(reprinted from the Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue)

For a person, it usually means we ate something offensive. But for a dog to have bad breath, it means something is wrong.

Sadly, as a breed, Shelties have very high maintenance teeth. They need to be brushed and cleaned on a regular basis; yet so many Sheltie owners never notice this important health issue in their Sheltie.

Imagine how your teeth would feel you could not brush them. The tarter would quickly build up. Decay would begin on one or more teeth. The gums would become inflamed and sore. As the decay advances it eats away at your teeth and eats down to the roots. (ouch) Long before this point, us humans would have run to the dentist because of the pain. But a Sheltie cannot tell you what hurts; so it continues to go unnoticed. Soon, the decaying tooth (or teeth) and gums will become infected. Once the infection gets a good hold in your Shelties mouth, THEN it starts to smell bad. An infected mouth can smell terrible!

This is the point at which many people start to tease your dog about having “bad breath”. You don’t worry too much, because everyone has bad breath “sometimes”. Right?

WRONG.

Simply put: If your Sheltie has lingering bad breath, he needs to be seen by your vet.
A tooth infection is one of the leading causes of kidney failure and a host of other medical problems in dogs.

Clean, healthy adult teeth and gums.	Bright red gum line, tarter build up. Painful? You bet! Bad Breath? Probably.
This dog needs vet care ASAP.	This case could be called Animal Abuse.