# Nasty breath on raw fed dog...



## arooroomom

My newest rescue is a (now) year old red & white Siberian. His name is Rodeo. We have been... through the mill with him to say the least. Finally after trying those stupidly expensive premades we found a protein that worked. So he is a Lamb/ Venison guy. Thankfully we have since found a no nonsense source of Venison (although it is ground) but no matter... At least he is eating and is finally healthy.

My question is... His breath. It REEKS. The smell I can't even fully describe it. It's almost like a urine/iron/feces smell. It's disgusting. He has very little tartar buildup between his back molars so I am thoroughly confused. I don't know if it's diet related but I figured i'd ask to see if anyone had any input. He's had this as long as I can remember. I believe his intolerance is to chicken (even raw) and pretty much any kibble... What kind of bone can I feed him that he can eat fully (not just gnaw on) to help combat the ground meat?

The background I have:
He is a Petland puppy (puppy store for those unfamiliar) who I acquired at animal control @ 5 months old.


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## DaneMama

What does his overall diet look like? And I mean everything....supplements, treats, etc. 

Well, my first advice would be to ditch the ground altogether. Ground meats carry heavier loads of bacteria...so over time they aren't ideal. 

Can you find whole cuts of venison with bone in? Like ribs so that the bone is actually edible?


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## wolfsnaps88

Is it anal gland smell? Do you know what that smells like? It is horrid. I am having this problem with one of my dogs too.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma

Buck gets what we call "carcass breath". Typically, when his breath starts to smell like death it is caused by a hunk of meat stuck in his teeth WAAAAY in the back. Six times out of ten I can actually find the hunk of meat and pull it out. Other times it's likely somewhere I just can't see it. Usually an RMB will do the trick, especially something really complex that makes him use every tooth he's got. If that doesn't take care of it, a good, old fashioned tooth brushing toes the trick. I don't use the "toothpaste" either. I just use the brush to scrub around back there to loosen up whatever's causing the stink.


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## arooroomom

DaneMama said:


> What does his overall diet look like? And I mean everything....supplements, treats, etc.
> 
> Well, my first advice would be to ditch the ground altogether. Ground meats carry heavier loads of bacteria...so over time they aren't ideal.
> 
> Can you find whole cuts of venison with bone in? Like ribs so that the bone is actually edible?


We are finishing off the premades made by primal so he's getting an 8oz patty and about 12 oz venison/bone grind. Sometimes some pumpkin if his stool is off and ACV, coconut oil, and fish oil.

Unforunately "ditching" the grinds isn't possible. We live in very populated south Florida where things like Venison are not popping up around all the time. I have seen lamb but i'm not paying $4/lb+ for him to eat a whole piece of meat lol

I can't even really accurately describe the smell... It smells like a combo of urine and blood.


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## BeagleCountry

arooroomom said:


> It smells like a combo of urine and blood.


Venison and lamb both have a strong odor. Beef or pork may be alternatives. Pork spare ribs and pork shoulder roast are inexpensive and often on sale. Beef ribs may be an option. Hispanic and Asian markets are often less expensive than chain grocery stores. 

Give a meaty turkey neck to see if it will remove anything that is stuck in the mouth. If not, I'd make a vet appointment. Request a senior blood panel as it is more thorough than a general blood test. The vet should thoroughly examine the mouth. Urine odor can be caused by kidney problems. Blood could be caused by a growth that is under a tooth.


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## CorgiPaws

arooroomom said:


> I can't even really accurately describe the smell... It smells like a combo of urine and blood.


Braxton has actually had this before, on and off his entire life. His teeth are pearly white and he is in really good health, so I don't give it too much thought. 
Honestly, if his oral health is in tip top shape, and it otherwise healthy, funky breath doesn't really concern me too much.


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## Neeko

I knew a dog that had rotten breath for a couple years. It would knock you over from across the room. She was never spayed. She never had puppies, but her owners never had her fixed. She developed pyometra. Had emergency surgery, and survived. Her breath never reeked again. They did NOT do a cleaning with her surgery. It was a very strange thing.

On a side note, I work with a couple of people whose breath is so offensive, to me anyway, I can't even be facing them when they are speaking to me in close proximity.


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## shellbell

Cabo had bad breath when we first switched to raw. When I started feeding tripe, that seemed to help tremendously.


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## Unosmom

Uno has the same issue, I cant smell it every time, but its pretty bad when he yawns in my face in the morning. It always has this metallic, almost anal gland smell which is weird. His teeth are pretty clean, so I'm not sure what it could be.


