Breathtaking Dog? How To Make Your Dog Smell Good

People love their dogs but often hate the way their dogs smell. Unfortunately, your dog can do very little to change how it smells. To make your dog smell good, you need to understand what causes a dog’s bad breath or body odor and what you can do about it.

How to Make Your Dog’s Breath Smell Good

Many (and I mean many) years ago, there was a toothpaste advertising jingle on television that went something like this:

“He said that she said that he has halitosis. She said that he said it’s true of some girls too.”

And bad breath is something almost all dogs have at one time or another. Sometimes, their breath is so bad that it seems to fill up the entire room.   

What Causes a Dog’s Bad Breath?

The primary cause of bad breath in dogs is a disease caused by the build-up of plaque and tartar. If their teeth are not cared for properly, they may even develop a periodontal disease like humans. Less common, your dog may have a systemic illness like liver or kidney disease.

If your dog’s bad breath is caused by periodontal or another disease, you will need to seek the advice of a veterinarian. But there are some things you can do to help prevent periodontal disease and other causes of bad breath.

Brush Your Dog’s Teeth

This is not a happy activity for your dog. Sometimes, he may not open up and will give you a hard time. There are dog toothbrushes available in pet stores.

Never use human toothpaste when brushing your dog’s teeth. Only use toothpaste made especially for dogs.

Some dogs are just too tricky with brushing their teeth. If you have difficulty touching your dog’s teeth, you can ask for his Vet’s help so that cleaning will still be applied now and then. Also, tartar build-up and plaque will be removed by the Vet even with an anesthetic if required.

Chew Sticks May Help Make Your Dog Smell Good

Rumination is your dog’s natural way of cleaning his teeth as it improves oral circulation. There are dog treats that also have a pleasing taste, which removes plaques and tartar build-up. His Vet can recommend healthy and healthy chewing treats for dental problems in dogs.  Proper dental care is key to make your dog smell good.

Although hordes of dental chews are available for your dog, you should check what’s incorporated in the chew treats and have breath-freshening ingredients like cinnamon, clove, and chlorophyll.

There is also available dental water that your puppy can drink safely, and it also has chlorophyll plus other harmless ingredients that are sure to fight bad breath in your dog.

Dental Exams

The Vet can catch any issues that may start with your dog’s oral health. By taking him to get checked, you prevent many problems later on. Your pup can also get the proper cleaning under the Vet’s care.

You can do the dental check-up, depending on the schedule that the Vet will recommend. Make sure that you follow it. Your dog, like humans, also feels pain when something is wrong with its teeth. You will notice their lack of appetite and not being interested in doing their daily activity; they are grumpy and will not chew on anything you offer them. You and your Vet will prevent such from happening.

Proper Diet

Your Vet can suggest some dog food to prevent your dog from having foul breath. A dog food formulation is available that includes dental care while giving your dog the nutrients he needs. Some dog food manufacturers also made the kibble bigger, so the dogs will crunch on the dog food while removing the tartar.

They also formulate some dog foods with Vitamin C and E, added antioxidants to the mix, plus additional fiber.

Vegetables Make Your Dog Smell Good

One way to make your dog smell good is to feed it foods known to cure bad breath in dogs, such as slices of carrots and apples. Half a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with water can help to freshen their breath. Vinegar is not just beneficial to humans but also to dogs. It helps in fighting plaque build-up while keeping your dog’s breath fresh.

You may think your dog is harmlessly running outside your house, playing in your backyard. You don’t know that he may rummage in the garbage can while you are not looking. Make sure he is not eating unhealthy snacks in your backyard because that will not make your dog smell good. There are different unsavory items that he can chew on, such as spoiled food and garbage, and he may even drink water somewhere.

Parsley is commonly found in your kitchen, and this is safe to feed your dog. At the same time, it has natural breath fresheners beneficial to make your dog smell good. Double-check the parsley, though, since there is a type of curly-leaf parsley toxic to dogs.

We also know yogurt remedies lousy breath in dogs. You can add plain yogurt to your dog’s food or just let him feed on it occasionally. Although, ingredients can be harmful to your dogs, such as xylitol, when used in sugar substitutes and added to some flavored yogurt. Make sure that you only give him plain yogurt.

