2006-09-07 12:22:12 · 23 answers · asked by reilley 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
its healthy for him
2006-09-07 12:58:52 · answer #1 · answered by king 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Coprophagia
Coprohagia is the technical term for eating feces. This has been studied in dogs by several people with no definitive answer for "why" being found.
Nutritional deficiencies may be present in some dogs, but not very many. This may be boredom related in many dogs. It has some "natural" roots in the fact that dams often eat their pup's stools, apparently as a method of hiding their presence from predators. Dogs will eat the stools of other species, especially cats and rabbits, too. Dogs obviously do not find the taste of feces objectionable or the behavior would be self correcting. So I think of this as a natural behavior that upsets people. Since dogs have to live with people, it is becomes an issue. There is a product sold that is supposed to help with this habit -- Forbid. It doesn't work in all cases (it might not even work in most cases). Another alternative is putting meat tenderizer in the dog's food. This works for some dogs. Walking a dog on a leash and working hard to keep it from turning and eating its stool is helpful. It is sometimes possible to distract the dog by running a short distance after the dog has a bowel movement or by taking a couple of rapid steps then telling the dog to "sit" and giving it a treat. These behaviors may stay on as substitutes to eating the stool. If you can keep the dog from eating stool for a month or so it is sometimes long enough to break the habit. Picking up stool to prevent its ingestion works in dogs that don't quickly eat their own stool but do so when put in the yard alone. "Booby trapping" a sample of stool by cutting it in half lengthwise, and putting some Tabasco type sauce on the inside of the stool, then putting it back together so that the dog is not aware of the hotsauce until it eats the stool can help in some cases. This can be a hard habit to break.
Mike Richards, DVM
http://www.vetinfo.com/deatpoop.ht
2006-09-07 12:27:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best thing to do is pick it up right after he does his business. There are also products on the market like Forbid and Deter to make the poop taste bad to dogs (as if it needed to taste worse than it probably already does).
2006-09-07 12:25:27 · answer #3 · answered by twistedmouse 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My little dog did that too. The vet said it could be from boredom! He's 2 years old now and has finally quit doing that. It's so gross! Maybe it's something they have to grow out of?
2006-09-07 12:46:26 · answer #4 · answered by tess 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, clean up right away after he goes to the bathroom... don't let it sits there for him to eat it, also make sure he's not around while you're cleaning up... bad habits for him. This should help you right away, but if you don't like to clean up after your dog, you should get a book about how to train him, or consult your vet. The best thing to do is take him out for a walk after he finish his meal about 25- 40 minutes later, he'll go to the bathroom outside the house, you don't have to worry about him eating his waste and you don't have to worry about having a mess in the house if you don't like to clea up, plus it's good for him anyways to keep the house clean and keeps himself clean.
2006-09-07 12:29:14 · answer #5 · answered by S_M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Clean up after your dog right after he/she relieves themselves. Dogs usually eat their own stools if they are vitamin deficient. This usually happens if they have parasites (worms). Make an appointment with a vet and take in a fresh stool sample when you take your dog in for a checkup.
2006-09-07 12:33:41 · answer #6 · answered by Call Me Babs 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
put Tabasco on it, actually this is quite common with soft mouthed dogs like retrievers, according to my vet. it is also a function of premium dog food not being totally digested. other options are to go with him outside every time with a bag and get it cleaned up immediately. We also worked on avoidance training.
good luck
2006-09-07 12:29:26 · answer #7 · answered by bttrswt1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call his vet they have a product that is called Forbid if it is still available. You sprinkle it on the poop it gives it an unplesant flavor to it.
2006-09-07 12:30:57 · answer #8 · answered by Hawaii808 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My dog did too. The vet said he wouldn't get sick from it but I thought I would. Try putting hot red pepper on it and the vet also sells something to put on it.
2006-09-07 12:25:04 · answer #9 · answered by Janet lw 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I sprinkled Accent meat tenderizer on my dog's food. It stopped him from eating it. Good luck.
2006-09-07 13:25:07 · answer #10 · answered by Lynn J 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this is natural, my dog does it too. something with their poop is sorta healthy for them. just clean up it's poop as early as you can.
2006-09-07 13:05:58 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