My puppy is 4 months old and he keeps eating his own poo.  Any tips on how to stop him from doing this?

Thanks

Sharon Boden

This is not uncommon its called Coprophagia.
Puppies sometimes do this then just simply get out of the habit.
However adult dogs can continue.  Just discourage him from doing it.
Always pick up poo and dont leave it around for him to eat, this can
develop into a habit you see. 
They say adding pineapple chunks or courgette to the food can stop the dog as it makes the stools taste horrid. 
I find if I have a puppy that starts this I just go Ag Ag Ag and make a noise and they drop it. Just always make a noise which associates it with being unpleasant and he should stop. If he runs off with it, just get it out of his mouth and throw away.
If he was older, or an adult dog I could suggest its behavioural issues, but he is too young for that.  Think if he is being left on his own too long and hence getting bored. So if he is get him some treats to play with when you leave him such as the Kong balls where you add treats.  Their are lots of interesting toys now a days you can buy.
Rachel

Puppies will do this for several reasons - once you know what the reason is, you can work to stop it, but remember it is perfectly 'normal' behaviour for a dog......

1) Inapropriate toilet training - punishing a dog when you find a motion will result in the dog reasoning that if there is no faeces on the floor, you can't punish them, and this is the only way they have of removing the evidence.

2) Learnt from the dam. Puppies who were not raised with access to two different substrates will continue to soil the bed area - the dam will remove the soiling, and this become a habit for the puppies - they copy the good and the bad.

3) Enzyme deficieny, often cured by adding a small amount of pineapple to the diet.

4) Bacterial overgrowth - most common in puppies who eat other dogs faeces as they are naturally driven to add the good bacteria from other dogs and even other animals guts that they are lacking. Needs vet treatment with long term strong antibiotics to restore the balance.

5) Most common - inappropriate diet - food it too rich or contains indigestible parts - such as a high grain content. This is why dogs often eat 'cat litter tray crunchies'.......

HTH

Why do you think the most common is an inappropriate diet?  It always seems to me that the most common reason is puppy curiosity and the drive to try out everything or perhaps confusion over house training, I base that on the fact that the majority of "offenders" seem to be puppies and most then grow out of it.  As adults, who are far less likely to do it, are also fed diets containing grain or "too rich" it seems to me that factor can be elimated in a great many cases.  It should also be noted that we have had posts from people feeding every diet under the sun but still experiencing this problem.

I'd welcome some more info on this because one of my 8 month old pups does this but the other one doesn't.  They are both fed what I've been told is the best dog food on the market (James Wellbeloved).

In my experience most pups do, a few don't and almost all grow out of it, all regardless of what they are fed - and the only reliable 'cure' is to clean up quick. :)