Ear Infections May Cause A Bad Smell

You may think that if it is just the ear that is infected, the smell should be coming off from that part of his body. The thing is, when his ear is infected, the smell gets so strong that it seems like it is his entire body that smells funky. You will notice this more on dogs with long hair or fluffy ears.

Dog ears require scheduled cleaning and can gain bacteria and yeast that usually causes these infections. Moreso, with dogs with fluffy ears, the excess growth of fur can increase yeast’s probability of thriving. Ensure that you check your dog’s ears from time to time and keep them cleaned and dry after bathing. Trimming excess hair surrounding or covering the ear area is also ideal.

Skin Infections

Some dog breeds smell more than others. They are Sharpei’s, Pugs, Yorkies, Cocker Spaniels, and St. Bernard, to name a few. Some are caused by the type of skin they have when it is wrinkly, and there are folds in the skin that create an environment for microbes, yeast, or bacteria to grow.

These organisms are the culprit in producing toxins that irritate and inflame your dog’s skin. If left unattended for a long time, it can lead to infection.

You should also notice your dog’s frequent itching, chewing, and licking on his skin. These are signs that he’s got irritated skin. If your dog keeps on doing this to himself, it can traumatize their skin further enough to cause damage to the skin, allowing bacteria to penetrate that will soon cause the stinky smell in your doggo.

Inspecting your dog’s skin is a start so that you can check for any changes to it. If you notice any skin rashes, feel any dampness, or see any sores, bumps, or scabs, take him to his Vet, who can give him the correct diagnosis and proper treatment.  Preventing skin problems will help make your dog smell good.

Anal Glands

Have you ever noticed when your dog scoots his bottom on the floor? The anal sacs can become impacted, and this will cause severe discomfort to your dog and give off a malodorous smell as the secretions from the anal sacs stick to his fur or his behind. This part of your puppy will not make your dog smell good.

It will give off a smell of a wound that is not healing or a smell of feces that hasn’t been cleaned, and its scent is quite offending. Get an appointment quickly since an anal gland infection also causes your dog pain. Your Vet may give him antibiotics, treat the impaction, and remove the abscess if present.  To make your dog smell good, keep its anal glands clean.

Food Pads

The dog’s footpads have glands that produce dog odor, and if your dog smells strongly compared to other dogs, you may have to do something about this.  Stinky food pads will not make your dog smell good.

Inspect your doggo’s paw and see if there are any cuts or breaks on his toes or footpad. If there are no signs of such, then it must be a natural smell that your dog has. It might be punctured and get infected.

You can lessen the smell by spraying his footpad with one part of water, apple cider vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide. Then wipe it dry.

This is fine if your dog allows his footpad to get soaked in the solution. Just dry his paw after washing it for three to five minutes.

Kidney Disease

If your dog can no longer eliminate waste products from their bloodstream, this will cause an ammonia-like smell to emanate from him. Their breath stinks as well, badly. They liken it to a metallic smell that is so strong you can smell it from your dog quickly.

If your dog can no longer flush out the toxins from his body, he will also show increased thirst and urination symptoms. He needs a professional to assess the damage to his kidney so that the proper diet and right treatment will be given to your puppy, plus they will prescribe him medicines to help with his kidney disease.

Grooming May Help

• Grooming and bathing your dog regularly is the key to make your dog smell good. As long as you are sure it is not connected to any health issues, keeping him clean can stop him from having that stinking smell. Dry his fur after bathing him as wet fur can increase an organism’s chances of flourishing.
• Combing and brushing also help in keeping your dog’s fur clean all the time. Trim anal fur may cause their poop to get caught, which also causes a disgusting smell. He checks his inner ear for hair and removes this as this may also cause ear irritation that eventually leads to infection.
• Choose dog bathing products beneficial to his skin health. Also, make sure his Vet approves it.
• Use dog deodorants, fresheners, and body sprays recommended by his Vet, so you are sure that this is helping and will not further aggravate your dog’s smell.

Ensure you have your beloved pooch regularly checked by his Vet. Doing so may prevent any smelly problems before it starts and help make your dog smell good.