How Long Puppy Breath Smells Last
Sweet puppy breath smells will typically only last for the first few months of a new puppy’s life. However, your dog’s breath doesn’t have to go from smelling incredible to smelling terrible. With the right preventative measures, you can ensure that your dog has good-smelling breath as long as possible.
How? The first step is to brush your dog’s teeth a minimum of three times per week, but ideally every day, with a soft toothbrush and dog toothpaste. You could also put additives in your pup’s water that will clean his teeth and gums. By staying on top of his oral hygiene, you are going to keep his gums and teeth healthy well into his adult years.
You should take your dog to the veterinarian for a check-up a few times per year. Ask your veterinarian how often they believe your dog should get a deep cleaning of his teeth.
It is estimated that over 2/3 of dogs older than three years of age have periodontal disease, an infection or inflammation of the tissues surrounding dogs’ teeth. But if you keep up with a teeth-cleaning routine, you can hopefully avoid periodontal disease and other diseases that affect older dogs.
Pet owners need to invest in puppy chew toys to keep their puppy’s teeth healthy and strong. Your young puppy will love dental chew toys like the Orka Mini Dental Chews. They come in a three-pack and are designed for puppies and small dogs. These toys feature a rubber ridge design, which helps massage gums and clean your dog’s teeth, while the cotton rope helps remove soft tartar buildup as your dog chews on them.
As your dog gets older, he may enjoy Orka Dental Links, which are for tough chewers that clean your dog’s teeth and gums while ensuring they stay active.
Let’s say you want to get started with brushing your dog’s teeth, but you aren’t sure how to go about it. After all, you want to ensure that your dog is comfortable and that he isn’t going to bite you when you attempt to brush his chompers.
When you’re attempting to clean your dog’s teeth, first pick a quiet place where he isn’t going to become anxious. If there is another dog around or your kids are running about, he could be harder to handle. So take him to the bathroom or somewhere else where he feels relaxed. Perhaps a cozy room or on his fluffy calming dog bed.
If your dog fits in your lap, hold him securely and put his face away from yours. If you have a larger dog, then sit on a chair and make him sit next to you.
Take a small cloth and rub it on the outer surfaces of his teeth in a gentle back-and-forth motion. Stay on the outer surfaces so that your dog doesn’t accidentally bite you. Then, let him taste a little bit of the doggy toothpaste so he gets used to it. Never use human toothpaste, as it can be detrimental to your pup’s health.
Apply a small amount of the dog toothpaste to the cloth and rub it over your dog’s teeth. Once he gets accustomed to that, take out the brush. The doggy toothbrush should be angled and have multiple heads so you can brush the outside, inside, and top surfaces of his teeth.
You can use a regular toothbrush you hold in your hand or get a finger toothbrush that will fit over the top of your finger. Whichever brush you use, you might also want to put on gloves since dog’s mouths contain a lot of bacteria or stuck puppy food.
Why Does Puppy Breath Smell Good?
Vet’s aren’t 100% sure why puppies seem to have such sweet-smelling, oddly pleasant breath. It doesn’t seem to be down to their diets, as all puppies seem to have the same sweet breath despite eating very different kinds of food.
However, the six to eight weeks they spend drinking mother’s milk is believed to be a major contributing factor.
Mother’s milk is sweet-smelling, and it is a very clean source of nutrients for your young dog. Still, this can’t be the only factor involved, since puppies stop drinking mother’s milk well before they develop dog breath.
Another likely factor is that mother’s milk is an important source of gut bacteria for new puppies and forms the basis for their future digestive health.
The work of this bacteria in its new digestive home can contribute to the smell of your puppy’s breath.
The esophagi of young dogs are still developing and don’t trap stomach gases in the stomach in the same way an adult dog’s would.
Digestive enzymes can make their way back up the esophagus and have an impact on how your puppy’s breath smells.
The other most important factor is probably their teeth. Young puppies start to develop baby teeth at around two or three weeks old, and they are generally all in by about six weeks.
These razor-sharp chompers are temporary, and they will usually be completely replaced by an adult set at sometime between four and eight months. This is also around the time that a puppy’s breath changes.
It could be that puppies have good dental hygiene since they have a limited diet, and their teeth are falling out and being renewed before they can build up plaque and tartar.
You don’t tend to see many puppy baby teeth because it is completely normal for your dog to swallow them.
