dog eating feces

[leminchyl]

ok, one of the guys i work with bought a puppy from a breeder (yeah, i know) and the dog is eating its own feces. he said that he is going to put a muzzle on it, but i dont like that idea, so im trying to find alternatives. everything im finding online says to clean up after the dog and train it with a leash not to eat its stuff. has anyone else had this problem and what have you done that worked?

[Iria]

My puppy grew out of it. In the meantime, we just pulled her away with the leash whenever she tried to do it.

[Masja]

They have a product at most vet clinics, I think it's called forbid or something similar. Makes the poo taste yucky....more so than I'd think it would be, lol. Otherwise, I guess cleaning up after the pup as soon as possible will help or supervising them when outdoors. They do grow out of it, although I have noticed a few times my 5 year old lab chowing down on his dumpings...yum.

[jenna]

I had a problem with my adult dog going after the poop in the cat litter boxes. Was reading up on it and some of the reasons mentioned were: the dog is bored, trying to get more nutrients in their diet, they just like the taste. I think those were the main ones.

Has he taken the puppy in for a checkup? Checking for worms would be a good thing. Also discussing with the vet a good brand of food for the puppy.

Other than that, keeping the bathroom area really clean helps a lot, too.

[Fritemare]

I've had dogs eat poop out of the litter box, eat each other's poop, but never their own. A muzzle isn't really a good solution to this problem. Here is an amusing site on getting puppy to stop eating his poop. http://www.dogplay.com/Behavior/poop.html
*top two links do not work, the rest do and have great information*

[rabid_child]

Just pick up the poop right after the dog goes. Problem solved.

[healingpaws]

I would highly, HIGHLY discourage muzzling the puppy. Muzzling the puppy isn't going to solve the problem; Doing so will probably make more and more problems arise.

There is no one reason for Coprophagia(eating of feces). Among some of the reasons are: stress, nutrition, anxiety/boredom, or learned behavior. One of my dogs used to eat other dogs' feces, but with training, I was able to teach her not to do so. My friend's dog on the otherhand, used to eat her own feces. After the dog was switched to a different type of diet, the Coprophagia stopped.

Here are some other useful links:
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=166
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1613
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1551&articleid=155
http://www.joneschihuahuas.com/WhyDoesMyDogEatFecesPoo.html

[Rock n Roll]

My black lab ate her feces and my other dogs feces. It was so disgusting because she would poop and then eat it almost two seconds later. We tried picking up the poop before she could eat it but it's impossible to stand outside with them twenty four hours a day. So, we bought this special dog food that we mixed in with their other food and apparently it makes their feces taste horrible and very bitter. It worked a little bit and about after a month (and a big drain from our wallets) she finally stopped eating feces. It takes time and money but it can be fixed.

[fadeaway1289]

My chihuahua does this too. She loves poop! Her own and the cats. The vet suggested adding zucchini to her food (for some reason it makes her poop taste nasty, although I would think poop in general would taste nasty :spew:) and it works for her.

[Wolfie]

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/askthevet/askthevet_23.php

[Satya]

What i don't get...how my dog can eat poop then have the nerve to turn her nose at her food sometimes. :confused: I would think that eating poop rules out any sort of standards taste-wise...:-/

[Satya]

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/askthevet/askthevet_23.php

That's interesting because sometimes when my dog has an accident at night (which is rare and mostly because she has a sensitive stomach) but she'll eat most of it before i even find it and my impression has always been that maybe she does it because she feels bad and doesn't want to upset me. I guess it's true... She'e never even been punished for it, because i know she can't help it...but poor girl! I wish she'd stop doing that. I'd rather clean it then have her eat it :-/

[fadeaway1289]

That's interesting because sometimes when my dog has an accident at night (which is rare and mostly because she has a sensitive stomach) but she'll eat most of it before i even find it and my impression has always been that maybe she does it because she feels bad and doesn't want to upset me. I guess it's true... She'e never even been punished for it, because i know she can't help it...but poor girl! I wish she'd stop doing that. I'd rather clean it then have her eat it :-/

Oh I've been there. The only way I was able to realize she had pooped and eaten it was by her poop breath!! :spew:

[leminchyl]

update: the guy with the dog problem said that he has been muzzling the dog when he takes her out. (a) i dont like that at all and (b) shes not going to learn from it. i have so many problems with this situation and he knows it: the dog came from a breeder and is kept in a crate when he's at work and he's muzzling her when he takes her out! this is the same guy who calls himself a vegan while eating cheese, milk, and meat!

