Poop-Eating Dogs and how we can deter it

[ArkRescue]

Okay so seeing Dakota mention a dog that is a poop eater reminded me that I wanted to start this thread so we can share our remedies and our tactics for addressing it.

It is my understanding that many dogs get started eating their own poop and/or the poop of other dogs as puppies who were always around fresh and strong smelling poop. I recall when we had a litter of pups, that I was replacing the newspaper many times a day! Seemed like every time I put down new paper they would poop again immediately LOL. I am also finding that dogs that were not fed well sometimes learned to eat their own poop and/or the poop of others.

Most dogs can be stopped from that habit, but you need to really be on top of keeping the poop out of their sight/smell so they don't have the temptation. There are chewable tablets that you can feed your dog(s) that will reduce their desire to eat the poop. Not sure if it reduces the smell or what? A worse taste than poop? What could possibly taste worse than poop? EWWWW.

Instead of letting the dog run loose in the yard to poop unsupervised, someone needs to be on watch to pick up the poop immediately.

I realize that almost every dog LIKES to eat horse poop, and many dogs eat cat poop, but I don't think we can stop that behavior, and we just need to take steps to keep our dogs away from horse poop and keep our litter boxes away from where the dog(s) can get to them.

 

[Dakota]

My dad keeps telling me that poop eating is a common trait of a Pug and since I have a Bugg... well... they have stuff you can sprinkle on their food that will stop this and I haven't gotten the stuff yet but her poop eating has become less and less and she only eats her her own, never the other animals, but I do need her to stop that... nothing like getting a doggie lick from a dog that just ate her own crap.

 

[Dakota]

And I should point out that this is my son's dog... and all of us parents have been there, done this.

"oh mom, I promise I will take care of her..."

2 weeks later... I was calling her *my* dog because although he enjoyed the love, he didn't enjoy the work involved. She's 6 or 7 months now.

 

[ArkRescue]

And I should point out that this is my son's dog... and all of us parents have been there, done this.

"oh mom, I promise I will take care of her..."

2 weeks later... I was calling her *my* dog because although he enjoyed the love, he didn't enjoy the work involved. She's 6 or 7 months now.

I am dealing with a puppy right now also, same age, and all she really needs is a fenced yard and a play buddy and she'd be fine. I plan to take her over to meet another rescue dog, Lulu the Chocolate Lab/PitBill Mix, to play on Christmas. I bet they will wear each other out? We'll see. Lulu is a STRANGE looking girl with the lab/pit mix. Her color is gorgeous though. Seems my family fell in love with her, so it sort of went from fostering to Lulu being a permanent member of the family. Lulu has a scar on her hind leg from where they used a wire around her leg to keep her still for breeding (at her former home).

The last time I took a dog over there for a holiday it was my American Bulldog/Pit Mix and he and the resident beagle Shorty got to fighting over a burned biscuit. I totally forgot to remind everyone about him being food aggressive and someone tossed the burned biscuit on the floor and they commenced to fighting for it. Nothing like a good ole dog fight to disrupt a Thanksgiving feast .

 

[Dakota]

Oh, this pup was horribly food aggressive at 1st also but now just gets super excited whenever she knows her food is coming.... so much so she has ripped my panty hose in the morning.

I don't have any pictures handy at the moment but she looks like this one... http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...AEF92B125260B4582885D93084C&selectedIndex=179

She gets aways with a great deal because she's cute.

 

[ArkRescue]

Oh, this pup was horribly food aggressive at 1st also but now just gets super excited whenever she knows her food is coming.... so much so she has ripped my panty hose in the morning.

I don't have any pictures handy at the moment but she looks like this one... http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...AEF92B125260B4582885D93084C&selectedIndex=179

She gets aways with a great deal because she's cute.

Yeah our little girl is getting away with a lot also because she is cute ...... if I yell at her she will heal immediately and look up with that adorable face LOL

 

[kwillia]

Yeah our little girl is getting away with a lot also because she is cute ...... if I yell at her she will heal immediately and look up with that adorable face LOL

View attachment 106169 View attachment 106170

So do you kick and holler at the ugly dogs?

