Eating Poop

[primabella]

Mickey eats his own poop all the time. It's disgusting and I don't think it's good for him. Last time, he threw it up. We tried putting some crushed pineapple in his food so when he pooped, it wouldn't have a good smell. (tip from the breeder) It didn't work. Any other suggestions or do I actually have to go out there everytime I wait until he gets near his poop, and tell him "NO"? Thanks for any advice. :D

[micki76]

There are several products that you can but to put in their food that makes the poop taste bad. What a concept-something to make poop taste bad!:rolleyes: A couple are Dis-taste and For-Bid.

Don't feel bad, though Stolly(RB) used to eat his poop ALL the time! It was so gross, cause he always wanted to give kisses!! :eek: He also liked kitty box crunchies. :)

We used both products and they worked pretty well.

Good luck with the Mickster. :D

[lovemyshiba]

Oh, Mickey, have you been talking to Kito?? He has that nasty habit too--not so much any more, but eeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!
The gross thing about Kito though, is that he would try to eat other poop, because no one picked it up at our old apartment:eek:
Since I always had him on the leash, I always told him no, and pulled him away.
I have read up on it (it's called cophragia, I think), and it is harmful to eat poop, they could get worms or anything else that another dog may have.
Since it is his own, I'm not sure how harmful it is, just gross.
I know there are some other things you can add to their food to make it taste bad, one being meat tenderizer, and there are also supplements they sell that you can add to their food.
I've also read that you can put something like tabasco sauce on it, and when he goes to eat it it will taste bad.
Here's a link to a website that may help
http://bullmastiffinfo.tripod.com/coprophagia.htm

[Nomilynn]

Our vet told us that dogs eat poop (sometimes) when they aren't fully digesting their food, and can still smell food in the poop. That happens because the type of food isn't being totally absorbed by the dog, and so we should try a new one. Switching foods, for us, totally worked. We bought a higher quality, vitamin rich food that totally stopped the other end munching :o It might be something you want to ry :)

[primabella]

What a concept-something to make poop taste bad!
lol :D How true. Thanks for the tip.

Emily - Mickey won't eat other dog's popp. Just smell it and then back off. I didn't think it was too good for them either. Thanks for the link. I'll check it out soon. :)

Nomilynn - Switching foods on Mickey! I thik he'd kill you, he loves his Iams. :rolleyes: But it's definitly something to consider. Thanks :D

[KYS]

primabella,
Isn't Mickey still a puppy?
Rocky was a horrible poop eater when he was a pup.
He not only would eat his own, but he would
run up to SHeba and barely wait for her poop hit the
ground before he would eat it.
The vet said he would probably grow out of it, and
to make sure I pick up the poop right away.
I cleaned up the poop 2 times a day, while
he went through this phase.
Sure enough before he was a year old he
stopped.
He still has bad breath but at least it's not
from eating poop. :D

[primabella]

lol ;D Thanks. I hope he grows out of it too. I was out at a party and then shopping this afternoon. When I got back Mickey and I went in the back to play some soccer and there was like 3 piles right there. I was like, "At least they're not eaten" I cleaned them up. I think I'll do that each time he lets one out. Thanks! :D

[lovemyshiba]

Primabella~
Kito stopped doing it after he was fixed. I have no clue why, but he just lost interest after that.
Another thing I did was when he walked over to a pile, I gave him a treat when he didn't try to scarf it down.

[primabella]

Well, Mickey's getting neuterured soon, so I hope that helps. I have tried waiting by it (what a pleasant smell ;)) and when he came closer I told him "no". I'll see what happens today. Thanks :)

[Rachel]

The other day my neighbor came out of the house to ask me how I was. I think I know why. I had just finished scolding Tucker for the *dastardly act*. Scolding doesn't seem to bother Tucker all that much so I was really trying to make my point (a little loudly) with reference to how bad he was. I had caught him in the act of poop and eat and couldn't even get him to *drop it*. Instead he just gulped it down. Ick, ick, ick. Anyway, I think my neighbor overheard my berating Tucker and was curious as generally things are pretty harmonious at my house.

We have had him on DETER but cut the dosage down to the maintenance level. Since the dogs generally go out on their own with out me, I can't always see when they poop and what happens, so it was very disconcerting to see the maintenance dosage had not worked. I have upped the amount of DETER again, but short of going outside with Tucker every time, I'm not sure what else to do. I know he doesn't do it all the time, but even once is just too much.

[primabella]

I know. Then my dad goes, "Oh no, don't kiss him!" lol...:p He actually took a rag once and just washed out his mouth. Oh well...:)

[micki76]

Oh, BTW - the For-bid and Dis-taste apparently don't alter the taste of the food, or if it did it didn't bother Stolly. It works with the digestive enzymes to creat the "bad" taste in the poop. Sorry, I forgot to mention that before. :)

[primabella]

That may be better than the crushed pineapple. Thanks :D

[turner]

Our roommates dog still eats poop and she's over a year old....she eats her own and Deisel & Phoebe's............i will try tobasco sauce and see if that works....

Do you just put it in their food?

