Breath Freshening Water Idea

I love my dogs. They are my children and treated as such. And I often lean in to give them the kisses they so obviously deserve. And I often lean out just as fast when I get a whiff of the dead-fish-put-in-a-blender-with-used-gym-socks-and-feces smell that wafts out of Oliver's mouth. He has the worst breath I have ever dealt with! I used to work in a vets office, and trust me when I say Oliver takes the cake for smelliest dog breath.

I started trying to brush his teeth. If you have ever tried to get a 65 pound dog to sit still while putting something that tastes like liver in his mouth but not letting him eat it, you will know it is impossible. He just kept trying to eat the tooth brush! So then I read on the Internet somewhere about soaking a tug-o-war rope in chicken broth and drying it - so it acts as dental floss when they chew on it. Can't say it did much of anything. I know there are mints out there but realistically Oliver would go through 4 packs a day if I wanted him to have fresh breath always. I buy so many of those "long-lasting" dental bones and chewies only to find them gone within 3 minutes.

So then I was thinking - what is something dogs do all of the time that could have a mouth-cleaning agent put into it? Drink water!

What if there was a mouthwash for dogs? Completely safe to drink. Maybe comes in a packet you empty into their water bowl every morning, maybe comes pre-mixed in bottles (hey - don't knock it, I just heard the first bottled water for dogs has hit the shelves this month). Of course they wouldn't swish it around like we do so it wouldn't be as effective, but what if each time they lapped up some water there were germ-fighting things in the water that killed off smelly bacteria? It would take a few days to get to a point you would notice a difference, but I think after a while it could significantly improve the dog's breath. It could improve their mouth health as well, maybe have a plaque-fighting agent in there (so I never have to try to brush his teeth again).

And while we are at it, why not make a similar product for people? Everyone hears twice a year how they don't brush enough from their dentist. There is such a huge push for people to drink more water anyways, Why not combine the two? Imagine if you never had to pretend someone didn't have horrible breath again. Chomping on gum has the same affect but is frowned upon in professional situations. Mints only last so long. But if you are sipping on water throughout the day that is slowly killing off bacteria, then before you know it you can be confident of fresh smelling breath.