Need Help With Newly Adopted Older Dog

[Shih Tzu Lover]

Hi, I have just recently adopted two older shihtzu dogs from Sydney. One of the dogs named Banjo is extremely hyperactive and eats his own feaces. I am constantly watching him to clean up as soon as he messes but sometimes im not quick enough and with six furry friends in tow I am finding this difficult. does any one have any ideas as to what could be causing the problem. The vet inspection on his arrival placed him in reasonably good health. but i wasnt aware of this problem then.

He had sever flea infestation and bad dermititis. We have cleaned up those problems and given time his hair will return. Is he missing something in his diet. HELP PLEASE

[Sandra777]

Unfortunately, if Banjo has been doing this all his life then it will be a habit that will be very very hard to break. It's not always something missing in the diet, often it starts in puppy hood if the dog is bored or kept in a small area which isn't cleaned up well or lives with other dogs that do it. Sometimes a dog will start doing this when s/he or another dog is fed food which they can't digest properly - either because of the type of food or because of something amiss with the dog iteself - and what comes out still looks/smells like food. Being natural opportunists they will see if it is food and it's self-rewarding it quickly becomes a habit.

How to stop it? Hmmm

Clean up straight away is the obvious one but not always possible as you know.

Ignore it. The habit is disgusting to us but is natural to dogs. If none of the other dogs looks like they want to copy him and you can ignore it then it actually won't kill him. (I have a 15 year old bitch here who's always done it, hasn't killed her LOL)

Add pineapple juice or pulp to the food of ALL the dogs (a tablespoon per day for a 15kg dog works for me). Pineapple is a natural meat tenderiser and will help all the dogs digest their food better so leave less "residue" so to speak. This won't help a lot if it's a long-ingrained habit as he no longer does it because it tastes like food. It will make some dogs gassy.... You can also buy very expensive products from the vet to do the same job.

"Boobytrap" some droppings with hot chilli sauce or something else really nasty tasting (to a dog). If it is a new habit this may help - if it's an old habit it'll probably just make him more careful.

Change ALL the dogs to a completely raw diet quite high in bone - and then what comes out is dry and powders very quickly - never seen a dog eat that LOL

Maybe someone else has other ideas