Dog Breath: The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis

by Dav Pilkey

Hally, an exuberant dog whose bad breath problem even keeps skunks away, finds his life further complicated by a visit from Grandma Tosis and his chaos-inducing attempts to say hello.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Dogs, Animals, Fiction, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 1994

About the author

David "Dav" Pilkey (b. March 4, 1966), is a popular children's author and artist. Pilkey is best known as the author and illustrator of the Captain Underpants book series. He lives near Seattle, Washington with his wife, Sayuri.

Reviews

[Debbie W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story! Reminds me of "Walter the Farting Dog" only this one saves the day with putrid breath!

[Ronyell · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the breakthrough children’s book hit Walter the Farting Dog, I wanted to check out more children’s books about dogs who have problems that cause them to smell and I stumbled upon this little unique book called “Dog Breath: The Horrible Trouble with Hally Tosis” by Dav Pilkey!

Hally Tosis was a cute little dog who lived with the Tosis family and was extremely friendly towards everyone. But, she had one little problem…

SHE HAS REALLY BAD BREATH!

Everywhere that Hally Tosis goes; her bad breath would knock everyone off their feet including the Tosis family’s Grandmother Tosis! So when Hally Tosis’ bad breath becomes too unbearable for the family, the Tosis family decided to give away Hally, even though the children were upset about this. So in a last attempt to save Hally, the Tosis children tried to help Hally get rid of her horrible breath through various methods including taking her to a movie that would literally take her breath away. But, all of these methods ended up failing and the children were forced to say good-bye to Hally. But one night, two robbers ended up breaking into the Tosis family’s house and…

Can Hally Tosis save the day?

Read this book to find out!

I have read many books by Dav Pilkey, including his famous “Captain Underpants” series, but “Dog Breath” was probably one of the most unique books I had ever read by him! Dav Pilkey’s writing was cute and hilarious as it details Hally’s unfortunate problem with her bad breath and how it affects those around her. I loved the way that Dav Pilkey made Hally into such a friendly dog who is unaware of how bad her breath is and she is always shown to be cheerful and blissful, despite the fact that her bad breath causes people to either run away from her or be knocked out unconscious. I also loved the fact that the Tosis family really does care about Hally, despite them being put off by Hally’s bad breath and it really shows during the scene where the Tosis family is forced to find a new home for Hally and they are crying when they are putting up the “free dog” sign. Dav Pilkey’s artwork is cute and colorful to look at, especially the image of Hally herself as she is shown to be an extremely cute dog who has a big smile on her face despite her bad breath giving everyone grief. I also loved the way that Dav Pilkey shows Hally’s bad breath as it is shown as a green smoke coming out of her mouth and the images of various people being knocked out by her bad breath is hilarious to see!

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because compared to “Walter the Farting Dog,” I felt that some parts of this book were a bit bland in the storytelling. I actually wished that there were more dimensions to the Tosis family as they barely have any dialogue (save for the scene where the parents decided to do something about Hally) and I wanted to see the Tosis family deal with Hally’s bad breath in a more intriguing way. Also, it might be because I already read a book that was similar to this premise and had a more interesting way of dealing with a dog’s smelly problem (Walter the Farting Dog).

Overall, “Dog Breath: The Horrible Trouble with Hally Tosis” is a really cute book about how a family tries to accept their dog’s unconventional problem and how that problem could be used more resourcefully than they thought. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book (unless the idea about a dog having smelly breath seems gross to some)!


Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! Ok...the laughing is out of my system....hehe. Or not.

Seriously though, this book is great. A must read for Dav Pilkey fans or even for anybody who just needs a good laugh. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go regain my composure.

*gets up out of chair, takes about one step and then falls on the floor in laughing heap. Slaps the floor a bit and then begins rolling around while clutching stomach. Howls a little due to stomach pain, but continues laughing anyway*

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dav Pilkey. A dog named Hally Tosis with horrible breath. Gold! Funny story with an excellent ending. Good and funny illustrations. Both my boys loved this one. Would definitely buy the physical copy book

[Quincy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was one eye didn’t think eye’d like, and I was rite (mostly). In Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey the dog inn the book has such stinky breath his family wants two git ridd off him, butt then he safes them from robbers and they finally decide too accept his stinkyness and keep him. This really burns my toast. They ownly aksept him when he safes them from robbers? What abowt loving him for hew he is without halfing two risk himself to profe it? Makes me sick. Eye hope yew people doughn’t do that. Love yur pet for who they are, not for how many robbers they stop. I give this book 3 stars out of 5. Though way they came too accept him was offensive, the writing style was clever and accepting your pets faults is a good idea.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this at the Kiwanis Club today. They loved it. This is one of my favorite picture books. It will take your breath away! (Couldn't resist.:))

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I swear this book was written about my dog Dali. A dog with breath so bad it can put burglars to sleep. As always Dav is on point with his word usage and illustrations.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hond Stinkie heeft een vreselijk slechte adem. Vader en moeder Bom besluiten dat ze daarom weg moet. De kinderen verzinnen snel een adembenemend plan. Maar of dat gaat helpen?

Normaal lees ik nooit een prentenboek maar deze wilde ik wel lezen. Dat kwam door de hond, deze lijkt namelijk heel erg op een bull terriër. Zelf heb ik een mini bull terriër en zij is ook een stinkie.

Dit is mijn eerste Dav Pilkey boek. Zijn schrijfstijl is vooral grappig. Het boek staat vol met woordspelingen naar Stinkie haar slechte adem.
Stinkie zelf is leuk om te volgen. Ze is zich bewust van haar slechte adem maar het weerhoud haar nergens van.

De illustraties zijn kleurrijk en grappig. Er zitten leuke details in verwerkt, zoals de vis die op zijn rug ligt en het stinkdier.

