Can you imagine what your breath would smell like if you had not brushed your teeth for two days; say for instance, if you had forgotten your toothbrush on a weekend camping trip to the middle of nowhere. What if you didn’t brush for two weeks? This is what happens when people feed human food to their pets or do not provide sufficient toys for the dog to chew on. Dogs don’t brush their teeth, so you can imagine why they have bad breath sometimes.
A dog’s best friend, and now yours, can be as simple as a chew toy. Many companies have created products that not only help reduce tartar and build up, but they also help improve the animal’s breath.
From a good old-fashioned tennis ball to the more advanced Orbee-Tuff Nut and Bolt by Planet Dog, pet parents have a wide variety of chew toys to choose from. The Orbee-Tuff Nut and Bolt is buoyant, bouncy and has a gentle mint flavor to help bad breath. This is great for pet owners who take their dogs outdoors often and have dogs that like to play with their toys. My little one loves bouncing her toys on the ground to see how high they can go and there are always those cute little dogs that just have to give everyone a kiss. The mint flavor helps with that. Our family bulldog has not stopped licking the Orbee-Tuff Nut and Bolt since I gave it to her. Another great chew toy that really promotes the breakdown of build-up is a good old-fashioned towel with one to two knots tied in it. The great thing about these kinds of chew toys is that they can be inexpensive and washed. Unlike a knotted rope, towels are easier to remove the knot out of it so you can clean it. I do not recommend giving your pet a knotted towel without washing it before they chew it. I also recommend washing it weekly to bi-weekly, just as you would wash your clothes. An unclean towel can carry around many things that are not beneficial to the dog’s breath as well as contain bacteria from the dog’s slobber accumulating on the fibers. A clean towel is a clean dog.
As always, choose something that feels right for your pet. A 10-pound puppy is not going to have the same appreciation for an extra large bone that an 85-pound golden retriever would have. Happy pets can make happy pet parents. Love your pet like you want to be loved and they will love you more for it every day.
