Pup Eats Poo - How To Stop!

[kbo]

My pup is almost 8 months old and since I brought him home at 8 weeks he has tried to eat his poo every time he does one!

I have tried putting tabasco sauce on it - he ate it. Chilli sauce - ate it. White vinegar - ate it. For quite a few months the only solution was to put him on a leash each time he looked like he needed to go, then straight afterwards take him into the house, lock him in and then go back and clean it up straight away.

Since then we've progressed to being off leash - he poos, I tell him to leave it, give him a reward, quickly get the poop scoop (he lays down inches from the poo staring at it until I return), come back, tell him to leave it again, reward again, scoop and dispose. This only works when someone is around to carry out the process! If you leave it too long or nobody's around he happily eats the whole thing.

I was told he might be doing it to get attention (i.e he is usually chased around the yard and made to drop it) so I don't know if I should just let him eat it all he wants until he tires of it, but I was also told I need to break the cycle and if I have one whole week of no poo eating and then he eats just one bit I'm back to square one. My concern is he sometimes throws up after eating the poo so I'm reluctant to let it continue.

I'm considering Bitter Apple spray next, I've heard its good for dogs who chew the wrong things but he also has some pretty weird tastes - he loves to play with and bite into the lemons and limes that fall off our trees. I also don't want to use anything that may be toxic in case he does eats it.

Any solutions? Will he grow out of it? He is on a raw homemade Pitcairn diet, healthy, a good weight and his poo is well formed and not smelly.

[persephone]

Hi..

My first suggestion is NOT to let him see you clean up the droppings, or spray them etc.

By watching you clean up and take away, he figures that there is something worthwhile being taken by you..and if YOU want it, it must be worth having ( or something like that)

Make sure he has plenty of other interactive toys around!

provide him with a treat ball, or kong or buster cube... so he has to work at getting his food,,,

Try adding either some mashed pumpkin or crushed pineapple to his food.

I have used this with labrador coprophagics before...and it worked.

I don;t know what is in Dr Pitcairn's recipe...

but if there are yummy things which aren't easily digested, and exit still with a smell or look....your pup may be trying to eat them the second time.?

[dogdude]

Erny from Pro K9 (of this forum) gave me some advice on this topic the other day for a friends dog.

It is wise to first look at why he is doing it rather than just trying to stop it. Get your dog checked out by a Vet to rule out intestinal parisites or desease to start off with. Traces of blood or fungal presence will often be attractive to a dog.

There are many causes for it though.............it can also be behavior related.....in which case getting accessed by a trainer will help.

[kbo]

Thanks for the suggestions, he has been to the vet recently and is in good health. I've been reading up on the pineapple and will give it a try, although I'm a bit confused over fresh or tinned, do they both work?

How much to add to his meal? (he weighs 9.5 kg and has a meal of 1.5 cups of raw food mix, twice a day).

[Miranda]

What does the Pitcairn diet consist of, just curious.

[moggy]

My pup is 6 months old and was eating her poo. I asked the vet and she said fresh pineapple, not tinned. I tried this but she still ate it. I cleaned it up everytime she went which seemed to break the cycle. The last few weeks she hasn't looked back after defecating. I was told pups usually grow out of this habit. I think this is the case with Sophie. Hopefully your pup will grow out of it too.

Good luck.

Moggy

[Kelpie-i]

Copraphagia is something that comes very natural to some dogs but repulses humans. When bitches have just had pups, they eat the faeces of their pups to keep the den clean.

Most of the time, when a puppy starts eating his own faeces, it is diet related. A missing mineral or vitamin triggers the body's natural instinct to source it. This is why most dogs will eat cat faeces or faeces from other dogs. If your dog is a loner, then he will simply eat his own. Problem is, the more they do it, the more of a habit it becomes and it can even become an obsession to some.

My male kelpie showed signs of copraphagia when he was young and as soon as I changed his diet, it stopped completely.

Here are some other tips to help out:

1: As mentioned earlier, get the dog checked out by the vet to ensure that there are no nasties lurking in his gut.

2. Make sure you are worming your dog regularly (worms eggs can lurk in the faeces)

3. Change the diet ie. try another brand of dog food ie. something super premium (if not already on this). A holistic brand of food is best!

5. Add some pumpkin (and other vegies) to his meals.

6. Brewers yeast is also said to help

7. Remember to keep the area as clean as possible to help break the habit.

Good luck!

Edited January 14, 2008 by Kelpie-i

[gsdog2]

Thanks for the suggestions, he has been to the vet recently and is in good health. I've been reading up on the pineapple and will give it a try, although I'm a bit confused over fresh or tinned, do they both work?

How much to add to his meal? (he weighs 9.5 kg and has a meal of 1.5 cups of raw food mix, twice a day).

I heard you just pour some pineapple juice over their food each night. I only heard this on the radio the other day so let us know if it works.

[kbo]

Miranda, the diet I'm following is from Dr Richard Pitcairn's book "Natural Health for Dogs and Cats".

Pitcairn's book on Amazon

It's based on raw meat, cooked or grated veges, and cooked grains - with added supplements. I make up a batch that lasts one week (frozen in patties). I usually alternate between chicken and beef each week, always with cooked rolled oats (pup did not do well with other grains) and cooked and mashed mixed veges (carrot, broccoli, cauliflower) and a couple of cloves of grated raw garlic. Calcium is also added (I use a seaweed based calcium powder), and vegetable oil (I use safflower or sunflower) and a 'Healthy Powder' mix which includes Kelp, Vitamin C, Lecithin and (optional) Brewers Yeast. As I am not using the optional yeast I also include some powdered spirulina as a mulitvitamin (added separately when each meal is served). Bones are used only as recreational - I give a brisket bone once a week.

The book has several other recipes, all with nutritional analysis included. I researched home made diets for months before I decided on this one, (as opposed to BARF - my main fear was the problems that may occur from raw bone splinters).

It's quite easy once you get the hang of it, although I still refer to the recipe book each week to get the exact measurements right.

[Miranda]

Thank you kbo, very interesting