What is the black residue on his mouth/our furniture?

Question : My 3.5 yo boxer has been leaving black sticky residue on our furniture/ carpet/ clothes for about the last year. He seems to get a buildup of some black stuff on the back of his jowls, but wiping his face many times per day doesn't seem to keep up with this. Does anyone know what this is or how we can lessen it?


Answer:
The likely cause of this is a buildup of plaque and calculus. Plaque forms form a combination of left over food, saliva, and bacteria. Calculus is a hardening of that plaque over time that can look like the sticky black substance you described.

You can avoid this by regularly cleaning your dogs mouth. Their specially made toothbrushes and toothpaste available for dogs. Brushing about once a week should help get rid of this problem. A vet can help you with removing the calculus that simple brushing won't get rid of.

Another possibility is that your boxer is vomiting up small amounts of blood. That could be an indication of a more serious problem. In either case you need to take him to see a vet.