Adult teeth generally accompany a change in diet to more solid foods, and damage to the teeth is permanent. This is likely another major contributing factor when it comes to dog breath.
What does puppy breath smell like?
Many people liken the smell of puppy breath to sweet mother’s milk. It can also smell like skimmed milk or sweet cheese.
What Happened to Puppy Breath
What does puppy breath smell like? Opinions vary, but as any dog lover will tell you, it has a very specific scent.(Mary Colurso | [email protected])NEW!
In honor of National Dog Day, we’re asking a very important question: What does puppy breath smell like?
If you’ve ever held a squirming bundle of fur and leaned in for a nuzzle or kiss, you know puppy breath has a very specific aroma. Some folks love it; others loathe it. And it’s not easy to describe.
Many vets say puppy breath is caused by an early diet of mother’s milk and puppy food, along with digestive enzymes that break down food in the pup’s stomach. It’s natural and healthy for a dog to have puppy breath. And the aroma doesn’t last long — a few months, at most.
For some pet lovers, though, puppy breath is more like a small miracle. Take a whiff, they say, and you’re flooded with feelings of tenderness and happiness. Such folks associate puppy breath — rich, pungent and fleeting — with innocence, optimism and other good things.
Who are we to argue? Perhaps that’s why Demeter, a company in Great Neck, New York, created a fragrance called Puppy’s Breath.
“Puppy’s Breath is a revelation of warm, wet and wonderful comfort,” the Demeter website says. “Slightly sweet, and undeniably organic and alive, this fragrance captures the experience of meeting that new puppy for the first time, up close and personal, a rainbow swirl of happy feelings and memories. It remains transparent, even as it is full and rounded — mystical, like the breath itself.”
For the record, AL.com obtained on a sample of Puppy’s Breath cologne spray and — alas for pet lovers! — it has a candied floral scent that bears no resemblance to actual puppy breath. Apparently, we were taking the product’s name much too literally.
Puppys Breath cologne spray is available from Demeter, a company in Great Neck, New York. (Alas, it does not smell like the real thing.)(Mary Colurso | [email protected])
Still, in our quest to describe the real-deal smell of puppy breath, we turned to a group of people who should know: members of a Facebook group called Magic City Dogs. About 5,000 pet lovers have joined this public group since it was created in 2016, and as you might expect, they have plenty of experience with puppies.
When we asked for help — “Seriously silly question, Magic City Dogs peeps: What does puppy breath smell like to you?” — here’s how they responded.
“Puppy breath smells like baby dog food and is warm and wet. I think without the moisture and heat it wouldn’t be the same. It’s comforting and if innocence had a smell, that would probably be it.” — Laura McCraney
“Puppy breath is the best kind of stinky. With those round little bellies and sweet sleepy faces, it is the smell of pure innocence and love.” — Dawn Rogers Shaw
“I’ve always said it is the nectar of the gods….so maybe ambrosia? But if I had to name it … it’s like sweet, a tiny bit sour, a little bit nutty, milk breath!” — Elizabeth Bugg Studinka
“Best smell … it’s a sweet smell … we might all be better humans if we had puppy breath to smell and a baby (dog or human) cuddle daily.” — Ginger Milam
“The best way to find out is smell it yourself. And it changes the older the puppy is. Some people love it others hate it.” — Rodi Cooper
“Like skunks! And I love it! My sis just got THE skunkiest baby breath puppy yesterday (rescued, maybe 4 weeks old, covered in ants and fleas that were eating him alive) and I live for his sweet kisses.” — Charleen Mullen
“Puppy breath is a wonderful aroma of micro ban that doesn’t last long enough. … It has the ability to perk up the human brain and we instantly make kissy noises because it’s only natural. Puppy breath is what relaxation smells like, a true calm in spirit. It’s unforgettable.” — Sonja D Simmons Long
“Puppy breath is the best smell ever. My favorite scent. There is nothing like kisses from a puppy that still has puppy breath.” — Cindy Kelley VanderKamp
“I can’t describe the smell, but it feels like being in the presence of something absolutely pure and precious. I’ve always said there are a few things in life that you must stop and truly enjoy when given the opportunity. Rainbows and puppy breath are on that list.” — Christy Likis
What does puppy breath smell like to you? Inquiring pet lovers want to know — on National Dog Day, or any other day.