Help,

Our 6 month old puppy is eating his poo ALL th time.  We are giving him a course of herbal medicine to reduce but he is still doing it.  We try to clean it up as soon as he has but he will try and eat it immediately after pooing.  Every time.  It is becoming a problem and needs to be stopped.  Even with a muzzle he manages to eat it.

He is healthy and NOT mineral deficient and has excersie etc etc.

How can this be stopped?

Thanks.

What food do you feed him on, what are his stools like and is he stressed at all ? Also how do you react when he does it ?

Lucy
x

Add some pinapple to his food.

How does that work?  we have to watch our new bernese like a hawk as he will eat s**t given a chance, Ive never heard of giving them pineapple but would be worth a try

It is and there are many things you can do but it is always good to do some research on poo eating before deciding how to deal with it :)

If for example the owner has been reprimanding the dog for eating the poo the dog may interpret that pooing is wrong as so eating it will get rid of it and he won't be told off :)

If the dogs stools are loose he may have some sort of digestive problem and will not being getting enough nutrients same if the dog is being fed a poor diet.

Poo eating is a problem for many dogs but alot can be done if you try and pin down why the dog maybe doing it :)

Lucy
xx

he's 14wks old and getting 2 milk meals a day (eg. weetabix & goats milk or rice pudding) and two meat meals a day (raw mince and biscuit) with SA37 and Vit C tablet added to one of these meals a day.  Its the same way our other bernese and poodles have been fed so I dont think he can be lacking in minerals etc. but I am always open to any ideas as it really turns my stomach to see him eat s**t!! :-( he is also very laid back and nothing seems to bother him so any suggestions would be welcome

I would say it is best to get him onto a good complete puppy food as I am not an expert by any means but feel that maybe he is not perhaps getting a well balanced diet (please feel free any of you food nutrition experts out there to verify or tell me other wise ;) )

It may well have been ok for your other dogs but as humans all dogs are not the same :)

He is only a little boy at the mo and be very careful if you do change his food to do it gradually ;)

I know a lot of people will recommend many complete foods but in my experience JWB or Nature Diet have worked extremely well for me and my crew on producing in the main healthy hounds :)

An example of poo eating that has been resolved in our house was Min my oldie we lost in August has bad colitis. Her poo was often very loose. When given the chance re consumed her deposits :) Dudley our youngest copied her and so we had two poo eating dogs :rolleyes: There was nothing we could do about Min as she went when ever the she had to and so it was difficult to keep an eye on her at all times :)

Dudley stopped when Min went :) As Min no longer providing her extra snacks then they were no longer on the menu :)

Lucy
xx

Hi, must be a Bernese thing, 'cos my old one always did! What I did and still do now and have cracked it really! It was never a problem afterwards! Was to put some Garlic paste into their dinners...you only need a little bit, this seems to make the 'after effects' totally and utterly undesirable!  This was the only thing that stopped her, but I have geard of the pineapple trick too...it must alter the 'smell' of the poo to a degree that it becomes unappertizing! Best of luck, Dawn

Unfortunately complete foods are the one thing I wont do. Changed my dogs over years ago from complete to raw foods and my dogs have never been healthier ie. no skin complaints, great teeth (so no smelly breath :-D), very rarely at vets in fact have never been except for boosters since I changed over and a huge difference in the one that had colitis, have had no sign of it at all since she changed diet.  Am open to trying many things but not that, I do appreciate your interest and hope you dont take offence :-) Will try garlic paste or pineapple!!!

Why don't you feed this one a raw diet then?

Have read that a teaspoon of pinapple added to the food is supposed to deter them from eating their poo.  Never had cause to try it out on my lot thank goodness.
Also Shaws Pet Products sell "DETER" which does the same thing.
Look up COPROPHAGIA on a search engine as there is lots of info about this problem.

Hi Fifi, when my lab pups are 14 weeks old they don't get mikly feeds -a complete puppy food and tripe. If you use the Barf diet, i think pups need extra vitamins etc added. Don't know alot about Barf, but I'm sure someone with more experience will help.

I have a dog that does this  and no matter what I do he will not stop , The only thing I can do is take him for a walk and watch him like a hawk.

I have had others like him in the past and they have never been cured!

There is no quick Remedy for this problem.

I was given some Crystals by the vet that I mixed with his food but it did not help, I can't remember what they were called!

I have tried the  Pineapple but again no joy.

If anyone does have a cure I would be i very nterested to know!

I have the same problem too. Infact mine started with pineapple. She had never eaten her stools before until i gave her pineapple one day in her kong, from that day until this (about 2-3 months ago) she ALWAYS eats it if im not around. I also have to watch her like a hawk when she is in the garden, it makes mornings a bit of a nightmare. I get up and am busting for a wee! She also obviously needs to go, now if i go first theres a chance it may be done in front room but if i let her out and run to the loo myself i can guarentee ill find her eating it. I usually let her out first and jump up on down on the spot telling her to hurry up! It does make life quite stressful having to watch her every move everytime she needs the toilet, esp at night now its winter, its bloody freezing outside at night! I will try the garlic paste though in her food, altho she has some garlic in her liver cake but it doesnt seem to make any difference. I suppose there is no miracle cure but i have to say it is an undesirable problem, esp if she comes bounding back to me for cuddles and kisses!

Poop is generally 25% solids and 75% water. This can vary with the type of diet fed. A diet based more on carbohydrates, such as grains, tends to produce larger stools and contain more water. A diet of raw meat and bones produces stools that are very small, and contain less moisture.

Smell is dependent on the amount of bacteria available for fermentation, and so a diet of meat (protein) and bones (calcium) produces stool that is far less aromatic than one of grains. Grains need a longer digestion period, and spend more time in the digestive system. The carbohydrates that were not entirely digested in the small intestine continue to ferment in the colon. The bacteria in the large intestine also contribute to the development of Vitamin K, necessary for blood clotting. These same bacteria produce the B vitamins, which are passed in the poop.

Animals that eat a diet primarily of processed dog food may become attracted to eating poop in order to gain this valuable nutrient. Dogs may also become stool eaters for the bacteria and enzyme content. By ingesting the stool, they are returning valuable ingredients to the digestive tract to aid in assimilating nutrients. Adding digestive enzymes or beneficial bacteria to the dog's diet, along with a B complex vitamin may help eliminate this distasteful habit.

Pineapple contains the enzyme Bromelain, hence why it is recommended for coprophagic dogs.

You can minimize poop eating by feeding a diet devoid of grains, adding a multi spectrum digestive enzyme to your dog's daily diet (available OTC at any health store, you do not need special dog ones) and by adding probiotics (again eastily available OTC at any health store, use ones that have billions of bacteria and several different strains, not merely acidophilus;) most places do dairy free types.

our labs did this for ages but as when we got them they were both overweight they were put on a strict diet and then started eating poo.

The dog did it reluctantly (though he will wolf down cat poop) and so we thought he did it out of hunger. increased his food and BINGO poo eating stopped.

The bitch we got only recentley, again overweight and on a diet, she also started poo eating and we did the same thing, increased her food and it seems to have worked.

She wasn't eating her own just the other dogs but the dog eat his and everone elses!

Had to decied whether it was better for them to lose weight even more slowly than they were or continue to poop eat.