 

[Dakota]

So do you kick and holler at the ugly dogs?

Yes....

Well... on second thought I have never had an ugly dog.

I've snatched this Bugg up and swore she was going to spend some time in her crate only to give her hugs. I'm lousy at discipline.

But you know, I have a relative that has 2 dogs with all sorts of awards for obedience training and they are the worst behaved dogs EVER... they are so terribly bad that I've been tempted to give them a swift kick. '

 

[ArkRescue]

So do you kick and holler at the ugly dogs?

OF COURSE - the uglier the more kicking and screaming ......

LOL - um no!

 

[ArkRescue]

Yes....

Well... on second thought I have never had an ugly dog.

I've snatched this Bugg up and swore she was going to spend some time in her crate only to give her hugs. I'm lousy at discipline.

But you know, I have a relative that has 2 dogs with all sorts of awards for obedience training and they are the worst behaved dogs EVER... they are so terribly bad that I've been tempted to give them a swift kick. '

I am capable of being tough with dogs that need it, but I prefer to have dogs that are more easy going. I'd rather hug them than discipline them.

 

[Prosion]

I have heard a few times that when a dog eats somethings poop, it could be due to a medical problem and not just a behavioral one.

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...nimal-health/coprophagia-in-dogs-behavior/154

My GSD used to try and eat her own, or other animals feces we found on our hikes, but I quickly trained her out of that.. I would simply scold her every time and she would drop what she had and drop to the ground, if she did she was praised. The girl lives for praise more than anything so it was easy to break her out of the habit. I did wonder if it was a nutritional problem, as she has some food allergies so I remember changing her foods and focusing more on what her allergies were, and removing them from the equation.

 

[Roman]

I have a poop-eating Boston Terrier. She's gotten a lot better since she's gotten older, but when it comes to cat poop, she can't resist. From what I understand, the remedies simply make the poop taste bad to them. She too, is food aggressive with dogs that she doesn't know. You can give her a marrow bone, and take it from her, but if another dog tries to get it, she goes nuts. I suspect she was a puppy mill baby. She came to us with a host of problems. She's profoundly deaf, her tail was amputated up to her spine, so she has no tail period, and she had coccidiosis, and leptospirosis, which could have come with her, but I also fed her & my other Boston raw deer meat as a treat. Both of my girls LOVE cow & horse poop, but I think that's a grass issue. They love grass.

 

[getbent]

Very rarely do ours eat their own or each others but neither can resists rabbit, deer or whatever wild animal it is that comes through our woods. Gross!

 

[J and M]

I have a Maltese puppy who eats her poop. It's disgusting. The vet told me she should outgrow it but to sprinkle Accent meat seasoning on her food. I actually works!

 

[ArkRescue]

I have a Maltese puppy who eats her poop. It's disgusting. The vet told me she should outgrow it but to sprinkle Accent meat seasoning on her food. I actually works!

My female Rottie suddenly started poop eating as a senior. Took her to the vet who said the same thing put MSG on her food. I did and my girl became very ill. I took her back to them to say she is sick from what you asked me to do, and they basically said (too bad so sad) you still have to pay a special EMERGENCY APPT fee to bring her in to be seen today. I never went back there.

 

[J and M]

My female Rottie suddenly started poop eating as a senior. Took her to the vet who said the same thing put MSG on her food. I did and my girl became very ill. I took her back to them to say she is sick from what you asked me to do, and they basically said (too bad so sad) you still have to pay a special EMERGENCY APPT fee to bring her in to be seen today. I never went back there.

Sorry to hear your girl got sick. Shame on that vet!!! I have not had an issue with my little girl. I was concerned because she was so tiny (2 pounds). I use very little and it seems to do the trick with no ill effects. The vet has something they can prescribe for this also. My vet was out of it so he recommended accent.

