows up first typically. They should be uniform in color, nice and white, the gums should be a healthy pink, not light pink or red and irritated looking.

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Tarter will be a discoloration and hard, it may look like it's part of the tooth but if your thumb nail is hard enough you can chip it off the tooth.

Another possibility is the pup has a urinary infection. You can take just a sample of the urine to your vet, instead of the whole dog and paying for an office call.
Urinary problems can cause hydration issues, and the pup may feel so thirsty he drinks his own urine to alleviate that. If he has an infection that causes the thirst it can effect his breath, as well as dehydration.

Try to monitor how much water the puppy is drinking through out the day, and how often. Does he drink the bowl dry every time as soon as you refill it? If his drinking is excessive, he should go to the vet, or at least his urine should to start with.

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I hope something in all of that helps!

 

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November 3, 20070 found this helpful

Our dog has horrid breath too. We took her to the vet and had her teeth cleaned, this didn't help.

 
 
By Shadow (Guest Post)
November 3, 20070 found this helpful

My dog had the same problem until I went back to feeding Kibbles and Bits.

 

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November 5, 20070 found this helpful

Real bones from the meat department of your supermarket or butcher. Dogs who chew on real bones rarely have bad breath or yellow teeth.

 

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November 5, 20070 found this helpful

Your dog drinks urine in its cage - could it be because your Bossie is desperately bored? If you exercise him enough to wear him out to be happily tired, it will help. Chew items as described in other posts will help. Can you minimize cage time as much as possible? (see if you have a neighbor or friend who can care for him so he can play all day with their dog too).

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I think the other poster is right, this might have started in puppyhood. Is there a product you could feed to make urine smell worse to him? Try a net search for this.
The breath smell is the smell of dead infected tissues in his gums. He has a condition called periodontal disease, which can be treated and cleared up. I can be pretty confident this is it because I'm a dental hygienist (people reek too sometimes) and because it's so universally common. See your veterinarian for regular ongoing care that he and every other dog needs for minimum basic health.
I hope you can make room in the budget and time for keeping his mouth healthy, because you might feel loving toward him, but how can it be really loving him if it isn't enough to meet his needs? Real love wants to meet the needs of the loved one, right?
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Yes, I have a dog, and yes, I brush her teeth. It's one of the times in the day when we are closest. I use a very soft comfortable brush, with canned squirt cheese for toothpaste (she totally loves it). I put two fingers on her nose and gently guide her left or right as she licks the whole time, while I brush.
She sits next to me on my bed the whole time, because she loves that squirt cheese. Then I let her lick the brush a couple minutes longer. When I was first introducing the brush, I just let her lick the cheese off with no brushing, a few nights in a row. Gradually I worked up to more and more brushing, only on the outsides, without causing her to be afraid. No wrestling, no painful harsh brushing.
Her gums are pale pink and tight. Now and then while I hold a treat that she is licking, I refuse to let go of the treat and instead I open the corner of her mouth to look around a bit, and then she gets the treat.
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Don't be fooled by claims that if your dog chews this or that, a toy with bumps or a dry food or a bone, that it will brush his teeth. It wouldn't be any good on your own teeth, would it? The only thing that can brush teeth at all well is a toothbrush.
Good luck, try night after night, and remember that having healthy gums will double his lifespan!

 

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November 6, 20070 found this helpful

Petkin.com has a liguid that you put in the dog's water bowl that will help with his bad breath. You can buy it online or you can find it at the PetSmart store - possibly some other pet stores, as well. Good luck, and God bless you.

 
By (Guest Post)
December 14, 20070 found this helpful

I have a 12 week puppy with the same problem, he also drinks extreme amounts of water. I just received a call from my vet my new (12week) Min schnauzer puppy was taken this morning to the vet to get his ears cropped. When they did the blood test the kidney enzymes were elevated. They are thinking he might have some type of kidney disorder we have not went for further testing as of yet, just found out today. In my case the problem was due to kidney Problems... I would get the blood test done.

 
By Tobagotowo (Guest Post)
January 7, 20080 found this helpful

As the first responant said, kidney disease can cause bad breath and "tanking up" at the water bowl. At six years, we are suddenly faced with the knowledge that our sweetheart Boston Terrier was apparently missing one kidney completely at birth, and didn't have much of the other. Bad breath and heavy water drinking are strong signs of kidney problems. In all other ways, she seems active and normal. Get the dog's blood and urine checked. We also had a sonogram and blood pressure checked. Heartbreaking.

 
April 14, 20080 found this helpful

My Boston has just recently started having bad breath after we started the crate training. He drools so badly, from seperation anxiety, I am fairly sure he is dehydrated from it. He is around 4 years old. He was found wondering lost in my daughters neighorhood, covered with ticks and very thin, I took him in and nursed him to health. I have never been able to leave him unattended for any amount of time without coming home to either an eaten window seal, or bathroom door, or a pee stain on the rug. It looks like it is another trip to the vet.
He hates the crate btw, tries to get out of it too, by biting the wires together. Lickily his head is too big.

 

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