My blue tick has doggie breath that could strip paint of an army jeep. Anyone have a tasty biscuit recipe we can try?

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 17, 2002

Answers

jay, stop kissing the dogs!!?

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), January 17, 2002.

Tell her. She's the amoureous one. Of course , killer doggie breath is more effective than a cheap Taiwan alarm clock at 3:30 in the morning.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 17, 2002.

We got our aged weenie dog several years ago who really really really smelled BAD. Turns out she had a mouthful of rotten teeth. After a trip to the vet she went from death breath to doggie breath. If it's worse than standard dog breath you may have the same problem in your dog.

-- gita (gita@directcon.net), January 17, 2002.

Yep, time to take rover to the vet for a good teeth cleaning. Should be done annually

-- Laura (lauramleek@yahoo.com), January 18, 2002.

One of my dogs is a beagle. Oh my! Doggie halitosis! And her teeth are fine.

I've heard this is common in hound type dogs.

-- pc (pc@pc.com), January 18, 2002.

I give them raw carrots or rawhide it seems to clean there teeth and then there breath isn't so bad.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), January 18, 2002.

Believe it or not, Garlic is a great doggie breath freshener! add it to the recipe...

-- Michelle in NM (naychurs_way@hotmail.com), January 18, 2002.

I gave our dog raw carrots and it really helped the doggie breath situation. In fact she liked carrots so much, we grew them in our garden and she would dig them up and eat them. What a sight.

-- claudia in NY (cooleyville@aol.com), January 18, 2002.

Hi Jay,

Haven't tried any of these, but maybe you can.

recipes

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), January 18, 2002.

Jay,

Really bad breath in canines has several possible causes. Worms - (hookworm most likely, but roundworm and tapeworm also). I won't even go into heartworms - if you're in Alabama that dog had better be on monthly heartworm medication. Will kill ticks and fleas also! Worms will completely debilitate and even kill your dog eventually if not COMPLETELY eradicated). Smells like rotting carcass. Bad teeth - (this would be a bacterial thing, with the same ending as above) Smells like death in a jar. Sinus/ear infections - Anyone who's ever experienced either knows that the breath is absolutely putrid! Some hounds have chronic sinus dermoid infections, which require extensive, expensive but absolutely necessary treatment. Smells like something bad in the fridge.

Get your dog to the vet to benefit both of you. If he's happy and healthy, you'll be happier too! Even if out of pocket for a while.

Good luck. Post the results ok buddy?

-- HarleyinFL (cruisindog@juno.com), January 18, 2002.

My bullmastiff from 20 years back was our vets first heartworm case. He was treated with managable toxicity arsenic injections over a 10 day period. After nursing that big boy through the shadow of death I get my dogs their heartgard once a months and keep a six month supply in reserve in case money is tight when refills are due. Her breath is better since she let me brush and water pick her teeth last night. Thanks for all the ideas.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.