Eewwwww. Not A Pleasant Subject.

[moggy]

Sophie is going great with her toilet training, only had a few mishaps. BUT yesterday my husband took her out and she did her poos and then turned around sniffing it and attempted to eat it......YUK.

I know dogs do this sometimes, but how can we discourage her from this activity.

Moggy.

[Mushaka]

Is there a medical issue wen dogs do this?? by that i mean ,can they get ill from it?

I havent had this problem,but am curious

[t-time]

Extremely common problem (Especially in toy breeds)

Do a search here on DOL and you'll find heaps of threads about it and a few extra suggestions

Adding a little tinned pineapple to Sophie's food is the first port of call - the easiest and the cheapest - tastes bad for them the second time around This usually works but check for further info if it doesn't

It's called COPRAPHAGIA :D

[Daggles]

My 6 mth old GSD has been trying to do it since he was a pup. Apparently very common espesically on a raw diet. I clean up his poo right away and watch him do it so when he turns around for the sniff I say Arrrgh. Havent tried the pinapple juice because I keep forgetting to buy it but I heard it works. good luck with it

[poodlefan]

Daggles:

Apparently very common espesically on a raw diet.

Not to the best of my knowledge. Best method of dealing with it is prevention. Pick up faeces ASAP. I have heard that the problem can stem from malabsorbion or excess protein which makes the poo more palatable and that improved digestive processes (you can add digestive enzymes to food) can assist.

It definitely does seem to be more prevalent in some breeds. I'd still discuss it with you vet and perhaps take a stool sample next visit.

[Miranda]

This is reasonably common behaviour and the best thing you can do is to ensure that all poo is picked up promptly so that the puppy doesn't get into the habit. In my experience most puppies grow out of it, my two boys used to do it, they didn't eat their own poo, but they would eat the poo of my other dogs, they're 18 months old now and have stopped doing it

However I do have a 7 year old bitch who tries to eat poo every time I take her out, not all poo, obviously some are tastier than others

BTW I feed a small amount of super premium kibble, my dogs are not fed exclusively raw food although meat and bones do make up the majority of their diet

[Nekhbet]

what diet is your dog on? If the diet is not good enough or passes through too quickly then she will turn around and it eat, she wont be getting enough vitamins and minerals. Also check your dogs digestive system is working properly, she may need some supplements to help her digest her food.

[Clyde]

Yummo!

Wait 'til they start running through the house squabbling over cat poo in their mouths..... charming creatures ;)

[charli73]

our 5 month GSD did this as i would wait till she went then picked it up asap which made her think it was a game, so i tried pineapple but didnt make a huge difference so i diverted her attention as soon as she went then waited a while till she wasnt around before picking it up. She grew tired of the game & grew out of it after a couple of months...

[moggy]

Problem solved. We removed her poo immediately for a few days and then tested her out. She went and just ran away so I think she has lost interest now. Thanks for all your advice.

[no_fear5100]

I am not sure if it depends on different dogs. My Lucky ate poo once or twice when she was less than 4 months old. Back then she had upset tummy so I had to feed her on rice, chicken and vegies sometimes. As I did some research on DOL, i think Nekhbet's explanation is spot on.

what diet is your dog on? If the diet is not good enough or passes through too quickly then she will turn around and it eat, she wont be getting enough vitamins and minerals. Also check your dogs digestive system is working properly, she may need some supplements to help her digest her food.

But since I put my Lucky back to dry food (RC) and now she is on BARF commercial diet, she has never looked back and sniffed her poo ever again, it's the same to my other dog which is on RC diet.

Edited November 17, 2007 by no_fear5100

[grumbles]

Is there a medical issue wen dogs do this?? by that i mean ,can they get ill from it?

I havent had this problem,but am curious

Not sure if they can get sick by it but is there maybe something the puppy is lacking for them to do it?

[moggy]

UPDATE....UPDATE!

Well, all was going well when we picked up her poo straight away, but now sometimes she leaves it and other times she will turn around and try to eat it again. We say "NO" and she comes away, but we are not always with her when she does it in the daytime.

Pineapple was mentioned. I bought a tin and pureed it and put about 1 teaspoonful in her food. Sat back and waited, but she tried to eat it again. Obviously the pineapple doesn't work for her.

Oh well, will just have to keep watching her whenever we can I suppose.

Hopefully she will grow out of it as suggested.

Any other suggestions??

Moggy

[charli73]

Hi Moggy,

We tried about 7-8 peices of pineapple for it to make a difference, and it did for a little while but then she just grew out of it, or realised we werent interested in getting to it before she did....

You may find the same thing.....

Good luck!