Sarah Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Coprophagia, or eating feces, has to be one of the most revolting aspects of owning a dog. It is fairly common, and can be dangerous for puppies. There are many reasons why dogs do this, and so there are also many possible solutions. Why dogs eat poop There are many possible reasons as to why dogs have this disgusting habit. The first one to rule out is a medical condition. Problems with the digestive system or pancreas (possibly from too much fat in the diet) can cause coprophagia. However, unless the dog has diarrhea, this cause is not likely. One theory is that if your dog sees you picking up feces (like with a "pooper scooper") he is trying to imitate you. Another is that something is missing in the diet that the dog is trying to make up for by eating stool. Some dog owners report that this behavior disppears when the switch is made from a low-grade food to a higher grade one or to a raw diet. Boredom has been identified as anohter possible factor. Finally, some people have decided that dogs just plain "like it" and that there is no special reason. What do do about it? Eating his/her own feces If your dog is eating his/her own stool, you have a chance of stopping it by adding something to your dog's diet to make the taste so bad that it will stop. Meat tenderizer, sea kelp, brewers yeast, spinach, pineapple or commercial products (such as "Forbid" or "Deter") have been known to help. Eating feces from other dogs or animals If your dog is eating another animal's feces (say from the neighbor's dog or wild animals) then training your dog to avoid it may be the only way to prevent it. For example you can train the "leave it" command while out on a walk. If your dog starts to get a little bit "too" interested in the poop out there on daily walks, say "no" and lead him away to let him know that this is unwanted behavior. You might also try to get your dog to develop a negative assocation with feces by deliberately leaving it where it is and putting tabasco sauce or lemon juice on it. The idea is that your dog will learn to dislike it and stop on his own. The cat litter box Two strategies for keeping the dog from snacking on "tootsie rolls" or "almond roca" make use of the fact that cats are usually smaller and more agile than most dogs. For example, a hooded litter box will solve the problem if the dog is large (assuming of course than you can train your cat to use it ). Another possibility is to make your own litterbox by starting with a deep storage container and cutting a hole in the lid which is large enough for the cat to fit through. Kitty drops down into the business area, and jumps back out, dog has no chance to get to it. Unless your dog is very good at climbing, putting the litter box on a platform where the cat can get to it but the dog cannot will help. Just be sure that when you choose a spot for the litter box that it is "private" enough for kitty. Cat's hate being watched when they do their business and will often refuse to use a litter box if they do not like the location. The good news is that most dogs eventually stop. Remember you are not alone, and if one method doesn't help, don't give up-keep trying! more info here: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1613 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyrayn Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 dont wanna get involved in this post ..as i think you are talking S**T rofl just kidding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 dont wanna get involved in this post ..as i think you are talking S**T rofl just kidding oh oh oh oh sooo funny lol x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberianandy Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Coprophagia, or eating feces, has to be one of the most revolting aspects of owning a dog. It is fairly common, and can be dangerous for puppies. There are many reasons why dogs do this, and so there are also many possible solutions. Why dogs eat poop There are many possible reasons as to why dogs have this disgusting habit. The first one to rule out is a medical condition. Problems with the digestive system or pancreas (possibly from too much fat in the diet) can cause coprophagia. However, unless the dog has diarrhea, this cause is not likely. One theory is that if your dog sees you picking up feces (like with a "pooper scooper") he is trying to imitate you. Another is that something is missing in the diet that the dog is trying to make up for by eating stool. Some dog owners report that this behavior disppears when the switch is made from a low-grade food to a higher grade one or to a raw diet. Boredom has been identified as anohter possible factor. Finally, some people have decided that dogs just plain "like it" and that there is no special reason. What do do about it? Eating his/her own feces If your dog is eating his/her own stool, you have a chance of stopping it by adding something to your dog's diet to make the taste so bad that it will stop. Meat tenderizer, sea kelp, brewers yeast, spinach, pineapple or commercial products (such as "Forbid" or "Deter") have been known to help. Eating feces from other dogs or animals If your dog is eating another animal's feces (say from the neighbor's dog or wild animals) then training your dog to avoid it may be the only way to prevent it. For example you can train the "leave it" command while out on a walk. If your dog starts to get a little bit "too" interested in the poop out there on daily walks, say "no" and lead him away to let him know that this is unwanted behavior. You might also try to get your dog to develop a negative assocation with feces by deliberately leaving it where it is and putting tabasco sauce or lemon juice on it. The idea is that your dog will learn to dislike it and stop on his own. The cat litter box Two strategies for keeping the dog from snacking on "tootsie rolls" or "almond roca" make use of the fact that cats are usually smaller and more agile than most dogs. For example, a hooded litter box will solve the problem if the dog is large (assuming of course than you can train your cat to use it ). Another possibility is to make your own litterbox by starting with a deep storage container and cutting a hole in the lid which is large enough for the cat to fit through. Kitty drops down into the business area, and jumps back out, dog has no chance to get to it. Unless your dog is very good at climbing, putting the litter box on a platform where the cat can get to it but the dog cannot will help. Just be sure that when you choose a spot for the litter box that it is "private" enough for kitty. Cat's hate being watched when they do their business and will often refuse to use a litter box if they do not like the location. The good news is that most dogs eventually stop. Remember you are not alone, and if one method doesn't help, don't give up-keep trying! more info here: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1613 great advice added to rep use to have the problem with our ab eating cat poo out the garden but his medical condition made it hard for us to train out of him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie62 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Good thread sarah , have had this problem with honey when she was a puppy .But huskies have been ok .My older son's girlfrinds mum has had it with her goldren retriever pup . Common problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 my 2 just like rolling around in the crud lol blaze used 2 eat our cats poop tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie62 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 My beagle will roll in fox poo and it stinks...takes two baths to get rid of smell ( dirty cow ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowusin Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I know this is going to be hard to believe but My dogs have a friend who is a yelllow lab and eats his and every other dogs poop. Her vet told her that he eats the poop because dogs do not completely digest everything they eat so when they go part of what they ate is in their stool and they are actually tasting the food they just ate. I think that is disgusting if it is the truth and thankfully my two boys do not eat either theirs or any other dogs poop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Great advice Sarah, added to rep. Ive always wonered why they do this, Ive seen Marley do it a few times and also knew a collie that used to eat Horse poo, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules dief taz tor Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 my two dont do this , but that could be the fact that they love pineapple lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austinville Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 dont wanna get involved in this post ..as i think you are talking S**T rofl just kidding I expect I shall be fired this afternoon... for laughing so hard while I'm supposed to be working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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