Dog breath. Sometimes, it’s just not very pleasant. Whether because of the food they ate or the nasty old chew they dug up, a dog’s breath can be rank! Sometimes, that breath has more dangerous causes: tooth decay and gum disease. If your dog’s breath stinks, start with a visit to the veterinarian.
If your dog is like mine, though, and has healthy, clean teeth, and the bad breath isn’t caused by a particular part of their diet you can change, don’t give up hope. The market is saturated with products that promise to eliminate bad breath, from chewy treats to water treatments. I’ve tried quite a few without much success, so I was very excited to let my Pit Bull, Axle, try out Woof Mints, an all-natural breath freshener for dogs.
Axle is a very picky eater. He won’t take food from strangers, and he won’t eat dry dog treats. As mentioned, I have already tried various other breath-freshening products on him, but he would only eat one particular brand. Unfortunately for both of us, that particular treat is both incredibly hard to find, and the results were quite temporary.
Despite its name, though, Woof Mints aren’t like traditional human mints, which temporarily neutralize odors in the mouth. Instead, these are made to be given with food or as a treat so that they can dissolve in the stomach. This, Woof Mints claims, provides fresh breath from within. Results were to be expected after seven days of consecutive use.
Made in the USA, Woof Mints are little green gel capsules that are all natural, vegan, and gluten free. They contain organic sunflower oil, organic peppermint oil, and parsley oil. Peppermint and parsley are both known for their breath-freshening properties, but they’re not necessarily popular with dogs in the taste department. To trick Axle’s super nose and picky taste buds, I decided to sneak the mints into his food with a little salmon oil. That sounds counterproductive, but I figured that if these things really worked, they’d neutralize the fish odor as well. Within less than a week, Axle had wizened up to my game and began picking out the mints.
After trying several different things, I found that changing the “treat” substance regularly kept Axle’s palette tricked into accepting the mints. Each bottle of Woof Mints includes 120 gel capsules, which equals a two-month supply for a larger dog like Axle, or a three-month supply for a smaller dog. To really get an idea of how well these mints worked, I used an entire bottle on Axle before making my final judgment.
Just as the maker advertises, within about a week, Axle’s breath was significantly better. It didn’t smell minty or “fresh,” per se, but it was a lot less unpleasant. After about a month of consistent use, I finally felt comfortable giving Axle little kisses on the nose again. This is something we’ve done since he was a little puppy, but when I was pregnant with our first child, his breath made me incredibly nauseous, and it still smelled icky once my pregnancy was over.
All in all, I was impressed with the Woof Mints. For picky eaters like Axle, it takes a bit of trial and error to figure out what works best to get them to consistently eat the mints, but the payoff is worth it. Axle had his yearly exam about halfway through our Woof Mints trial, and he checked out as healthy as ever! I’m not so sure that he’s impressed with his new better breath, but I certainly appreciate it. Now I guess it’s my turn to return the favor and start using the company’s Eat Whatever mints for humans!
Dogster Scorecard for Woof Mints
Quality: A. Woof Mints are an innovate product for fighting bad dog breath, and they get bonus points for being all natural, vegan, gluten free, and made in the USA. The packaging also can all be recycled.
Value: While $26.80 (or $20.95/month subscription) per bottle of 120 capsules for may seem a bit pricey for a dog breath freshener, it’s worth it if the smelly breath is preventing you (or others) from enjoying being near your dog. The effect is also long-lasting, which isn’t the case for cheaper freshening options currently on the market.
Functionality: This would vary by dog. As a whole, I’d give them an A- due to the strong odor the mints emit, making them harder to mask from picky eaters.
The bottom line
Woof Mints are a must-have if you have a dog with smelly breath who has an otherwise healthy mouth, particularly if they are a picky eater and refuse most other breath treats!