Stinkie Bom: de hond die haar stinkende best deed is een leuk boek over een familie die probeert hun hond haar probleem te accepteren.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty disgusting, but the SMART readers seemed to like it. Maybe you have to be 8 years old?

[Shiloah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kid-appeal book all the way! Very goofy. We listened at the Barnes and Noble read aloud.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Y'all, she probably just needs dental work

[Emily]

How fun to find this book again and revisit a nostalgic memory from my childhood! The story still holds up! Oh Hally, you’re a hero.

[Cora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per my first graders: It was funny because the pictures was stinky from the breath. He was sneaky because there were thieves. It was disgusting because he had dog breath. I liked the picture because they were amazing and showed the dog doing funny stuff.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, Dav Pilkey, you've really outdone yourself with this humorous picture book. Using acrylics, watercolors, pencils, Magic Markers, and Dijon mustard for the illustrations, this picture book tells the story of a beloved family dog. But Hally has the worst case of bad breath imaginable, and the images show its effects through the use of green colors and negative reactions when she breaths out. Wallpaper curls up, a goldfish goes belly up, a tree sheds its leaves, and Mona Lisa holds her nose. Hally makes life miserable for everyone because of that smell, and the adults in the Tosis family decide to give her away. Desperate to save their dog, the youngsters take her on several outtings, hoping that they will bring relief. Nothing works, not even a ride on the scary roller coaster. All of their efforts provide plenty of places for laughter since there are so many wonderful puns related to breath included in the text and illustrations. But Hally proves her worth when she thwarts two burglars intent on taking the family's values. Readers won't want to miss the newspaper headlines that describe her success as they are quite clever. Now, I'm not saying that someone who reads this book will want to embrace bad breath, but it just might give them a whole new perspective on things.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny and sweet story about an adorable dog with horrible breath. The plot was very, very similar to Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle, but the noxious fumes are coming out of the other end. Since this book was written first, I suppose it gets the credit for being the original. Both stories are very silly and funny and our girls loved them.

There were several puns that are more for adults than for children, which I thought were funny. I explained them to our girls and we all found them to be very clever. The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish and remind us a lot of The Adventures of Captain Underpants. We enjoyed reading this story together.

[SerenaBeReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There once was a dog named Hally, who lived with the Tosis family."

This book had me cracking up from the first page til the last! Hally has the funkiest breath imaginable and even has the skunks running for cover! The pictures in this book are HILARIOUS! For instance there is one scene where Hally the dog is breathing and the wall paper is curling, the fish is upside down in it's bowl dead and there is a picture of the Mona Lisa on the wall holding her nose. Also I love how Hally just looks so happy not knowing that her breath is knocking people out.

The family is about to give Hally away to a new family until her bad breath knocks out some burglars.


This is one book I can't wait to read to my future kid/kids!

[Guen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so it's not my favorite book but both my 5-year-old son and my 2-year-old daughter love it. THEY ask for it over and over again and it is written for them after all, not for me. The illustrations are simple and full of bright colors, another thing children love. There IS one thing I really like about the book - the dog's name, Hally Tosis. Hally Tosis has halitosis, or bad breath, talk about a memorable way to teach your children a complicated word. Her breath is so bad that the family is considering getting rid of her but in the end they learn to appreciate her, bad breath and all, and they love her just exactly the way she is, okay so maybe I do like the book after all.

[Zequoia Hyche · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is super funny! The title alone had me laughing, heck the first few pages had me laughing. I absolutely adored how the illustrator conveyed the stench of the dogs breath using the color green. Also, I like how the family of the dog had their noses pinched, that to me was hilarious. The author did an excellent job with explaining how bad the dogs breath was and just overall it was such a cute story. This book most definitely can be used to teach children about hygiene and how it is very important to make sure they keep themselves clean. Loved the book.

[Kiah Ballard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so happy that the brother and sister in the story got to keep their dog. This story displays that when there is a problem it can be solved by trying different solutions until one works. I would use this book in my class to spark a discussion about some solutions to some common problems that happen in our class. The problems and possible solutions would then be written down for the students to always reference back to.

[Asalyn Holliday]

This book is pretty hilarious. I think it would be good for introducing new vocabulary words and for teaching students about the importance of brushing their teeth and staying clean. It also presents an opportunity to explore different smells, talk about which ones are good and which are bad, and could be used in a thematic unit about the five senses.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about a dog with horrible breath. We changed the name in the book to the name of our dog and it was hilarious. The plot is very similar to "Martha Speaks" and now I am wondering which came first.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great thing about Dav Pilkey's books is that they are timeless. Kids love them, they grow up and they still love them! They read them to their children and so on and so forth.
Great fun for all, for all-time.

[Rehema Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for teaching kids about dental hygiene and can be extended to bodily hygiene as well. It is funny and has cute jokes about Hally Tosis. I remember this book from my childhood days. I found this book to be a very creative way to teaching children about hygiene.

[Jenn Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be so much fun to teach with. The author plays with words and there is so much figurative language. It also is fun too play with prediction, his figurative language leads to some great visual clues to what is happening. I loved this book.!

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dog Breath

I have to be honest, I laughed so hard at this book! I read it out loud to people! It’s hysterical in that crazy way! I’m hoping all the children who read this book catch the joke “Hally Tollis”. 😂😂

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the illustrations!

[Amy Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book I would use to introduce a problem and what solutions as a class we can use to get rid of the bad dog breath! This book could be a segue into personal hygiene and health.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm living in the world of Hally Tosis right now. My dog's breath could make burglars pass out too. ;)

[Christina Maksymczuk]

This book will capture a child's attention and make your child laugh. This book teaches problem solving and caring.

[Lauren Luttenberger · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of how a dog changes for the love of it’s family