I am usually a regular poster on here under my pseudonim 'NannyOgg' but I am on holida in very wet and windy Wales and didn't bring my log in details with me (Doh!)

Anyway, I am up here with my 5 month old GSD looking after my partner's mums two GSD's and a German Spitz. Now, the Spitz has always had bad breath but at the moment it is absolutely dire - to the point where if she sits near you when you eat it puts you off your meal. About 6 months ago her owner took her to the vets about a breathing problem she had, and on examination she actually had what appeared to be a small piece of bone, or wood or something of that nature that nature, lodged in the side of her throat. She was operated on and the vet found that the area around this foreign body was infected, and a lot of infected material (puss mostly) came ouot which was incredibly foul smelling. The vet said that this may explain her breath problem, however, her breath has pretty much been bad for as long as we have known this dog (7 years) and has been terrible since the operation. She used to eat the cat poo out of the kitty litter and we thought this might be the cause but the litter was moved to where she can't get access to it about a year ago and she still stinks.
She eats kibble with either fresh chicken or pilchards/tuna etc added, and is otherwise a very active and healthy dog. Is there anything I can do while I am here that may improve her teeth? I have tried chews but she refuses to chew (more a biscuit kind of dog) but I actually find it hard to pet her because the smell is so bad. I am thinking of trying some tea tree toothpaste (for dogs) just to freshen her breath, but I wanted some advice a) on what might be casuing it, and b) what can be done about it (i.e. change of diet (any foods that help deal with this?) etc.)

Another problem is her toilet training - she has none. She was owned by a lady who also had her brother, was a breeder, and she was signalled out for Crufts. She was kept in kennel conditions until she was about 15 weeks old, and she has proved very resistent to toilet training. Even if you take her out regularly (every hour), she will usually prefer to go in the house, and for example, today I have cleaned up three different poos and two wees. She isn't my dog, and I know she is well looked after and loved, but while I am here I woul dlike ot try and do something about her toilet training, but I am unsure how to approach it with a smaller dog who is already about 6 years old. I brought puppy pads with me, and on my first night here she used one, but has not used them since, so I think the first time my have been a fluke, or simply the novelty of getting to c**p on something different seeing as she has soiled almost every other surface in the house. Is there a different technic when toilet training a small dog, and also anything different with an older dog. I must admit I felt much more confident withy my pup, who toilet trained like a dream, as opposed to dealing with a small dog who is already 6 years old and has resisted toilet training since she was first brought into a home. My partner's mum even had all of her carpets taken up, and had tiles laid down throughout her house all because this little dog had soiled everywhere so badly!

Any advice/tips?

Hi NannyOgg,

So sorry to hear about this poor little dog.  Regarding her breath, aside from there possibly being a 'pocket' of infection where the old throat wound was, is it possible that her teeth are dirty?  this can cause gum inflamation or infection which in turn is often foul smelling ;)  I have an elderly cat whose breath started to stink, her teeth had got very tartared and the gums were looking red along the join with the teeth.  At 18 years I didn't really want to have them scaled as she may not survive, so I bought some logic paste and followed the instructions.  I was then able to 'flick' the tartar off the teeth (she's used to having her teeth cleaned etc) and her gums and breath has been much better since, I now use the logic gel regularly to keep them in good condition.

Not sure whether it would work or not, but depending on how much time you have, why not treat her like a very young puppy?  and go back to basic toilet training ;)  if she has a treat she would jump thru fire for it may just work ;)  and don't forget the biological washing powder and white vinegar :D  it may just do the trick :D :D

Hope you manage to have some kind of holiday in Wales, its where I live and despite the weather, I love it :D

When Bob first came to me at nearly 6 years old I had to retrain him because his previous person (my friend's father) was increasingly immobile in the months leading up to his death. Hence he'd "trained" Bob to wee and poo on washable surfaces only if necessary. Which, given the size of my kitchen and utility room meant he had acres of lino to adorn. Worse, poor Bob thought he was being a good dog for going where trained.

I retrained him by going completely back to basics and treating him as if he were 8 weeks old again. So every half hour or so I'd be out in the garden (for some reason I ALWAYS end up housetraining in the winter!!!) and similarly after every meal and in the middle of the night. I also had to teach him a performing command again since thankfully he'd completely forgotten what the rather cringemaking "spend pennies" meant. It took me about 2 weeks but after that he was 100% reliable again.