[screechingninja]

update: the guy with the dog problem said that he has been muzzling the dog when he takes her out. (a) i dont like that at all and (b) shes not going to learn from it. i have so many problems with this situation and he knows it: the dog came from a breeder and is kept in a crate when he's at work and he's muzzling her when he takes her out! this is the same guy who calls himself a vegan while eating cheese, milk, and meat!

Wow, wtf? :( Poor puppy. How does he suppose he is vegan, when he eats meat and dairy? Especially meat?

[leminchyl]

Wow, wtf? :( Poor puppy. How does he suppose he is vegan, when he eats meat and dairy? Especially meat?

ninj, i really cant answer that. i dont think he gets it: when he first started talking about being a vegan, all he was eating was bread. i dont think this guy is meant to have a pet. he admits that the last dog he had a few years ago had mange (sp?) and he would hit her. there are two rumors about that dog (1) that he gave her away to an ex-coworker or (b) he left her somewhere so she couldnt get home.

[Fritemare]

ninj, i really cant answer that. i dont think he gets it: when he first started talking about being a vegan, all he was eating was bread. i dont think this guy is meant to have a pet. he admits that the last dog he had a few years ago had mange (sp?) and he would hit her. there are two rumors about that dog (1) that he gave her away to an ex-coworker or (b) he left her somewhere so she couldnt get home.

Ugh, it takes a very compasionate person to take care of a dog that has mange. Definately not a dog for this kind of guy. From my experience with demodex mange, it takes months to clear up. Their fur all falls out, and they look kind of like a slug dog. You have to sponge the medication on the dog (I used mitaban, I heard they no longer carry it) and also bathe the dog with a special shampoo to get rid of the scales. Doesn't surprise me at all if this guy dumped her someplace if he can't even handle a puppy eating its poop.

Keeping a dog crated up ALL day and then muzzling her when she gets to go outside for play and potty time sounds pretty deranged. I don't think this guy should have any pets.

[screechingninja]

That's so terrible. :( I hate hearing about people just leaving their dogs somewhere, the very lest you could do is bring it to a shelter. I don't think he should own a dog. :(

[Mrrple]

I have a question and didn't want to make another thread.

Does eating cat feces damage a dog's health? Our old dog Baily loves them, and she's probably not going to last much longer, as she has begun to have strokes. If eating cat poop is what she wants, then I'd like to let her as long as she's on this Earth. She has so few pleasures these days, as she's so frail and hurts from arthritus. Anyone know if it hurts health?

[nogardsram]

Ack, I read the title several times and I thought it was some new fad. I was rather grossed out by it. I thought it was "eating dog feces". :surprised:worried:

[jenna]

Ack, I read the title several times and I thought it was some new fad. I was rather grossed out by it. I thought it was "eating dog feces". :surprised:worried:

dog-eating feces. :worried:

[Keli]

The dog in my avatar likes the cat poop, and I have another dog that likes to eat the dog in the avatars poop! So gross, but we are usually able to stop both from happening.

[Wolfie]

I have a question and didn't want to make another thread.

Does eating cat feces damage a dog's health? Our old dog Baily loves them, and she's probably not going to last much longer, as she has begun to have strokes. If eating cat poop is what she wants, then I'd like to let her as long as she's on this Earth. She has so few pleasures these days, as she's so frail and hurts from arthritus. Anyone know if it hurts health?

If it was truly damaging to their health, my dogs would all be gone. I don't imagine it's good for them, but I've never had a dog get sick from it.

Sorry to hear Baily isn't doing well. :(

[Mrrple]

Well, you know she's really old. At least 15 years, maybe more. We used to have the baby gate up to prevent her from eating poo, but we had to take it down because one of the cats decided she didn't want to jump over. Instead she started peeing on the couch.

It's probably not great for her because of the litter, but she's just so close to the end.

Thanks Wolfie.