 

[ArkRescue]

Sorry to hear your girl got sick. Shame on that vet!!! I have not had an issue with my little girl. I was concerned because she was so tiny (2 pounds). I use very little and it seems to do the trick with no ill effects. The vet has something they can prescribe for this also. My vet was out of it so he recommended accent.

I guess only some dogs are affected adversely, or they wouldn't suggest it.

 

[Dakota]

I spoke to the vet about the issue and she said the stuff you sprinkle on the food, which is what they will prescribe, only has a 50 percent success rate and sometimes that stuff can make them sick. I opted to not even try it. She advised I continue with what Prosion already mentioned and scold her when she does it. It has decreased over the past 2 months but sometimes she catches a few bites before my other dog's crap even hits the ground.

She got fixed Friday and I had some drama... 1st time I've ever encountered this kind of drama either.

During surgery she had an abnormal heart rhythm that caused some concerns but it corrected itself as she came out of anesthesia. In recovery, she refused food and water and continued to not eat several hours afterwards which caused her to began vomiting and shaking. She has NEVER missed a meal nor refused food, EVER. She was supposed to stay overnight but after several calls, we decided that she was suffering from severe separation anxiety and picked her up just before they closed for the day. I don't think there was a tech in the vet's office that didn't support our decision after seeing her perk up once we came to get her. After we got her home, she ate, drank, perked up and eventually crashed, snuggled in my son's arms for a good night's rest until she had to go back to the vet in the morning for a check-up.

So her chart got 2 notes for concern.... severe separation anxiety and anesthesia alert. She is doing much better now.

 

[Roman]

I spoke to the vet about the issue and she said the stuff you sprinkle on the food, which is what they will prescribe, only has a 50 percent success rate and sometimes that stuff can make them sick. I opted to not even try it. She advised I continue with what Prosion already mentioned and scold her when she does it. It has decreased over the past 2 months but sometimes she catches a few bites before my other dog's crap even hits the ground.

She got fixed Friday and I had some drama... 1st time I've ever encountered this kind of drama either.

During surgery she had an abnormal heart rhythm that caused some concerns but it corrected itself as she came out of anesthesia. In recovery, she refused food and water and continued to not eat several hours afterwards which caused her to began vomiting and shaking. She has NEVER missed a meal nor refused food, EVER. She was supposed to stay overnight but after several calls, we decided that she was suffering from severe separation anxiety and picked her up just before they closed for the day. I don't think there was a tech in the vet's office that didn't support our decision after seeing her perk up once we came to get her. After we got her home, she ate, drank, perked up and eventually crashed, snuggled in my son's arms for a good night's rest until she had to go back to the vet in the morning for a check-up.

So her chart got 2 notes for concern.... severe separation anxiety and anesthesia alert. She is doing much better now.

I had just about the same issue with Meatball. It turned out that she had a reaction to the meds used to drop her for the spay. I got the list of the medications from the Clinic, and I have it in her folder. This same dog needs 25 mg of Benedryl before getting any shots also. She had reactions to them as well. The Leptospirosis shot caused uveitis (eye inflammation), and another immunization caused seizures. So now she just gets the Rabies, and the Distemper shots for now. I wish your pup well!

 

[Dakota]

I had just about the same issue with Meatball. It turned out that she had a reaction to the meds used to drop her for the spay. I got the list of the medications from the Clinic, and I have it in her folder. This same dog needs 25 mg of Benedryl before getting any shots also. She had reactions to them as well. The Leptospirosis shot caused uveitis (eye inflammation), and another immunization caused seizures. So now she just gets the Rabies, and the Distemper shots for now. I wish your pup well!

All new territory for me with bad reactions.

Thanks and she is now back to her usual disgusting dog self. I came home to a chewed up kitty bed and puppy pad on my living room floor.

She has been pacing tonight, looking for her daddy who got stuck on several late service calls. I hope he gets home soon because she's a handful and my youngest son doesn't care much for dogs, only cats, so he won't entertain her.