Gross Habits

[graciesmum]

Does anyone out there know of any way you can stop a dog eating its own poo? Its an on and off problem we've always had with our 11 month old.  If you catch her in the act and say no she grabs it quicker and now she's started carrying it in the house with her to sit and eat   I live with my parents who are erm not impressed to understate.  We tried lemon juice and it made no difference to Gracie just made the smell unbearable.  I work and my parents have her in the day for me as they are at home im so worried about them shouting at her all day over this i dont know what to do    

[taniac]

I wonder if a bit of clicker training could work for this.  If you got Gracie used to the clicker eg. clicking for sits and downs, maybe when she goes for a number 2, if you clicked straight away, she'd come running to you for a treat rather than going for the poo?  If you used cheese or hot dog sausage, then this might be a higher reward then the poo!    

[Silver Surfer (indiesnan)]

My other lab used to do this    we tried pepper and curry and all sorts of things, but she ate it just the same.

So i used to stand with her, tell her to be quick and clean up right away. It solved the problem    

[taniac]

Whilst buying the cat food this morning I noticed something called 'Deter' that is supposed to stop coprophagia, don't know if it works, but might be worth a try.  I'm sure it said it was for both puppies and dogs.

[Tracey J]

We used 'Deter' for Molly, seemed to work a treat.  Either that or she stopped of her own accord at the same time .  It's worth a try though.

You can get it in Pets at Home.

[sportsmonki]

ahhh...this problem    

Firstly check for vitamin deficiencies in the dog, giving a supplement like vetzyme will make sure she is not eating her poo because she is lacking vitamins.  

Usually that is not the cause though, and so it is probably more a case of just making sure she cant get to anything to eat it, by standing over her like indiesnan suggested.  The more she practises the behaviour the more it becomes a habit, so try not to let her practise anymore.  Some people find adding pineapple to the food solves the problem, but it sounds like you have already tried that kind of thing.  

You could also try keeping her on a long line so she has some freedom to do her stuff, but as soon as she begins to stand up call her into you and away from the temptation, using the line to help bring her into you if necessary.

sportsmonki

[graciesmum]

ive been and got some deter today to try, and im going to have a word with the folks to watch her for me and try some distraction techniques so hopefully we should make some headway soon   Id like to thank you for all the advice and ill let you know what sucess we get from these methods.  She's the sweetest little dog really, im just back from hol's and i didnt realise it was possible to miss her so much  

[taniac]

Hope it works, just to put your mind at rest, this is something alot of dogs do, and although disgusting to us, isn't to them!  I think it stems from being wild and recycling nutrients (lots of animals reingest their poo.. like rodents)

My boy eats cow and horse poo, so even if you break her eating her own poo, she may still be partial to anything else she can get hold off!!      

[Sass]

Alfie laps up my Labradors wee, straight from the 'tap'  if you know what I mean!! How do you explain that! Eeeugh!

[markjcage]

I know certain people in Brighton that would pay hundreds for that sort of behaviour!  

[Sass]

 

[Kim]

I know certain people in Brighton that would pay hundreds for that sort of behaviour!

       

[Sue H]

Dogs see nothing wrong with poo - it denotes another dog's diet, location and general character ....  

It is generally acceptable however to stop your dog eating poo for quite obvious reasons ...


Puppies usually grow out of this, but if not, you should keep them on their lead and stop them sniffing and then eating other dogs' poo.