What Causes Puppy Breath?
The majority of the time, pet breath is nothing to get too happy about. However, whether you still consider it stinky or consider it cute, puppy breath, combined with little waggy tails, remains something that is almost universally considered adorable.
So how come ‘puppy breath’ smells the way it does? Why do puppies lose this breath as they get older? What actually causes puppy breath?
The Ins and Outs of Puppy Breath
Puppy breath is recognized as having an almost coffee-like sweet smell, especially when compared to adult dogs. We don’t know exactly why this is the case, but there are a number of possibilities.
For starters, small puppies are normally either still drinking their mother’s milk, which has a naturally sweet smell, or they are eating puppy food which is soft and contains enzymes that make it easy to digest. However, this sweet-smelling puppy breath often continues for a while after weaning
Another possible cause of puppy breath smell could be that their digestive systems haven’t fully developed yet and the valves on their little esophaguses don’t function properly yet.. This allows some of the smell of the digesting milk and food to contribute to their sweet breath.
One of the major causes of bad-smelling breath in adult dogs is bad dental hygiene. Impacted teeth, plaque, gum disease, and other issues with your dog’s teeth can contribute to bad breath.
Puppies don’t normally have this issue, as they’ve probably recently stopped teething and their teeth are still clean and fresh. They also tend to chew a lot, which helps them remove plaque and keep their teeth safe from disease.
If your puppy’s breath suddenly sours, then they may have gotten sick, or eaten something foul - like poop - which is mostly normal.
How Long Does Puppy Breath Last?
Generally, puppy breath lasts until the dog is around 6 months old. It is strongest when the puppy is very young, and will gradually disappear over time.
However, it's not a sharp decline from puppy breath into bad breath. There are some things you can do to try and preserve the freshness. Your dog may not have puppy breath anymore, but there’s no need for your adult dog to stink.
How To Deal With Adult Dog’s Bad Breath
According to Vet Patrick von Heimendahl of the AMV, the most common causes of bad breath in dogs are: [1]
- A poor diet. A poor diet can affect your dog’s digestive system and have an impact on their breath
- Bad Oral Hygiene. A buildup of plaque and gunk on your dog’s teeth could easily be a cause of smelly breath.
- Chewing. All dogs chew, but chewing certain objects, like old, dirty toys, or eating non-food items could damage teeth and negatively impact your dog’s breath.
- Digestive or organ problems. Issues further down the digestive tract, such as gastrointestinal issues, can be the cause. More rare issues like kidney disease or dehydration may also play a role.
What To Do About Bad Dog Breath In Dogs
As mentioned, bad breath can have a lot of different causes. Even small things such as how hydrated your dog is, what they’ve recently eaten, and so on can occasionally cause some nasty breath. But if bad dog breath is a consistent issue, then it may be time to intervene.
Diet
Assuming your dog is still young and has adult teeth, you can try a balanced dental-friendly diet.[2] This can include giving your dog raw bones to chew on (not cooked bones, as these can splinter and stab gums).
A dental-friendly diet can also include teeth-cleaning foods such as cored apples or pumpkins. These not only clean the teeth but also provide healthy antioxidants for gum protection. Certain fermented foods such as kefir and yogurt can also help create a good microbiome in your dog’s mouth and help fight disease-causing bacteria.
Dental Health
Special dental chew toys are specially made for cleaning teeth and gums and freshening breath. Giving them to your dog on occasion can help fight periodontal disease.
Otherwise, you can try brushing your dog’s teeth yourself or scheduling them for a cleaning at the vet.
It is best to start training your dog to be comfortable with teeth brushing when they’re still puppies, but even older dogs can get used to it. It will probably take some training and adjusting, but providing lots of praise and treats will help.
You may use a normal toothbrush, but only use dog toothpaste, as human toothpaste may cause distress and upset stomachs if swallowed. It is recommended to start at the back teeth and move forward in circular motions. Only the ‘outside’ of the teeth normally need to be cleaned in dogs, unless recommended otherwise by a vet.
Vet Care
If you think your dog’s breath smells very weird, or if the smell is consistently bad for more than a few days then it may be a good idea to get everything checked out.
A vet will be able to confirm that there are no abscesses, periodontal disease, or any of the other possible causes. Since bad breath can be an early warning sign of some more severe health issues, it can be good to check.
Early intervention saves lives.
Conclusion
We don’t know exactly where puppy breath comes from, but we know it lasts for around 6 months and tends to smell better than grown-up dogs’ breath.
Possible causes could be their developing digestive systems, the fact that they drink milk and soft food diets, the constant chewing from teething keeping their teeth clean, and the lack of mouth bacteria.
Common reasons a dog’s breath may stink include having a poor diet, plaque and bacteria buildup, chewing and eating dirty objects, periodontal diseases, and some forms of gastrointestinal and kidney disease.
While there's nothing you can do to prolong puppy breath, you can keep older dogs smelling fresh by providing proper oral hygiene in the form of a balanced diet, tooth brushing, veterinary care, and dental-care treats.
If you are worried about how much your puppy chews, especially expensive products like leashes, consider switching to a harness. Harnesses are safer on small puppy necks and keep the leash far away from those sweet mouths.
If you would like to see some harnesses, check out Sparkpaws’ Comfort Control No-Pull Dog Harness collection for a number of safe and stylish harness options.
Happy walking!
Ext Links