Poop eater :-(

[Suzan]

Any advice on my pup who eats his poop??

I contain him in an approx 10 ft area to go out & do his business 1st. Then afterwards we will run in yard to play catch or run around. Occasionally he will be out of my reach & do another poop. He will then eat it.

I never leave his poops, always clean up asap...but I am referring to the poop that happens while playing in yard. I am there to watch him, just can't always get there in time.

I tried "Forbid" from my vet. Which is basically a meat tenderizer. No luck.

I'm working on the leave it command. Not working yet.

He is 4 months old on Thursday

Thank you for any advice

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Besides Leave It or picking it up, I don't know! Peri has not had too much of a problem with it. She did go through a small stage, but not a big one.
My parent's little cairn terrier was TERRIBLE about eating poop. If I recall correctly, she was about 4-6 months old when she was doing this (around your pup's age). She actually just grew out of it. Mom and dad had her in obedience training and they were starting to get very fed up because she would not listen to them - one day she just didn't have a problem any more.
I also think your pup will stop pooping so much (sorry so detailed). Honestly, Peri pooped 6-8x/day when she was that age. Now I can pretty much predict when she will poop and that is 3-4x/day. It is easier to pick up when you can anticipate it. That will help too....(decreased poos in general).

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

I have read that feeding them pineapple in their food will make them not eat their own poop. No harm in trying. Let us know

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Actually I know of someone who used the pineapple in the food...and it worked. I would certainly give that a try.

[Kimberly Rockwell]

My doodle ate it too. He also ate his food REALLY fast. I tried adding various things, and changing foods - didn't work. What seemed to work eventually was slowing his eating down with a slow-feeding bowl and giving him his food to him in 2 or three mini portions. His poop was more solid and he was no longer interested in eating it. Now that he's stopped growing, he doesn't seem to be as voracious and has slowed down eating, but I still use the slow feed bowl. Good luck.

[Valarie]

My 13 month old Doodle doesn't eat her own poo but she mouths other doggie poo. We live in the country and have several acres - when we walk around the property she sniffs out other dogs poo and gets it in her mouth. Then I have to make her spit it out. Sometimes opening her mouth and getting it out. It's awful. I have to be on constant watch when we walk. Why is she doing this and how can I redirect her?

[Suzanne & Jack]

I also have a poopeater. We adopted our min. schnauzer from a rescue. He is the only dog that I have ever had that eats his poop. We tried using meat tenderizer. I didn't notice that much difference. I have heard that the MSG (meat tenderizer can cause seizures, so we do not give that any more. I have also heard about the pineapple, but haven't tried it. I try to catch him as soon as he goes. My DH is not so diligent. Ivan still isn't quite housebroken so occdasionally he has an accident in the house. I can always tell because he comes up to kiss me and has poop breath. Then its to the bathroom for mouth and beard washing.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

I watched a dog whisperer show in which Cesar said that eating poop can be a sign of severe lack of potassium. He prescribed bananas... I would ask the vet and possibly have some blood work done to see if your dog lacks any nutrients or has a chemical imbalance of some sorts

[Gail & Max]

We went thru this with Max...soooo disgusting1! I used to put 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt on his food and that seemed to work. I also tried pineapple and that also helped...he preferred the yogurt to the pineapple.

[Mustard Seed Ranch]

Dont know about the pineapple but make sure it is not poisonous or harmful to dogs before you feed it. The Forbid and other over the counter stuff works just so-so. Catching her and stopping it is the best bet-its a natural thing for a dog to do, we think its gross but they dont. Some dogs are attracted to their own poop, some only to other dogs poop, almost all dogs like cat poop, deer poop and rabbit poop! Many dogs that dont eat poop WILL eat frozen poop! Your best bet is to be diligent and STOP the habit before it becomes too strong. Many will outgorw it but that can take a long time...I will tell you what has worked for me-I had a GSD that loved poop, tried everything, eventually I would leave a few poops in the yard and dowse them with Tabasco. When he approached and sniffed he was turned off. Not sure how long it took (he is 12 now) I just made sure I carried my Tabasco with me and sauced them as they came out-and always left one or two in the yard (making sure they were spiced up). This way It was not a battle, I let him freely sniff them and he CHOSE not to eat them. Finally he realized poop was not a good thing and stopped trying.Now he never tried to lick or eat the Tabasco but I would still make sure it is not something harmful.

[Suzan]

thank you all for your advice. things are getting better. here is what i have been doing. for one i switched from wellness (he was having lots of diareha...) switched to paul newman's, the pooped firmed up immed.
i also left a little bit of poop & put tabasco sauce on it. worked great. i did this a few times.
i continue to say leave it and it seems to be better.
it really does not happen that often because i put him in a 10 ft pen 1st and can pick thay up right away...it's those times we are playing afterwards and takes a quick poop break.
thanks everyone!

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

You might try feeding her more. Some dogs eat poo because they are- HUNGRY! Also keep treats with you when you are out, she you see her go poo, call her to you to give her a treat and then rush over to pick up the poo.

Other than not getting enough to eat she may not be getting everything she needs out of her food so her body thinks she needs to eat everything! If she is on a low quality food you may want to examine other higher quality foods. lack of Zinc, potassium and protein are common reasons why dogs eat their own poo.

[Michele Glass]

Cody did this disgusting habit for a while, it was horrible. We realized he was hungry, we were already giving him the maximum for his weight, but we gave him an extra scoop everyday and it worked. We also lured him away with treats when he approached the poop.