My 6th month old cocker spaniel has smelly breath?

All dogs have bad breath at some point.

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With such a young dog, I wouldn’t think it would be mouth problems (teeth, gums etc.) and I am guessing you have been to the vets, so they would have checked for underlying health problems. Could it be what you are feeding him? Perhaps try a different diet? If it doesn’t clear up, I would go and see the vet again, just to be sure there isn’t anything else going on.

I would guess diet. Many canned and dry foods can cause it. It is a good idea to consider a raw diet. You can read about it here.

The other thing to check is sometimes pups don’t lose puppy teeth but adult teeth come in behind. When this happens food can be trapped inbetween and become malodorous. Check his mouth, this usually happens with the canines.

Get him a bone to chew. That should help remove plaque. It is probably his soft food.

”# Chicken and pork-chop bones are not recommended at all. They do splinter and can get lodged in the intestines.

# Always feed fresh bones raw and avoid cooking due to splintering.

# Use common sense when it comes to the size of your dog and the size of the bone. Never give a large dog a tiny bone that he can choke on. Make sure the bone is two times larger than his mouth.

# Avoid the round steak bones completely. These can easily get lodged around the eye teeth.

# ONLY GIVE YOUR DOG A BONE WHEN YOU ARE THERE TO SUPERVISE.”

The best bones are beef or buffalo marrow bones. You can get them at places they sell up-scale dog food.

A great way to freshen your dogs breath, enhance his immunity and improve his health would be to add probiotics to his diet.

Also, you should feed only a grain-free diet. Grains encourage yeast growth. Yeast growth=Bad health and ill smelling breath.

He could have a piece of yuck stuck under his gums or between his teeth. We humans floss and you know how yuck it smells if you pull something out from between that’s been there a few days. Just imagine how it is for dogs that don’t get floss or brush. Give him the best quality dried kibble you can find and also shank bone now and then you can watch over.

Here are my thoughts on the bone situation. Raw chicken is fine, although there is a tad more danger with weight bearing bones, better off with neck, wings or the whole frame than legs or thighs, but many feed those successfully as well.

It is the same with beef, lamb etc. weight bearing bones are not as desirable. In large livestock they are generally too hard to actually be chewed so there is no cleansing action for the teeth and they are extremely hard. Also if they get too much marrow and they are not used to it, it generally means a case of the trots. My akita actually broke a molar chewing on a cow leg marrow bone a neighbor gave him (raw) without consulting me first. I give my neck bones, full of meat and soft enough to digest.

Try Milkbone dog biscuits for puppies! They are wonderful treats that not only freshen puppies breath, but are also excellent treats to use when trying to teach them tricks.