11 week GD has a graving for her poop

[Richard Craig]

Hi. Are any of the over the counter pills, chewables, powders etc. any more effective than the other?  We do a great job of cleanup but she soon will be crated for several hours and if my accident she does poop in her crate, we want to rid her of this habit.  Thanks.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Sue of Sue, Murphy and Bella had this problem with Bella. She would be a good one to connect with about it.You could search for her under the Members tab at the top of the page and leave a comment for her.

Maisy is adorable!!! :)

[Richard Craig]

Thanks, will do. :)

[Jane Smith]

My Ethel did this too when she was a puppy, and after chasing her away for a while she eventually stopped.  I was totally grossed out when she did it. 

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy did this when he was younger. He was kept in a pen with puppy pads when we were at work. We went to the vet and got "Forbid". It's a powder you mix with his food and it makes it taste bad when he poops. He stopped eating it and then he learned to hold it until we got home from work (at 5 months old) and we stopped using the puppy pads. We only needed the Forbid for a couple of weeks. Also, you may want to adjust the times you feed her so that she can go potty right before you leave and then get better at holding it while you're out.

[Dot, Maggie and KoKo]

I understand that pineapple in the food will work.  Thankfully I haven't had this problem with my two.

[Richard Craig]

Thanks folks.  Fresh pineapple, canned?  Crushed, chunks?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

My neighbors are currently working on this issue with their pup and they have tried pineapple without success. I am pretty sure Sue did too. Sorry! :( It  apparently just makes yummy pineapple flavored poops!

[Heather Martinez]

Yes, I tried it with Teddy too and it did not help.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

YUMMO!!!!

[Martha & Cooper]

The pineapple chunks in it's own juice, not in syrup,  worked for us.  It took several days to a week to start making a difference and we still pick Cooper's up immediately, but he hasn't had this problem since he was 6 months old now.   I was skeptical about the pineapple and even stopped it at one point, only to have him "indulge" again.  You might try it.   I am not sure why it works for some puppies and not others, but it is worth a try.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

My neighbors used yogurt.

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

Richard, yes, we have the same issue with our Bella and now that she is 15 months old we think we have a handle on it, but I still pick up poop really quickly and never leave her outside alone for long, because I swear she hides the darn stuff so she can go get it later.

Anyway, we have tried For-bid, some chews from Foster and Smith, pineapple in her food, hot hot HOT sauce directly on the poop before she ate it, cayene pepper on it too, and  just when I think something has worked, I catch her eating it again. Someone one here suggested Cesar Milan said it was a potassium deficiency so give her banana's,. However I;m not buying that one, but she eats banana's so what the heck.

SOoooo I have no solution for you. My breeder said it was because she was with her mother for 10 weeks, a little longer than average, and learned from mommy to clean up after her litter. That it is an instinct to protect the pack so that preditors don't find them through the droppings.  Makes sense to me. She also stated that it should slow down or stop as she got older and it has. I'm not 100% sure she does or doesnt eat it anymore, but I havent seen her do so for a few weeks. I think given the opportunity she still would.

I learned to brush her teeth a LOT!!! make her drink water and washed her snout off when she came in if I suspected it. And there weren't a lot of doodle kisses going on with Bella for a long time. I now let her kiss me a little, but I always do a quick sniff test in her mouth just in case.

So sorry you have one that does this. It truely is the most disgusting thing I have had to deal with having dogs, but I have learned to live with it and know that it's not going to kill her.

Be extra careful when you take her out for walks or to the dog park because as disgusting as it is that they eat their own poop, I find it very scary for them to eat other dogs or animals as the health of that animal is uncertain and there are many parasites, bacterias, germs and nasty stuff that can be tranferred from one dog to another in feces.

Good luck and let us know how it goes or if you find a "cure"