MAJOR dog problem! dog eats own POOP ?HELP!!!!?

Question

friend has a 5mt old scottish terrier who eats own poop how to stop that we never saw a dog who does that it's very aggravating!!! she runs in the room and does it and comes back with stink breath and half eaten poop on the floor. she only eats dog food any advice????

the problem is she sneaks and do it she goes off and play and when my friend checks on her the majority of the time she craped and ate half of it. she gets taking out 3 x a day so when she craps outside of course she doesn't do it in our face like i said she sneaks off and yes when she gets caught she does get reprimanded a smack on the nose and etc..... i know alot about dogs i have 3 myself, but this is one thing that's over my head, so the obvious answers whip her, put tobacco sauce, yell at her it's all been done and it's not working!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

She is not doing anything that she believes is wrong. She was taught this by her mother, when the mom kept the nest clean. When mom became too overwhelmed to keep clean after all the litter, the pups were good little helpers and did it themselves....They didn't have gloves and bags, so just did it the way they could. She is just being fastidious. Scolding for it will only confuse her. DO NOT SCOLD HER..She will not get the point, and you will have a insecure and traumatized dog...The reason that she leaves part of it, is that it is just too much, but she is doing the best she can to clean her own mess..

Dog's ancesters have done this for eons, to keep their area clean and to not let predators know where they live. It is as natural for them as hand washing is for people.

The only solution is to consistantly beat her to it. Hopefully she will learn that you can be trused to clean it up so she doesn't have to.... Meanwhille, there is an additive available at all pet supplies that will make the stuff very bitter.(Forbid) This may help some... Also putting a few pieces of pineapple in her food will do the same..
Note: the ones that do this are usually the easiest to house train, as they are good house keepers

Answer 2

There is actually a name for this probelm, when a dog eats it's own feces it is called coprophagy, and dogs who eat non-food itmes like rocks wood and other such items that is called pica.
Coprophagy is fairly common and is more seen in dogs that are highly food motivated. However no one knows for sure why dogs do this. There are lots of theories but not proof that is the actual reason. Some say its an attention getter, the dog just wants your attention and for some dogs any attention is good. Others say the dog is lacking some nutriient, and other scientists say it is a behavior carried over from the mother's natural parental behavior of digesting her pups feces. And that is where the problem lies since the cause is not known neither is the cure. BUT there are a few things you can try- 1. You can get an additive from the vet called 4-BID which will cause the dog's feces to taste awful. 2 you can sprinkle the poop with Cayenne Pepper or use the spray Bitter Apple sold in Pet stores. 3, Make sure she never has any feces avaiable to her. Walk her and when she goes immediately pick it up.

Answer 3

couple things u can do. First dogs do do this. Some breeds more than others. There might be a nutrition deficiency that he is trying to get from consuming feces. Change the diet up a bit until this behaviour changes. I know that sounds weird but we did it for a friend of mines pet and it worked. Turned out he was missing potassium. Anyway, then they also have that apple sour spray at pet stores. This is a stretch but if u can catch each little pile of feces for a few days straight and spray it with this apple sour he will soon have no interest in consuming his feces. They will be undesirable due to the spray and he will have learned that the taste is not pleasant and will discontinue this habit. Simple behavioural tactics. Then there is the old newspaper punishment, but I prefer the reward program over the dark discipline method. I have always got much better results.

Answer 4

Better question: why is he doing it? He's either bored or trying to get extra nutrients from the poop which means he's on a poor quality dog food. Make sure he has no enough toys, etc., to keep him occupied and if that doesn't work, better his diet. Even if you can't afford a better brand of dog food, you can always supplement his diet with fresh/tinned fish/meat. My dog often has tins of pilchards or tuna and whenever we have meat, he gets his own portion too.

Answer 5

A vitamin can help with a ton of problem and so can giving your dog some good food. How about putting your dog so Nutro dog food and the food will be mostly digested and there will not be much to eat.

Answer 6

you need to train her to use a poop tray or go outside. Coprophagy (turd eating) is pretty common in dogs. It it might be that she is short on vitamins or minerals (likely vitamin B) and that makes her own poop attractive to her. But I am just guessing.
here is a site specifically about this that agrees with what I just said about why they do that. It has training tips.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1551&articleid=155

Answer 7

Your dog is still a puppy and trying everything. Human babies will eat ANYTHING if they are allowed to also. I suggest that when you let your pup out to go, you immediately pick it up. This will stop your pup's annoying problem and it will teach you to pick up after it right away. I always have a plastic bag in my purse or pocket.

Answer 8

Hello Sammy

Yeah, unfortunately this is not an uncommon problem. My Shih Tzu puppy used to be mad for it!

Check this article out for some practical tips - http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/stop-dogs-eating-dog-poop.html

Good luck Sam

Answer 9

) Use Forbid or Deter
2) Try adding Tabasco sauce to the stools and then allowing them to attempt eating them
3) Clean up the yard after each defecation - no opportunity, no problem
4) Walk your dogs on bathroom trips where they won't have access to it later (like your neighbor's yard ;-)
5) Live with it

Answer 10

i use to have a dog (golden retriever) and she ate her own poop too...you can go to a pet store and buy a spray bottle that tastes bitter to dogs and spray it on thing u dont want the dog to chew/eat.