27/01/2026
PART TWO - Vader’s stank breath mystery, SOLVED.
The solution will probably surprise you.
Carrying on from the last post, we finally ran an Oral Microbiome test.
Until recently in Australia, this hasn’t been a readily accessible option. It involved sending swabs off to America for anywhere between $750-$1000. I love my dogs, I’d do anything for them…but I didn’t have THAT kind of spondooly laying around without guarantees I’d have tangible data to work on.
👩⚕️Then our own vet created a new line of preventative health tests, including oral and gut microbiome testing…right here in Australia! How fortunate for us!
She’s been very invested in Vader’s mouth and has been right beside us working through all the possibilities.
This might sound like an ad, but it’s not. I was just super excited at the possibilities.
We ran the test in early December, and whilst it also wasnt cheap, it was significantly cheaper than sending it off to the US…around $250-$300. Results came back in late December and they were incredibly comprehensive and informative.
The report told us:
•EXACTLY what type of bacteria were present.
•What each one is responsible for.
•Which ones were causing the problems
The big takeaways:
✅ She has no oral infections, periodontal disease or anything dangerous.
✅ Normal low level anaerobes.
⚠️A ‘low diversity’ of protective bacteria…basically an underpowered oral ecosystem.
What does this mean? In layman’s terms?
Those little anaerobes which are a perfectly fine and normal part of the oral ecosystem, produce SULFUR…aka ‘farts’.
NORMALLY the ‘protective’ bacteria creates enough of a covering in the biofilm to stop them releasing sulfur.…Vader just doesn’t have enough of them.
💨 So, her fart breath, is literally because microscopic beings are tooting in her mouth.
The big question.
How do we fix it?
The answer is actually super simple and thoroughly covered in the report.
👉Polyphenols.
What’s a polyphenol?
A compound found in certain plants and foods. In our case, green tea and pomegranates, blueberries and cranberries are excellent sources.
They:
•Block enzymes involved in the production of sulphur
•Interfere with bacterial adhesion
•Reduce protein fermentation pathways…
Basically, the bacteria are still there, they just stop farting sulphur.
We’ve already seen notable improvements just by adding some green tea and pomegranate…it’s far less stanky!
She’s not the biggest fan of green tea, so we’ve had to resort to ‘flavouring’ it (today’s mix was green tea and freeze dried tripe 🤣).
It probably changes the efficacy slightly but it works for her, and she happily drinks it.
And, more importantly, for the first time in a long time, her fart breath is FAR LESS FARTY 🥳.
So if you’ve been having similar issues, it could be worth checking out or chatting with your vet about an oral microbiome test…I personally found it quite fascinating.
