[jamiesaari]

Please forgive me in advance for this gross question, but I am sincere in my quest to find out what the problem is.

My Yorkie/Chihuahua mix, Tika, is a complete joy and picture of health in every regard. However she has the worst breath and most rancid gas (farts) I have ever smelled in my entire life. Her bowel movements are fine in consistency but literally make me heave and almost vomit when I clean up her puppy pads. The odor has remained the same even after putting her on the best possible diet I could buy.

I have honestly never smelled anything so horrific in my life. The next step is a trip to the vet, but I am wondering if there is anything else I should try beforehand.

Here are the steps I have taken to make things better and nothing has changed in regards to the smell of her breath, gas and bowel movements. She's had it from the moment I picked her up at the humane society.

1) We adopted Tika a little over two weeks ago and took the three hour drive to Thief River Falls and three hours back to pick her up. Her stinky gas literally made us roll down our windows in the freezing cold of winter to air out the car several times as we were driving down the highway. My daughter and I laughed each time we had to roll down the window and I thought a healthy diet would make things more bearable.

2) Although I was given a large bag of Iams food when I adopted her, I opted to feed her the highest-end dog food I could find. The brand is "Ultra - Nature's Very Best Ingredients Ultra Holistic Nutrition" canned food and dry food that I mix together myself.

Ingredients for the soft food include:

chicken broth, chicken, live, potato starch, lamb liver, turkey, salmon, lamb, plasma, dried egg white solids, carrots, salt, flaxseed, peas, guar gum, whole brown rice, sunflower oil, natural flavour, herring meat, dried plain beet pulp, ground rice cranberry meal, dried egg product, calcium carbonate, dried kelp, tricalcium phosphate, fish oil, sodium carbonate, sodium ascorbate, vitamin E supplement.

Ingredients for the dry food include:

chicken meal, whole brown rice, rice bran, lamb meal, poultry fat, ground rice, sunflower oil (preserved with vitamin E), flaxseed, natural mixed flavours, dried plan beet pulp, poultry alfalfa meal, salmon meal, oatmeal, tomato pomace, fish oil, potassium chloride, cranberry powder, dried egg product, l-lysine, proteinate, choline chloride, dried kelp meal, zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate ...

3) She does not get table scraps and occassionally gets Trumps Liver Treats for Dogs (both chicken and bacon flavour).

4) I have been brushing her teeth every day with doggie toothpaste and her teeth are in good shape. I finish the brushing with a squirt of pet breath spray.

5) I put a couple drops of breath freshener into her water. The brand is "Pro Plus Breath Check" drops.

6) She is bathed about once a week with an oatmeal based shampoo

7) When she was seized from an abusive home, she had a very bad infestation of fleas that they had to treat numerous times before she was ready for adoption.

Any advice or tips before we go to the vet? I want to have tried absolutely everything before I take her to the vet.

Thanks ...