I have two dogs a bitch and a dog and they are both rescues and both been nurtured. My problem is as soon as my bitch does a poo the dog is waiting behind her to eat it all up. First of all why does he do that? and secondly how can I stop this disgusting behaviour. I have tried to get to it before he does but he is so quick. Please help. :-( 

He's sniffing her bottom while she's doing it that's how fast he is. If I shout no, she thinks she's being told off so I can't do that.

Firstly I would suggest you let them out separately, so once she has done it, you can pick it up, then let him out. This will help break the cycle. It is extreamly common these days(very rare 30+ years ago), mostly as the food is so highly flavoured, it still has the smell once digested. The books say it is common with kennel dogs & those who are bored but I dont think that helps as mine are neither. They do grow out of it in time, especially once you can break the cycle. Some say put certain things in the food(pineapple juice, tomato juice & others I cant remember), this can sometimes help.

What food are they eating? Some of the more processed mass-market ones are so highly flavoured that it even smells like food when it's passed through the digestive tract!

So as well as only letting them out separately for a few weeks to break the habit, you might also consider changing their diet.

There is also a product called Copro-nil which is designed for this very situation. You'd give it to the dog whose faeces are being eaten and they're supposed to become less palatable.

Hate to say it but ALL my dogs do it, and every time there is a new puppy, they copy the other dogs, so it is a learned behaviour. Mine are raw fed so I don't think it's  food related. I have never found a way to stop it, and yes I have also noticed the scenario with one dog waiting whilst another is having a poo. Not nice. :(

A couple of mine will do it if there has been kibble in their diet, when they just have Naturediet nobody does it.

> Mine are raw fed

My only poo eater stopped when I changed to a raw diet 15 years ago. None of the ones that have come since have even tried eating their own. Now rabbit poo is another thing entirely. They love to eat that :(

>Now rabbit poo is another thing entirely. They love to eat that :-(

We call them dog chips.

Mine do this and I can't let mine out separately, it would take all day.

I have some dogs that aren't interested, and some that think it's better than going for a happy meal.

My Bitch who is now four did it when she was a pup,then grew to of it when she reached about a year old.Now her pup does it.Hopefully she will grow out of it too!

Quote If I shout no, she thinks she's being told off so I can't do that.

The way thats written it sounds as if your dog does stop when you say no.....if thats the case then I dont think anyone can help you with 'your' problem.......I hope you take notice of traffic lights, stop & 'no entry' signs  when they say 'no' to you!
.

The OP means that the wrong dog reacts to the verbal correction.

Feed them pineapple. When I got my boys, they both did this. Back then I didn't know it was because the food they were on wasn't digested fully and to them, their back ends were just food factories!

If you give them a few chunks of tinned pineapple - in juice not syrup or add some juice to their dinner if they don't like the look of the chunks, you should see a difference within 48hrs. Apparently,  it goes in tasting lovely and comes out bitter. Mine stopped and have never had the problem again but you will need to look at their diet and make changes if you want this to be successful long term.

Good luck!

I think you should re-read the original post and then re-answer.

Whatdog, I assume your reply was to Hethspaw?

Jeangenie - Yes, it was.

apparently cat poo is a great delicacy too ! well so my dogs tell me :)

First things to check: when he was last wormed; whether either dog has any digestive trouble (could mean that he isn't getting enough out of his food so is eating her.poo, or she isn't digesting properly so her poo is like food to him); what food both are being fed; and if none of those help, then look at it as a habit and manage accordingly. It's practically impossible to stop once it's a habit.  At that point it's all about training a good 'leave' cue and cleaning it up before he has a chance to snaffle it.

The only answer is to teach a good leave it and clean up quickly. You will need to reward with something very tasty: ie cheese or chicken. My whippet ate my GSD'S, it was gross and whippets are quick! I taught him to leave by offering an open hand with titbit in it. I closed my hand and said leave it, until he did just that and then he got the treat from the other hand. Once he leaves the treat in the open hand, he knows what leave it means. When I shouted leave it, Stan immediately knew he would be rewarded with something more tasty than dog poo! Thankfully he did grow out of it.

I taught my pup the same way as Beardy has described. Even when she was only eight/nine weeks she got the idea very quickly. Occasionally I need to remind her by going through the process again, but it certainly something that seems to work well for getting a good 'leave'.

Thanks for all the replies. My husband thinks it's the raw carrot I give them each day that is at fault, as I can see tiny bits in the poo but they do love eating carrot. We get an email from our vet when it's time to worm them and we always do it on time. It's a good idea to let one out at a time after feeding them and I will do that. But sometimes when they are in the garden lazing about they still poo. I only shouted no once and my bitch looked guilty but the dog didn't. It's when he picks the poo up and it looks like he's eating a cigar that makes me feel that's gross. I'm going to try the pineapple juice to see if that works.

>It's when he picks the poo up and it looks like he's eating a cigar that makes me feel that's gross

You think that's a problem?  I have one dog that will stand behind a dog having a poo, and swallowing it before it touches the ground.  Now that's gross!

Yuck!

That makes a lot of sense actually. I would have never thought about the food smell had I not seen your post.