How can I stop my Puppy eating its own poo.?

Answer 1

Eat it yourself before he gets to it?

(go ahead give me a thumbs down).

Answer 2

Coprophagia - Eating excrement

Autocoprophagia - an animal eating its own faeces
Intraspecific Coprophagia - eating faeces from another animal of the same species
Interspecific Coprophagia - eating faeces from another species

There's no simple explanation as to why dogs to it, there could be many reasons. Although we find it revolting it doesn't usually do the dogs any harm and can sometimes be beneficial.

There are many theories:

1) Underlying medical problem - pancreatic insufficiency, pancreatitis, intestinal infections, malabsorptive syndromes and over-feeding (especially high fat diets). Though Coprophagia is probably not the only symptom in one of these cases.

2) Coprophagic dogs may be lacking in natural micronutrients such as vitamins.

3) They find the chemical appetite enhancers found in some dog foods attractive, despite having been digested by the dog.

4) If a dog is not fed fresh meat or ’wet’ food the dog may be attracted to another dog that is.

5) The dog is trying to introduce beneficial bacteria into their digestive systems, as most dog foods are almost sterile.

Behaviour theories:

1) Attention seeking - The dog is rewarded with the owner’s attention when it eats poo.

2) Coprophagia is also associated with allelomimetic behaviour - where the dog observes the owner picking up the faeces and learns to do so as well.

Cures:

1) Food additives: Pineapple and other citrus fruits, pumpkin seeds, peppermint, papaya and aniseed.

2) Garnish the faeces in something like vinegar or spring onion juice - something the dog doesn’t like.

3) Clean up faeces regularly.

4) Put the dog on a lead and let him sniff the poo and growl ‘No’ at the dog. When the dog pays no attention to the poo praise the dog.

Answer 3

when a dog/puppy starts eating his/her on feaces (poo) it means they are not getting the right amount of vitamins, also a lack of iron in the diet. Puppies eat poo. Yes it's gross but it's very common and very true.

Mother dogs tend to eat the youngs excretion to keep the den clean. Some puppies continue the behavior simply because mother did it. Most puppies grow out of it.

Other dogs tend to eat poop to get more nutrients. Perhaps give them a different food or some vitamins.

Some Pet Stores offer some products to sprinkle on the food. The dog then ingests the item and it makes their poop smell bad to them which in turn makes them not eat it.

Answer 4

I had this problem with my dog, I was told to say NO loudly and move her away then let her see me clean it up, or you can fill a container with some dry pasta or buttons ect then when the dog goes to eat the poo shake it once loudly and say NO then remove the poo, or fill an old jif lemon container or water pistol with water and when the dog goes to eat the poo give it one good squirt but don't let it see where it came from then remove the poo.
good luck!

Answer 5

Haha ~ I'm having the same issue with my 2 new puppies and I was just going to ask the same question! I have heard tho, that there is a spray called "Bitter Apple" available at any pet supply store. You spray it on their poop and a little bit on their tongue and that should repel them from eating it. It's not harmful to them at all. I'm willing to try anything at this point, although this is a common thing, unfortunately for puppies...and they may not grow out of it. I just hope my 2 babies don't end up eating poop for the rest of their lives. It's just gross. LOL!

Answer 6

My puppy also ate his own poo until he was about six months old and then mysteriously stopped. Apparently they are short of some mineral or vitamin when they do this, but not sure which one!

Answer 7

its discusting isn't it? my dog since day one did it. I used everything.nothing worked He did it alot out of boredom being left alone. As soon as he poos get it away. Lots of exercise. I started crating him instead of leaving him the whole kitchen when I was at work. That helped.
There is powder you put on his food" stop eating poo", with yucca. It seems to help. Just hope its a phase like alot of people told me.

Answer 8

This is a natural thing in animals as gross as it is to us. They are recycling any uneaten foods that are passed out of the body in waste. Puppies learn this from their mother who cleans up after them as soon as they poop or pee. There is a product on the market you can try and it is called "Deter". You can pick this up at a large pet store like "Petsmart". Your Vet also has a product called "Forbid" that works the same way. Both products are either given directly to your dog or put in the food. There is no taste until it passes through the animals intestines and then it coats the poop with a bad taste. You might also try canned pumpkin, like you make pumpkin pie with, and add a spoonful to the dogs food (mix it in well).
When you take your pup out to the bathroom monitor his movements and if you see him trying to ingest poop, scold him. Most dogs out grow this gross habit but it will take a little time. Good luck and be patient with him/her.

Answer 9

As the answer above stated, try the food. I had this problem for a long time. Then I switched food (because my other dog was having allergy problems). Well I didn't really notice, but the dog stopped eating it. Then I had to switch again and put him back on the old food. I noticed him eating it again almost immediately. It was strange, but definitely the food.

Answer 10

Your vet can give you some powder called Forbid that you put on the food that will make the stool taste bad. Sometimes that doesn't work so you may just have to keep picking up the waste to keep the puppy from eating it.

Answer 11

Pour some hot sauce on the poo, we had 9 puppies this year and a female just wouldn't stop, I thought she would grow out of it,nope they say she still does it @ 9month's old! But I would try the hot sauce. It's common tho (my pup rolls in it!!!)