Dog Community

diet and a smelly dog

mondayblues

Posted : 4/29/2006 6:33:28 AM

what kind of food affects how a dog smells?

Cheryl R

Posted : 4/29/2006 8:06:29 AM

Pedigree! [

]

Cheryl

Susan

Posted : 4/29/2006 8:58:30 AM

ORIGINAL: mondayblues

what kind of food affects how a dog smells?

Any food that has lots of grains, by-products, artificial preservatives, chemicals things like digest, etc... in other words... almost any supermarket / discount store / pet supply store foods...Purina, Pedigree, Ol Roy, Science Diet, Alpo etc. The doggy "smell" comes from the body trying to detoxify itself of all of these poor quality ingredients that cannot be absorbed and utilized by the body. One of the FIRST thing one notices when switching to a super premium food, home cooked or raw diet is that once you eliminate all of these things and the dog is getting all of it's nutrients from wholesome meats, veggies and whole grains, the doggy smell disappears. So does the bad breath, poor coat quality, large smelly stools, dental plaque, allergies, skin problems, cloudy eyes, ear problems like yeast, etc. These are ALL related to feeding poor quality foods w/cheap ingredients.

glenmar

Posted : 4/29/2006 9:01:47 AM

While I don't disagree with MOST of what you said, asthefurflies, dental plaque isn't gonna go away with a super premium. Plaque build up is caused by carbs remaining on the teeth.....any DRY food is chock full of carbs, even better quality carbs and those will build up on the teeth.

Raw meaty bones are the ONLY real way to avoid dental cleanings.

Susan

Posted : 4/29/2006 9:14:11 AM

DRY food is chock full of carbs, even better quality carbs and those will build up on the teeth.

I'll have to disagree with this statement. The only dry foods that will be full of carbs are foods that rely heavily on grains and starchy veggies. That's why dogs who eat poor quality grain based foods usually have disgusting teeth. That's also because these owners will also tend to feed their dogs things like Milk Bones and other poor quality treats in a useless attempt to reduce tartar and plaque because they contain the same ingredients that are in the foods they're feeding.
Someone who feeds healthy foods is also going to feed healthy treats, usually bully sticks, raw recreational bones, etc... and these help keep teeth pearly white and plaque free.

glenmar

Posted : 4/29/2006 9:30:36 AM

Carbs do not come only from grains. You would be hard pressed to find a veggie or fruit that doesn't have carbs, even stuff like cottage cheese and MILK have carbs.

Wellness is a good quality food, but more than one member here has reported horribly teeth on wellness. I myself feed Innova and home cooked. I do NOT use anything other than marrow and raw meaty bones for chew things. When my dogs miss a weekly raw meal, their teeth show it. Their ONLY treats are homemade liver treats and the occassional Innova health bar.

Using your argument, I could feed my dogs Pedigree and give them bully sticks and rmbs and still have white teeth. I disagree.

Dry foods HAVE to have a certain carb level to hold together. Doesn't matter the quality of a carb, as far as the teeth are concerned a carb is still a carb.

shamrockmommy

Posted : 4/29/2006 10:11:55 AM

In any animal, skin is a major organ in which chemicals and impurities can be stored and released. That's why dogs on a poor diet have doggy smell, poor coat, bad skin and sores, infections, etc.

GIve a dog a healthier diet with fewer or no artificial flavors, colors and preservatives and they tend to do much better.

thedoc617

Posted : 4/29/2006 11:17:56 AM

So do you think it's better for their teeth to give them canned rather than kibble, Glenda, as well as giving them marrow bones to snack on once a week?

sandra_slayton

Posted : 4/29/2006 12:40:47 PM

One thing I don't understand is how littermates, being fed the same identical food can have such different teeth. By age 18 months, KayCee needed a dental. When her littermate brother, Hunter, died 2 months past his 4th birhtday ( AIHA brought on by Prohearr6) his teeth were as white and as clean as the day they popped in. He had zero build up on his teeth--or as my vet put it, nothing to be cleaned off. I never could understand how their teeth could be so different. Wonder if there could be a different chemistry in some dogs that causes the build up faster, or slows it down.

thedoc617

Posted : 4/29/2006 1:38:46 PM

Slightly OT, but it does have to deal with teeth.
I know in People, some people have a very highly acidic saliva. My dentist basically told me that my saliva was eating away at my tooth enamel, so it was more likely that I would get cavaties and have gum disease than somebody else, and I also had to be more diligent when I brushed and flossed. I also have to go to the dentist every 3 months instead of just six.
My dentist thinks that it's genetic, because my dad has very acidic saliva too, but my mom and my brother have neutral saliva.

glenmar

Posted : 4/29/2006 4:41:10 PM

Laura, honestly I'm not certain. I DO know that canned food gets a bad rap and is said to CAUSE plaque when if you get all scientific, it doesn't. If you're having a problem, it's worth a try.

From everything I've read, the marrow bones do help, but its actual raw meaty bones that do the bulk of the teeth cleaning.

schlep

Posted : 4/29/2006 4:43:36 PM

Glenda,
How often do you give RMB's? I buy the Nature's Variety knuckle bone 2 packs and give both of them within a couple days of eachother. I'd say I do that about every 2 weeks.

glenmar

Posted : 4/29/2006 4:49:39 PM

I'm not familar with those...are they actual RAW bones like you'd get from the butcher?

My dogs usually have raw twice a week, sometimes only once.

schlep

Posted : 4/29/2006 4:55:13 PM

Yeah, I believe so. They're raw and still have some of the meat left on the bone.

http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?r=1650409&page=1383&-session=naturesvariety:4760D06E0a79a284AAiisn348C82

I get them fairly cheap, and the only butchers here in town are pretty stingy with bones for whatever reason.