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## CoverTune

My dogs still had pretty bad breath for the first few months they were on raw. It's been almost 5 months now, and the stink is gone!


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## Kitkat771

I am new to all of this so I may not be of much help. However, I also feed my dogs pre-made raw with a combination of RMB. I feed Bravo. I started a little over a month ago. My dogs breath has actually improved since then. I also do the ACV, fish oil, and coconut oil. In addition to those I add probiotics...not sure if that makes a difference with the breath. I think plain yogurt does the same thing. My dogs were previously on antibiotics for gastro intestinal infections so I've been adding in the probiotics for that reason.


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## SaharaNight Boxers

Morning breath for dogs maybe?


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## Liz

If he has been on raw for a while I would suspect a lingering systemic infection - low grade but persistent. If he has been on raw say less than 9 months it may just be more detox as it doesn't sound like he had the greatest of starts. Glad he is with you now.


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## JoeynZoey

Zoey's breath is horrible as well, she's been raw fed for about 3 years now. It's horrible in the sense that, yawning and sometimes barking, will releases that awful smell. Of course, me personally opening her mouth is another issue for the smell. Her teeth look white and healthy, as is her overall condition. I don't supplement with anything other then ACV. I've even asked on this board, to a couple of members, what could be causing this and if I should be worried. So at this point, it's something I just no longer really worry about as long as everything else is fine with her.


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## MollyWoppy

Have you had blood work done on him? I've read that problems with the kidneys and liver can result in bad breath. 
Also, have a look and see if you can find a raw co-op in your city, http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/raw-feeding/1647-raw-feeding-co-op-list.html maybe you can find a source of lamb or venison necks a bit cheaper than the supermarket.


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## KittyKat

Yeah I would think kidney or liver issue also.


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## arooroomom

We had blood work done some months ago. Maybe 3-4 months ago?
This is the full story... Around thanksgiving he began to act ill. He was on kibble at the time. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. He began to get progressively sick and would scream out in pain and have difficulty getting up. No one could figure what was wrong with him. I put him on pmr with the others and was eating a diet of chicken and pork. I'm pretty sure his breath was stinky then. 

Nothing was getting better. We did blood work and everything came back completely normal besides his eosinophils which were super high. As a last resort before shelling out a few hundred for a neurologist consult I picked up natures variety venison and lamb premades. I kid you not within 8 hours he was different. Over the next 2 weeks he went from near death to finally gaining weight back. He hadn't cried out in pain since a day or 2 into the patties. 

After a month or so I tried to weN him slowly back to kibble and it wasn't taking. Which is what prompted me to keep looking for a cheaper source of venison. The closest co-op is in Orlando. They give you a days notice. I have a big pickup and live 5 hours from it. It's not feasable. 

I'm hoping a few more months on raw and it will go away. I'll try the turkey necks see if the rmb will help... I'm just so nervous he'll get sick again. I don't know if I mentioned it but he just turned a year on the 10th so hes very young.


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## MollyWoppy

Yeah, the Orlando one has just had a delivery. I didn't get anything as she was only doing whole cases. I've only got a smallish freezer and 1 smallish dog. Where abouts (generally) are you located? There's another girl on here who is in Naples and she's had a few deliveries from the Orlando raw feeders one too, said the meat was fabulous, but she only got about an hours notice for a 2 hour plus drive to do a pickup.


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## arooroomom

MollyWoppy said:


> Yeah, the Orlando one has just had a delivery. I didn't get anything as she was only doing whole cases. I've only got a smallish freezer and 1 smallish dog. Where abouts (generally) are you located? There's another girl on here who is in Naples and she's had a few deliveries from the Orlando raw feeders one too, said the meat was fabulous, but she only got about an hours notice for a 2 hour plus drive to do a pickup.


I'm in Davie. Which is close to Ft. Lauderdale if you don't know the area.


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## sandra0606

The reason he is having a bad breath is because he might be eating his own poop. It can also be because of tartar build up or tooth decay, for tartar build up you can use dog paste and also give him something to chew on n if he is suffering from decay take him to vet immediately.


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## magicre

bad breath can signify a few things.....

if he's had stomach troubles, perhaps a decent probiotic might help...

if he has gum disease or a cavity, then a good dental workup might be in order

even if you have to stick with grinds, there is a good possibility that the food is getting caught between his teeth and well, rotting....

if he is a puppy mill dog, then he may well need some extra help in the way of supplementation.


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