I can Communicate with Bella!!! Poop eating update!!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

We are going crazy with the poop eating at our house and it looks like Bella is now teaching Murphy to acquire a taste for this disgusting delicacy!  I have tried pineapple and pumpkin in her food, put red hot pepper right on the poop and have scolded for eating, rewarded for NOT eating and we pick it up asap now !  She STILL eats it, hot peppers and all.  She has the worst POTTY MOUTH you can imagine so I am brushing her teeth and whole mouth every time she gets into it. Now it's not only HER poop, but any poop she comes across on a walk or at the dog park. 

Please, there has to be someone who has a solution to this as it really just is nauseating to me. And I have a pretty tough stomach since I'm a RN. Help? Anyone???

 

 

Animal Communicator Extraordinaire!!!!

 

Being at wits end with Bella's potty mouth, I decided to take any suggestion made in earnest and started sending subliminal messages (along the lines of hot pepper, Bitter Lime and yelling "NO!!!" Okay, not so subliminal I know). Also thought about having a mental conversation with her like the Animal Communicators, so laying in bed with her next to me I "told" her to walk by the poop, to smell but not taste, to no longer have any desire to eat the poop".   I decided that this is probably rubbish but what the heck, I had nothing better to do at 2:00 AM.  So putting this to the test, I left hers and Murphy's poop down on the lawn and waited and watched.  She walked to it, sniffed, and walked away, not once, not twice but 3 times yesterday and again this morning. Does this mean she "heard" me? Does this mean the pumpkin is working? Does this mean I am crazy and believing in hokus- pokus?  Or am I the next Animal Communicator Extraordinaire?????

 

[Camilla and Darwin]

The only thing I can think of is to keep her on a short leash every single time you take her out, at home or not. Then you can have more control over where she goes, and if you see poo on the ground you can avoid it. If she starts to go for it, you can give the leash a sharp pull and direct her away... ?

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

This is now what I am going to do as our yard is so big that if I see her going to any poop she has gulped it down before i can get to her.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Once a poop eater always a poop eater !!!- sorry to say :(   I had a shih-tzu that was a recycler.  I tried EVERYTHING, even putting meat tenderizer in her food to no avail.  Brought her to the vet thinking he could do something, he said all it is is a discusting habit that some dogs do and the only way to avoid it is pick up the poop immediately.  Thank God she only at her own and not my other dog's poop but still it grossed me out to no end.  I worked at it for years immediately picking up and at one point I thought she was broken of this habit but she still did it unit the day she passed, RIP my Calla Lilly.  I'm glad my two doodles aren't recyclyers.... they may take a sniff of each others deposits but that is about it-------phhhewww i'm lucky.  good luck

[Cathy Gertner]

I also have a welsh corgi in addition to my goldendoodle. My corgi ( age 9 years) has JUST started this~! I agree it is disgusting. He also passes gas when he is inside around us and it is HORRIBLE. I am in the process of trying all the products you can order online that say it CAN be eliminated. I will let you know if I happen on to anything that works for my corgi's disgusting habit. One thing I read said it was a result of a vitamin B deficiency. Who knows but I would like it CURED for good~~

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

 

There are thought to be two reasons for this. It can be learnt - from mum or littermates or it can start as a dietary need - which can become learnt.

 

If she is not digesting her food well - then much that passes through her will still have high nutritional value, hence the reason for eating it.

 

So you could try a diet change - to something as digestible as possible (ie Chicken & Rice or raw food diet). If she digests her food more effectively then her deposits will be less appealing. It's got to be worth a try.

 

However - the more she is allowed to practice this habit - the more likely it is to occur. So ideally - try the diet change but maintain clearing up poop asap - and perhaps restrict her off lead access if she is eating poop then. This approach should give you the best chance of stopping the problem.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

She definitely learned this from Mom as she came to us doing this and she did stay with her mom for a few extra weeks so it became quite imbedded in her memory and taste buds I'm afraid. 

[April Cliber]

Just a little side note....Her mom ate her (Bella's) poop because she was "cleaning up" after her baby and takes her job quite seriously.  In general her mom isn't a poop eater. :)  I really wish I could help more!! I am just completly out of ideas for you. Sorry :o(

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

 

Just a suggestion - try spraying the poop with bitter apple.  Our dogs were eating acorns, I sprayed some with bitter apple and solved the problem.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I thought of this, but was thinking it would just get lost in the odor of the poop or absorbed into it, but I will give it a try as she doesn't like bitter apple on anything else.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Sorry to hear about this Sue, I would find it really DIFFICULT to handle too!! I have no personal experience with this but I am wondering if the "leave it" command could be taught and used for this situation? 

Tara likes to eat deer "raisins" and she will leave it if I give her the command but of course I have to see her doing it. But at least you might be able to use it for her own poops which would really cut it down and then maybe move it to other venues.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

She actually does do the "leave it" command very well, with the exception on poop. It's like that is her signal to get the biggest mouthful she can and gulp it down before I can get to her. Everything else she drops or stops going toward.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

OMG!!  It really tastes THAT good, huh? LOL!!