Ask the Herbalist
DIFFICULT to be in the same room as your best friend?
Bad breath is easy to fix!
I often get asked to help out with bad breath problems. It is distressing to gag while trying to cuddle your dog. Most bad breath problems can be fixed quite rapidly. In fact, I'm often amazed when clients tell me just one dose of the herbs sweetened the breath! However, the herbs do need to be taken for a course of two or three weeks at least for the dog to be given a more long-term fix.
Bad breath may be due to teeth problems, but usually I find it comes down to a stomach/liver problem. Generally it occurs in older dogs because their digestive systems and liver are working less efficiently. Diet may well play a part as well.
Digestive system and liver
If the digestive system isn't breaking down food properly and the liver isn't detoxifying the body properly then not only do you get bad breath but also many body organs won't be working properly. This is important to remember. Bad breath might be difficult to live with but it is also a symptom that other more serious problems may be developing.
Diet
Diet for dogs is a controversial topic. However, undoubtedly many dogs, and just as many humans, have a poor or incorrect diet. This may have nothing to do with the love, care, attention and money their owners spend. A diet that contains unsuitable food for a dog may cause bad breath along with other health problems. As I'm not an expert on canine nutrition I don't wish to expand too much on diet in this issue.
Herbs for bad breath
There are many that help. Basically I use a combination of liver and digestive herbs. Here are some that could be used in such a formula:
St Mary's thistle (milk thistle) - a great herb for getting the liver to detoxify itself properly so it can work more efficiently to detoxify other areas of the body.
Dandelion root - is like a tonic to the liver.
Schisandra - detoxifies the liver and is especially useful when there has been exposure to strong chemicals. I often use it in conjunction with St Mary's thistle.
Meadowsweet - is the "must use" of the digestive herbs. It is a digestive normaliser and I would never leave it out of any formula where the digestive system needs help.
Calendula - can be used where there has been a dietary problem causing trouble in the digestive system.
Chamomile - is put in when the dog is very excitable and a picky eater.
Remember, by stopping bad breath in a dog you are also preventing many other health problems developing.
Go to the next page to see Readers' questions answered by Pat.
Pat Hunter N.D. D.M.H. RC Hom NZAMH
K9 Perspective's Medical Herbalist and Homoeopath
Pat Hunter is in practice at Pat's Healing Centre in Waipu, New Zealand and via her website, she treats dogs all over the world.
Visit her at www.animalherbs.co.nz and read about her clinic and the animals she treats. Consult Pat about your dog. Choose your own remedies from the Dog Directory or order straight from the Catalogue. Register for free Health News. www.animalherbs.co.nz
