Puppy behavior questions??? Get answers from a professional behavior consultant

[Golden Beauties Driven 2 Doodles]

Feel free to throw me some questions. Iove to help people out and make your puppy experience as full as it possibly can be!

[Golden Beauties Driven 2 Doodles]

You are so welcome, you just brought tears to my eyes. Thank you!!! I love to help in any way I can! I am also always welcome to calls or emails.

I know everyone wants these issues and concerns to be shared and I appreciate that because if I can offer assistance I will. However if anyone has a concern that involves aggression I just want everyone to know to use caution trying any of these things yourself (even though they are positive methods) without consulting myself or a professional in your area first. The basic behavior issues that we have addressed here thus far have been okay for most anyone to use but every case is a bit different and every dog is a bit different (just like people- there is no one cure for anxiety and/or depression, each persons therapy may differ greatly) and here we are dealing with behavior modification. I will gladly answer any and all questions that anyone has so before trying something in a potential aggression case ask me first. I just want to be careful! Safety first!!!

 

Okay, Shelly and all thank you for the compliments I appreciate it! I love what I do and have been very successful at behavior change programming and despite the fact that we are not working on severe issues here we are dealing with modifying behaviors and it takes a sincere commitment on the owners behalf to do it! You all seem very ready to tackle for the challenges you have and I want you all to know I am always here for any concern.

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

Okay, here's my dilema. Our 1 yr old came to us at 10 weeks with the disgusting habit of eating her own poop. I have tried pineapple, meat tenderizer, hot sauce, and teaching her leave it and drop it. However, she is obsessed with the poop and will just gobble it up as fast as she can when she hears leave it.

We pick poops often and she doesn't do it all the time, and never with fresh poop. I guess she likes the drier texture. Who knows. I just bought some Forbid type chews and she got diarrhea that night, so I stopped that.

I am not sure what else to do and I don't want to be going outside with her everytime she goes potty. We have a huge fenced in yard so our 2 dogs can go outside safely without us and having to stand guard over her pooping is getting tiring. And very HOT!

We would love to break this habit, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks,.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Sue, hoping there is an answer to your pup's issue. I know it has been difficult for you for a long time. ;o(

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

Thanks Bonnie. It has been hard, especially being as she is such a little lover and wants to lick and get right in your face. makes me feel sad to have to push her away, and she can't relate poop eating to us telling her NO when she gets close.  Thank you for understanding.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Sue, I was just thinking about you and Bella a couple of days ago and wondering if she had overcome this habit. I'm so sorry to hear that you are still working on it. Our neighbors have a 14  week old Dachshund pup who has started this same behavior. I am eager to  hear the answer you receive and hoping it will help them as well.

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

I definitely see an improvement, or at least I think I do. Just when we say we haven't seen her eat poop in awhile, she does it!  We've noticed that she does it more when other people let her out too . So she must be getting the idea that when we are around it is not acceptable.  Oh, what's a doodle mommy to do?

[Golden Beauties Driven 2 Doodles]

Okay, first off to understand a bit about coprophagia many dogs under the age of 2 will conduct this behavior (poop eating). It is most likely not occurring because she is hungry, it may be occurring when she is in the yard bored, although it sometimes is just something they do for the first couple of years and then they stop. But here is what you can try... because it may be boredom and I am not by any means saying that you are not giving her attention or anything like that... dogs get bored, some dogs require more mental stimulation than others...

 

I would suggest first off dont make a big deal when she does it, if you have seen her do it and hollered at her she may also be doing it for attention... attention even yelling at them can be reinforcing... 

 

I would give her a bunch of toys that she can chew on and play with in the yard. This should help her to remain active and forget about the poop in the yard. I would suggest mixing these toys up so that she doesnt grow bored of them, by this I mean to say put a few out and then take them and hide them, then return them to the yard, in the mean time replacing them with other toys, basically switching them off from day to day (or every couple of days) this will help occupy her when she is outside. Try it and lemme know, it is a completely different approach than tackling the poop or her food itself but the poop is not the antecedant to the behavior something else is and I am assuming it may be boredom... Try it, I think you will see a difference :)

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

Thank you for the response. I certainly can change toys around, altho she hardly ever plays with toys in the yard, she is too busy eating twigs, running in and out of the gardens getting muddy, chasing Murphy or birds or barking at one thing or another. Toys aren't high on her list of entertainment in the yard. You are correct in that she does require a lot of mental stimulation and is a very busy little girl.  I am also sure she isn't hungry as she has eaten poop all times of the day and she eats very good food so I know it's not a nutrient deficiency as I have also read.

Our breeder has told us that she learned this from her mother and it is a protective instinct and this makes sense to me.

I will try the toys however and thank you very much for your insight. I will let you know if it helps.

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

Thank you for this opportunity. I have two doodles, 16months and 20 months. The younger one is pretty anxious. We take her lots of places to increase her confidence but it seems like if she is scared (noises or strangers) or even sometimes when playing with the other dog,she will pee on the floor. Sometimes,we can't figure out why it happens. No health issues,just had blood,urine and fecal tests done,but she is underweight,which we are addressing. She is an unsprayed female. I can't imagine she is anywhere ready to be bred. The other dog grew out of this submissive peeing a long time ago. Do you think this one will eventually? We currently just ignore it and clean it up.

[Lisa V.O.]

My 11 old week pup diggs up the yard, which make my hubby mad. She has plenty of toys outside. What can I do to break this habbit?

 

thanks

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Lisa: I don't know if you noticed or not, but this thread is from back in 2011 and it appears the OP hasn't posted since Nov 2011
In answer to your question: a 11 week old puppy should not be left alone in a backyard....so many things for a young puppy to get into and cause itself harm. Supervision is very important , thus not giving her the chance to dig, and having lots of toys does not mean she will not get bored.
There is also a thread running in the Puppy Madness Group which should be helpful. Good luck!