I believe that my dog has been eating her own poop. She is 10 months old and mostly free in the house and to go on the balcony, she loves hanging out on the balcony. Once in awhile, in the past, I have found her poop on the deck. Well, the other day I found what looked like had been diarhea, but most of it was gone. There is no one else who would have done this, the only thing I can figure out is she must have ate it, which probably means she has done it before.

I am taking her to the vet for her booster shots this saturday and will ask my vet about this (I am already embarrassed about it!) - but I wanted to check and see if anyone knows any possible reasons why. Also, I will have to only let her out there when I can stay with her, but I was wondering if there are any ways to help stop this behavior alltogether? I would like to let her out there on her own since she really likes just hanging out before going to bed.

thank you

most dogs LOVE poo.
some eat duck, chicken, hegdehog, cow... you name it, they have tried it. dont know if it is ordinary to eat her own though... sorry i cant be more help :)

It's possible she thinks you may be cross about it being there and is 'hiding the evidence'. They get daft ideas sometimes.
:)

Don't be embarrassed about it - I would mention it to the vet just so he can check there is nothing wrong. In one of my books it says, although not common, it can suggest a nutritional or gastrointestinal disorder in which food is not being completely digested. Rule that out, and a more common cause is attention seeking or habit through boredom or anxiety. So, does your dog get loads of exercise and playtime with you, does he have toys, or do you go out and leave him at all which might worry him?
Anyway, although I don't know the name of it, there is something you can get to put in your dog's food, which will then make his 'doings' not taste nice to him - probably your vet will know about it.
Hilda

Coprophagia, eating poo is fairly common, and there are a number of reasons for it.

Having the runs means anything your dog has eaten wont have been fully digested, so she may be trying to 'recycle' the nutrients from it.
Other reasons are as suggested, she may be trying to hide the evidence, or it could be boredom, or a dietary deficiency.

Get the pup checked over by the vet, make sure it doesnt get the opportunity to do it, ie pick up poo straight away, and make sure the pup is well exercised trained and played with, so she isnt bored.

Good luck with it, its a pain having a dog that does it, i have got one who will sometimes eat his own, yeeeeuch.

Eating other animals poo, ie horse poo, cat poo, sheep poo is fairly normal, not to be worried about, but eating its own poo, or other dogs poo is something to get sorted out.
Em