Getting a puppy to stop eating his poo

[Ursula Parenteau]

Our 12 week old beagle has started eating his poo. I normally pick it up right away but he usually has a go at it befoer I can get to it. Is there anything I can do to stop this? It is grossing everyone out. thanks Muchly, Ursula

[Beth Pladson]

If your pup is ingesting inappropriate things other than poop it's called Pica. My girl ate dirt and rocks when she was little and the vet said it might be pica. Luckily it never really was pica and she pretty much grew out of it. Poo eating is called coprophagy. I understand the "ick factor" with that one; I dog sat an adorable Westie when I was a kid and he totally ate all his poo. I just googled "pica dog" and a bunch of sites came up... luckily it sounds like you can start working on treating it since he's still young.

http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/picabeh.html

http://www.healthy-dogs.net/pica.htm

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/pica.htm

[Melissa Irr]

I've read somewhere that there is an additive you can put in his food to make the poo taste bad. I don't know the name of it, but you could probably ask a vet or a Petco, etc.

Also, if memory serves, it might be indicative of the fact that he's not getting enough nutrition. Don't know for sure about that, but I'd make sure you are feeding your little guy a good quality food.

[Renee]

Many times dogs can smell the taste aversion chemicals that are added to poo and will avoid them. So you have to treat every single piece of poo every single time else your dog might snack on untreated pieces (yuck!). These chemicals will make the dog sick and cost $$.

Usually the best solution of this problem is management. Try to pick up after your dog immediately and teach a good "leave it". If you can't pick it up right away, take him out out on a leash.

[Ursula Parenteau]

Everytime he goes out to do his business I am right there to pick it up and usually allow him to sniff at it while I give him a "No Yuck" command before pulling him off it so he can't eat it. I then dispose of it right away so that There is no possible way for him to get at it. Unfortunately today, while we were gone for an hour, he did break free of the baby gate, ran downstairs where he pooped and peed on the carpet right next to the pee pad we keep down there. My husband is in the process of cleaning the carpets so that we can get the smell out but there was no poop to be found. If any one knows of the chemical that will make him stop eating his poops it would be greatly appreciated. I really don't think I can stomach him doing it again. Thanks so much,

Ursula

[Beth Pladson]

I don't know if this works, but I kind of want to try it. I saw an ad on tv for some product that claims it can completely eliminate pet odors and stains from carpets no matter how old or bad the stains are. It's called zero pet odor, or something like that. I think you can only buy it online or via telephone.

[Suni Brown]

Our pup eats dirt alot. Not like it's ameal or anything, but she goes to this one certain spot in the yard and always licks at the dirt. She also tries eating paper and bugs. How dangerous is this kind of thing??

[Renee]

You can use an enzymatic stain and odor remover like Nature's Miracle. Regular carpet cleaners won't remove the odor.....

[Ursula Parenteau]

I was hoping to find ot the name of the chemical you can add to the food to make him not want to eat his poo. We have an enzymatic cleaner that my hubby had pretreated the carpet with prior to cleaning it. If anyone knows the name of the chemical it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks so much,

Ursula

[Rowena Fry]

Ursula,
I've heard that adding a little bit of pineapple to their food will make their poo smell funny, thus discouraging coprophagy. I don't know how effective it is though, because I've also heard that at the end of the day, all additives are useless at combating the behaviour. My pup used to do this when she was younger, but she kinda stopped on her own, she's now 7 months. We did pick up her poo immediately after she did it when she was younger to stop her from eating it, and she knows how to 'leave it'.

Good luck!

[Cheri Milligan]

Ursula,

We went through this with our beagle too. This Forbid worked great and we haven't had any further problems.

http://www.drsfostersmith.c om/product/prod_display.cfm?pca tid=595&Ntt=stop%20eating%20 poop&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpar tial&Np=1&N=0&Nty=1

[Amber]

Like Gum Gum, Precious knows "Leave It" very well. It was one of the first commands I taught her when I got her as a puppy. I think she picked it up before she learned her name! lol...well, it IS a pretty long name for a toy poodle! Anyway, chemicals don't work for all dogs, as you probably already guessed. Precious had this same problem as a small puppy and our vet at the time told us to try Forbid. It worked for a couple of weeks, but then she started doing it again. Eventually, she grew out of it.

[Ursula Parenteau]

I went to the local vet pharmacy and they suggested this product called Deter by 8 in 1 pharmacy. I am giving it a try and will let everyone know how it is working out. So far after day 3 he is still eating his poo. the one thing I am thankful for is that he only sniffs other dogs poo.

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Ursula!

I found this article for you which mentions a product called, "FORBID."

http://www.cal.net/~pamgreen/copraphagia.html

Unfortunately, there is no one answer that will explain why dogs eat their excrement. It could be a variety of problems, including attention-seeking, nutritional deficiency, etc.

If your pup seems obsessed with doing this, bring him out onleash anytime he has to potty, and as soon as he's done, walk him back inside the house before you clean it up. Go back out immediately and remove it. OR... you can teach him to wear a muzzle when he goes out to potty, and then clean it up and then remove the muzzle.

Hope this helps!

I was hoping to find ot the name of the chemical you can add to the food to make him not want to eat his poo. We have an enzymatic cleaner that my hubby had pretreated the carpet with prior to cleaning it. If anyone knows the name of the chemical it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks so much,

Ursula