my pup has started eating his own poo why? how can i stop him

feed him pineapple i dont know why but it worked with my pup

Feeding pineapple works as pineapple contains enzyme which MAY be missing from the dogs diet.  Using pineapple will only work if your dog is deficient in those sorts of enzymes - which is why some people find it doesn't work.....

I was told that the enzyme broke down proteins and made it less attractive in some way.  I've not really looked into but it sounded feasable to me as pineapple is used to tenderise meat.

Exactley - the enzymes enable the dog to digest the protein that would other wise be passed out in the faeces, therefore the faeces are less nutritonal and therfore less attractive to the dog.....  This won't work if enzyme deficiency is not the reason the dog is doing it, if, for instance it is the result of bad house training or it's learnt behaviour......

That was't how how it was explained to me, the enzyme changed ordinary old poo :) to something less attractive as it broke down proteins that are ordinarily in the waste matter. 
I agree there will be lots of reasons why dogs do this but I am not sure that it is because some dogs poo are more palatable than others, copraphilias will often not be so discerning as to confine themselves to their own which would not happen unless all the other dogs have deficient enzymes.  This is the reason that things added to a dogs diet often failed, the habit has to be broken and some aversion therapy applied.

Has he ever been scolded for pooing? If so, he could be trying to hide the 'evidence'. The best way to stop him is to clear it away promptly so that he can't ...

This is called copraphagia and is quite common

You can use Deter or Forbid both are tablets or powders that are supposed to make the faeces taste revolting. Pineapple in food is supposed to do the same thing . Or a spring loaded cap banger allow the feaces to dry a bit get a spring loaded banger from the joke shop and place the feaces ob top the dog picks up the faeces and bang. Normally stops the behaviour fairlt quickly

There are numerous reasons for theis happening one is scolding him after the event.

hi as soon as he does a poo outside he starts chomping away i have never hit or shouted at him , he does not do it if im outside with him

I have just cracked my 6 mth old Beagle eating her poo and its all thanks to "Rose" she advised me to give digestive enzymes and b-complex tablets after each meal and in just over a week Copper seems to have at last stopped eating it! These are available in any health food shop anyone wanting any more info just ask!!  i'm sure Rose won't mind either
Aly xx

how much do yo give

My dog  gets two meals a day so i give one of each tablet in each meal (so 4 tabs daily) i got Enzyme formula from holland and barrett and vitamin b complex from the health rack cause they are well cheaper than h&b!!  They really have worked though!!
Aly xx

My 6 month lurcher pup doesn`t eat her own poo, but she does eat our cats poo, which i think is pretty discusting, he digs the garden,then the cat poos in the fresh earth, then he goes back and eats whats she has done yuk!

My doberman puppy is the first dog i have had to eat her poo & poo alot, we added pineapple juice for a while and it worked for a couple of months then she started eating it with the pineapple, she must have got used to it. Our dog trainer suggested changing her diet to a wheat, beef, gluten free diet. We feed her Vitalin Lamb & rice kibble, it is a complete food and it has made her poo firmer, less of it and she doesnt eat it. She seems to be getting everything she needs from the food it stays in her stomach longer and she absorbs the nutrients and doesnt feel the need to re eat her poo.

But, of course, this doesn't stop them eating other dogs poos :D Kayla doesn't like her own but others, including dog, fox and badger, they all make really good outdoor snacks...gross or what?!!!
Dogs eat things we find disgusting but they must like it, it doesn't seem to harm her and she only does it occassionally, but we have to remember to give her a RMB to chew or brush her teeth before she licks our faces!!! WHat would we do without them :D

a multi strain digestive enzyme complex will contain various enzymes which break down some items that a dog is not equipped to do, such as grains, milk sugar and some proteins.

One of these enzymes will be bromelain which is what pineapple contains.

Vitamin B complex may be necessary as a deficiency can trigger a dog to recycle their excrrement............

Dogs that are fed raw rarely exhibit this behaviour as there are no "undigested" grains etc available to the dog.

I first checked into this when we were stationed over-seas while my husband was in the Army.  After returning to the states and seeing it still happen with my own and other dogs and puppies I did some research and talked with a few vets.  There are a couple different reasons.  If the puppy is young and doing it, often it is because when they eat their food is not always completely processed and broken down.  This leaves pieces that the puppy can smell in the feces.  Puppies being puppies they go for it.  That is the one main reason they will do that while young.  As they grow older it can often mean a vitamin defency.  If it doesn't stop as the puppy ages have them checked and then put on a good muti-vitamin.

oh my god!  I thought it was just my airedale pup that did this.  I was too embarassed to ask.  I feel much better.  I'm going to feed her pineapple and see if it works.  Fingers crossed.

One of the main reasons dogs eat their own faeces is because of the food they're fed.  Many moderns diets are overloaded with calories and nutrients which the dog can't possibly get out of the food the first time through.  The dog is then encouraged to eat the faeces.  Try feeding a better diet, such as Nature Diet, Burns or James Wellbeloved.

This problem existed long before modern diets :)

My dog used to eat poo, but I changed him onto Nature Diet, and he's not done it since...... :)

There are lots of alleged reasons as to why dogs eat faeces.  Even those that say that the dog is by nature a scavenger and it's all perfectly natural.  It's us that have the problem, not the dog. 

They'll roll in it too given half the chance.  Farm dogs are not averse to rolling in a platter of cows manure and eating the dried crusty bits.  

Sometimes feeding them a highly digestible diet coupled with the use of aversion/avoidance tactics can help to break the habit.   

My GSD used to do this as a pup, and just grew out of it naturally. She's so pernickety now that she will do a detour to go round a poo!! Now I have a 15 week old boy who chomps away on it - so I'm hoping he will also grow out of it, but in the meantime we try and clear it away instantly! Luckily, neither have ever been in the least bit attracted to anyone else's poo!
Kat