[micki76]

Originally posted by turner
Our roommates dog still eats poop and she's over a year old....she eats her own and Deisel & Phoebe's............i will try tobasco sauce and see if that works....

Do you just put it in their food?

Please do not put Tabasco sauce in your dogs food!! :eek: It's way too spicey for their digestive system and most dogs won't eat it. Instead try the For-Bid or Deter or another product.

And if they'll eat it in the food, then they'll eat it in the poop. The For-Bid and Dis-Taste are apparently flavorless in the food, but they react with the digestive enzymes in the dogs body to produce the flavor in the poop.

I don't recommend the meat tenderizer either as it's pretty high in sodium and msg.

[primabella]

It's way too spicey for their digestive system and most dogs won't eat it.

I was thinking the same thing. :)

[turner]

Thank you. I never thought about it, that tabasco would be too spicy for them.........i will stick with the For-bid or the Deter.....

[Rachel]

The tobasco sauce would be put on the poop, so if they did try to eat it, they would be unpleasantly surprised. For those dogs who like their poop *fresh*, you would have to be right there to *season* the droppings. If I am going to be right there, I could also have the dog on the leash and prevent the whole episode to begin with.

[tikeyas_mom]

Tikeya and Oscar eat cat poop it is soo groose, But i think it is a bit different then eating their own, right? lol good luck

[oodlesofpoodles]

Several clients of mine at work have the same problem, We tell them to feed one fig newton a day, It works. Tabasco Sause is a no no, the meat tenderizer is for on top of the poop. so you would have to stand there let them poop then sprinkle it on the poop. with the fig newton you would feed once a day. It really does work.

[primabella]

Fig Newton? Worth a try. It seems to be getting better though. Like, he'll try to get to ti but I'm watching him and then hit the window or something to get him away. :D

[sammi]

I have the same problem with Abby! Whats with the fig-newton? I bought the For-bid (I think thats what its called) and seemed to work but I ran out. It was rather expensive and I had to give it to both dogs! So Buddy got like 13 pills and Abby got like 5! I am going to try and find something cheaper. Make sure you have no old poopies in the yard b/4 you start.

I would think if I was going to put something on the poop I might as well pick it up!:D Both dogs run free in the yard so I can't tell when they go.

[Rachel]

Originally posted by oodlesofpoodles
Several clients of mine at work have the same problem, We tell them to feed one fig newton a day, It works.

Oh that is so funny. Only problem I could see with trying it is that I would probably be eating those fig newtons too. :p No cookie is safe in my house.

[KYS]

posted by Rachel:Only problem I could see with trying it is that I would probably be eating those fig newtons too. >>>>>

You and me both. lol
Those fig newtons would be ALL mine. hehehe

[G-Diddy]

My dog was a notorious poop muncher. DETER worked very well until we cut down to the maintenance level. Unfortunately it isn't cheap and with a 70 lb dog I was paying about $35/month for the stuff.

My dog has since generally grown out of it. IN the past she ate it fresh as can be, but now she will only occasionally eat ones that have been sunbaked. What I found was that if I did tabasco on the poop, DETER, pineapple, etc. but did not get out to scoop da poop the sun would dry it out enough within a day to eliminate any "unpleasantness" caused by my intervention.

From what I gather, some dogs grow out of it, some don't. I did try tabasco on the poop but found that my dog loves the stuff. While bringing it outside I spilled a bunch on the floor. The dog ran over and lapped it up. She had to go drink a bunch of water, but returned shortly after to finish off the tabassco. What a goof.

[bnormal]

Talk about a "crappy" problem to have...

At the risk of sounding like a smarta**(the total opposite of what I usually am), could you just clean up the offending pile of recycled food before the pooches eat it?

:D :D :D

[primabella]

I could but he goes out on his own. By the time he finishes pooping--I go outside to tell him to come back up and he just eats and ignores. I actually had to come downstairs in my PJ's and socks once just to push him off :rolleyes:

[wolf_Q]

Fortunately, my dogs don't eat their own poop......I think I'd *gag!!* I've caught Nebo trying to eat cat poop a couple of times though, once I didn't know what it was so I grabbed it out of his mouth. THAT was gross!

[Layka3000]

I have a friend who has a dog and we dont like to say that the dog eats its poo. We say that the dog recycles. In a nicer term!-Layka

[Kerri Greyson]

my dogs use to eat poop to, they saw their mom doing it( dog mom, not me, ha ha) before we got them. Abby does it occasionally. we thought she had stopped, but she must see something in it that looks good to a dog. dont know what would stop it. DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Demigodess]

I had a foster dog that would eat her poop, the other dogs poop, or dirt that looked like poop. She just didn't care. We solved this within a month (we only had her a month) by not letting her outside unless we were with her and every time she went to sniff a poop, we said "Leave it". If she didn't, we would walk over to her and take her by the scruff of the neck and say "Leave it" again. She learned quickly!

I don't think putting something in the dogs food is a good idea because they aren't learning that the behavior is incorrect. It doesn't take very long of "babysitting" them to teach them that it is incorrect.

The plus side is that her new owners reported she is excellent with the "Leave it" command with other things. We didn't tell them why she is so good at it. :)