Smelly Dawgy Breath and Oral Care

Isn't it a KILLER!!!!! 

Your dogs breath!!! It could NOT be any worse!!!

Then ADD the tartar build up and there's a problem... 

How do you deal with it? 

There are quite a few options nowadays out there to help with these problems from Chews to water additions to just a plain toothbrush and tooth paste. Over the the past 5 years I have tried pretty much almost everything on the market and I have researched and talked to Vet's. Here's something things I KNOW that work.

~These are the main chews on the market~

Pedigree Denta-Stix
They are X shaped semi hard sticks that help freshen breath and clean teeth. They work pretty well and the price ain't to shabby.Feed 1 a day and after about 2 weeks of usage you will definitely start to see and smell a difference. My dogs like them and every now and then I'll buy them some.

Here are the Ingredients:
Rice Flour, Wheat Starch, Glycerin, Gelatin, Gum Arabic, Calcium Carbonate, Natural Poultry Flavor, Cellulose Powder, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Salt (Iodized), Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate [source of Vitamin C], Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, D-calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Dl-alpha Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E], Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1]), Potassium Sorbate (a Preservative), Smoke Flavor, Zinc Sulphate, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Iron Oxide, Copper Sulfate.

Greenies by Nutro
These are a green dyed, tooth brush shaped, semi hard chew sticks. I find that not only did they work for the breath but they also made my dogs sick. Breath was great, Tartar build up still there and they got sick. 1 out of 3 was my call to no longer give them to my babies. I rather deal with smelly breath and have to manual brush their teeth than to have an overly sick dog every week.

Here are the Ingridients:
Gelatin, wheat protein isolate, glycerin, pea protein, water, potato protein, sodium caseinate, natural poultry flavor, lecithin, minerals (dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, magnesium amino acid chelate, calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, potassium iodide), vitamins (dl-alpha tocopherol acetate [source of vitamin E], L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate [source of vitamin C], vitamin B12 supplement, d-calcium pantothenate [vitamin B5], niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin B6], thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], folic acid), dried tomato, apple pomace, vegetable oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ground flaxseed, dried sweet potato, cranberry fiber, dried cultured skim milk, choline chloride, taurine, decaffeinated green tea extract, carotene, chlorophyll (sodium copper chlorophyllin)

Blue Bones by Blue Buffalo
Dark color, semi hard chews with a bone like shape. These smell horrible and I wondered how they were to get my dogs breath to smell better AND clean his teeth. To my ultimate surprise just TWO days after giving them each 1 bone a day, there has been a drastic improvement on their breath. I can take kisses now and get the lovely dovey face to face interaction I LOVE having with my babies. I will check their tartar at the end of this week. UPDATE: I checked their teeth and the tartar is gone!!!! OMG what a difference!!!! I'm extremely satisfied!!

Here are the Ingredients:

Whole Ground Potato, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Water, Vegetable Glycerine, Blueberries, Peas, Carrots (source of Vitamin A), Vegetable Juice, Sunflower Oil (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Oat Bran, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal (a source of Chlorophyll), Calcium Carbonate, Citric Acid, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (a source of Vitamin C), Zinc Propionate, Vitamin E Supplement, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Taurine

~Now onto the other options~

Gel, water additives and Sprays

Clean Teeth Gel by Tropiclean (Just for teeth cleaning)

NO Brushing Necessary! Works fast and naturally to help reduce plaque and tartar on dogs and cats -- no toothbrush required. A proprietary blend of natural, holistic ingredients produce a healthy oral environment. Kills the germs that cause bad breath, plaque and gingivitis. Soothes minor gum irritations. 

Here are the Ingredients:

Purified water, natural derived alcohol, natural mint, glycerin, natural cleanser, carbopol, chlorophyllin, green tea extract.

Water Additive by Tropiclean
Clean teeth, Fresh Breath, No brushing

Here are the Ingredients:
Purified water, Citric Acid, Cetylpyridnium chloride, chlorophyllin, glycerin, potassium sorbate, green tea leaf extract

Fresh Breath Foam by Tropiclean
Regular use of Fresh Mint Foam helps keep teeth clean. Its gentle formula helps freshen breath.

Here are the Ingredients:
Purified water, glycerin, natural mint, baking soda, polysorbate 20, corn alcohol, aloe vera juice, chlorophyllin, green tea extract

Now I don't know about about the products above. I'm really reluctant to even try them. If there are ingredients I can't read or even understand, than why would I give that to my dogs to have in their body? I hold off on those but this is all for your information to take as you please.

I have yet to try the other options however I will be asking for free samples so I can see how they work for my babies. For now I have settled on the Blue Bones by Blue Buffalo. And if you go back to the ingredient lists I provided for the other chews on the market, Blue Buffalo seems to have real natural and more wholesome ingredients.