A very gross question ... (please forgive me) 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 ... |
Oh boy - :lol tears :lol tears :lol tears sorry, but you gave me a good chuckle. Ok, seriously, the food you are feeding sounds good. You said she 'had' gas before she started eating the new food. Hmmmm - I wonder what it could be? My boy had horrible gas - very stinky - when he ate 'dog food'. I now home cook and no more stinky gas. They still have some stinky breath, but I don't think I can fix that. I am curious to see what others say.... |
I'm curious too ... LOL But honestly there is a major difference between regular "doggy breath" and Tika's bad breath. If she's sitting on the other end of the couch I can smell her bad breath from there. And if she passes gas, most people clear the room ... LOL It's just hard to believe that such a cute, little sweetheart can stink so bad. She's just over three pounds and the sweetest, most beautiful little thing. |
maybe it would be worth researching a raw diet? |
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Something in her food is causing the tremendous amount of gas. So even though the food she is currently may be good, something isn't agreeing with her insides. I don't know what kind of foods you have where you are, but for a brief moment I had my on raw food. I wish I could go back, but b/c mine have liver issues I have to have them on a special diet. Anyway, raw feeders have no stinky breathe or gas. It might be worth it to research it a bit and see if it's a route to go. :) |
It still may be her food that is not agreeing with her. There are a lot of great holistic dog foods out there but no every one of them agrees with every dog. My cocker spaniel Peppi would pass bad gas all the time. She got the nickname "old fart" pretty quickly, lol. We tried out different foods and realized that some foods even though they were still very healthy great holistic foods would just disagree with her. She is now on Canidae which at this point is agreeing with her. It was just a matter of finding the right food for her. As for the stinky breath I would have her gums and teeth checked out. Usually a bad odor means something is wrong with their teeth or gums. Her teeth may look healthy but there may be an underlying problem that only you vet will be able to detect. |
:goodpost: I agree, the stinky breath could be dental disease which isn't visible when you brush. As for the other end of stinky, her body may not be able to process something in the food. For example how some humans are lactose intolerant and get really bad gas. Maybe you should try an elimination diet, to pin point what could be causing the stinky reaction. |
Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to research to find out where I can buy raw dog food and will give that a try. I'm assuming there are dog food manufacturers that sell raw food. |
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Aunt Jenni's Bravo Primal ...just to name a few :D |
Well, she had stinky breath and bad gas when you got her. Have your vet run some tests...maybe she has some type of bacteria growing in her stomach lining that could be the cause for both. Good luck! |
Check your local pet boutique/store they may all ready carry it. The pet boutique I go to has 3 freezers each carrying a different brand. |
This is a link to a site for the raw food I hear mentioned most often. There's a search engine where you can look for a retailer in your area. http://www.naturesvariety.com/conten...87C9jsu42351B5 |
There are a few smaller pet stores in Wpg that sell raw food. Friends of ours had their two shnauzers on the diet, so if you would like the name of where they purchased, let me know. Also, our Vet has a dietitician as well as a holistic vet on staff so maybe they might able to troubleshoot for you. Again, let me know if you would like their names. Lorraine and the MonkeyBoyz Sedrick and Doogan |
Since she was seized from an abusive home, she was most likely eating a new diet in her temporary home, which her system probably wasn't wasn't use to yet (which is why she had gas when you got her).... and now she's on a new diet, which could be the cause of her gas now. When I change my dogs over to a new dog food, I try to do it slowly, but they usually get softer stools and gas. As soon as they are use to the new diet, the gas goes away, and their poo gets "normal" again. So, there's always the chance that her system just needs a little time to get use to things. I hope for your noses' sake, and the sake of her tummy, that you figure it out soon. :D |
Obnoxious Pup What we - or for that matter anybody - exhale & exhaust is a direct result of what we ingest. The bad breath is a symptom of pure, high & sheer acidity. So is the gas / farting. The detailed diet hardly has any veg component and is full of non-veg stuff. This is a glaring example of the impurity of the non-veg stuff that you are stuffing down the poor things's throat. My simple suggestion... totally change the diet... feed the animal only veg stuff and milk... without any salt & sugar please.. and see the change within a week You are fortunate that the cute thing is totally co-operative. After 13 years' of patience my pomrador still does not allow us to brush him or handle him the way we wish to and for every small thing we have to sedate him. Best of luck --The torture of experience is not available on a floppy that can be transferred with the click of a mouse !!! |
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