Why does my dog?

Question

Okay, I have a little 7 month old chihuahua mix and he's pretty much my baby....but he does something that is just disgusting and everytime I catch him doing it I spank him but it doesn't teach him.
Sometimes after he poops, he will try to eat his poop. I know it's not healthy AT ALL...I think it gives them worms. But anyway...why would he do that? How can I stop him from doing so? He's potty trained. But when I'm not home while I'm at work he sometimes goes inside and I'm afraid he may be doing it while I'm not there.
Any suggestions?
P.S please no answers that ONLY say "talk to your vet" I know that... but I want people's opinions/suggestions on it. Thanks :-)

I don't abuse my dog...lol..and he is not kept under nasty conditions. I actually am wrong because I literally treat him like a baby...just wanted to say that.

Answer 1

Okay, from my knowlege, chihuahuas are a strange breed altogether, however I have know many dogs to eat cat poop - here's the reason, as my vet told it to me - dogs can smell about 10 times better than we can (probably more) and they can make out the different smells in the poo - they can smell what the cat ate to make the poo and it smells good to them. Dogs also have a lot less Taste buds, so they don't know it tastes bad, so they eat it. The same scenario may be playing out with your dog in regaurds to his own poo - though admittedly, most animals have enough sense not to eat their own. The strategy I employ with my dogs is to spank them and teach them the Leave IT!! command. Leave IT! can also apply to other things in the house that you don't want him in, and reinforces the meaning of that command. Also, a very stern Bad Dog or Bad Boy wouldn't be a bad idea, let disapproval drip from your tone, and place him in a room away from you for about 5 to 10 minutes - a dog's favorite place to be is where you are, so to deny him that, even for a short period of time, tells him he did a bad no no. My last peice of advice for you, is that even though I know he's your baby, you MUST set rules and boundaries - dogs NEED this to be well adjusted dogs - to NOT do this creates a need in your DOG to do it, at which point, he's gonna create the rules that suit him best - and use his teeth to enforce it. Make sure your dog KNOWS you are boss, or he will try to be boss, and thats not good in ANY size or breed of dog. Good LUCK!!

Answer 2

There are 2 reasons why dogs eat their poop - 1) if they are short of minerals 2) it is a habit
For the first, give him some multi-vitamins each day and the problem should go away after a while. For the second, you have to break him of the habit. Spanking him will not work as he may not link the spanking to the naughty behaviour. Try this - when u see him doing it, say NO! to him very firmly and quickly remove him from the poop. Oh, i just remembered - the pet shop told me once that some dogs eat their poop cos of certain brands of dog food. It seems if the smell of the food is too strong, it still retains the smell in the poop and the dog eats it.... go figure! I don't know how true this is tho.
Good luck.

Answer 3

eating his own poop wont give him worms he doesnt already have....

ok 2 thoughts -
1 he needs to be trained better.. every time he goes out you must go with him and be armed with a soft treat reward offer this instantly... eventually he will look to you after he poops rather than turning to eat his own poop.. if you have him on leash this is easier and you can tie him and remove him from the area so you can clean it up.. eventually he will forget all about poop eating

2 you can buy a product from the pet supply stores to add to his food which will make his poop taste yucky

poop eating is VERY common in dogs who have come from pet stores.. its is behavioral 95% of the time.. not a medical problem so no need to see the vet...

spanking is contact.. dogs like contact so spanking isnt going to discourage him

Answer 4

We had a St. Bernard puppy when I was a kid who did that. turns out the dog wasn't healthy for reasons we didn't understand and it died. As far as why an otherwise healthy animal would do this, I'm not sure why, probably for the reasons mentioned by others in response to this question. This question gets posted quite frequently. Good luck with that. I do tend to agree with what somebody else has said in regard to spanking your dog when he does this in that the dog associates this with a form of contact which will probably defeat your purpose and may actually serve to reinforce this behavior.

Answer 5

First of all, please do not hit your dog. That is abuse.
Ok... now, there are several theories: one being that they are eating their own poop because it contains minerals and vitamins they need. That may or may not be true. About the dog getting worms from eating his own fresh poo? Does he have worms now? If not, then he won't get worms from eating his own poo if he does it right after he poos. If he goes back to it later on, flies may have landed on it and carried disease and/or larvae to the poo.
Suggestion: as soon as your dog poos, walk him away from the poo and do not let him get back to it. Don't let him have a chance to eat it. He *may* be eating it because he has seen and heard you making a big deal about the poo, so he is "helpiing" you clean up.
So, remove your dog from the source of the problem. Then go back and clean it up after your dog is back inside. Make sure you get it all cleaned up, and spray down the spot with a mixture of vinegar/water, about 50-50 mix.
Another suggestion to stop the problem is to sprinkle the poo with Louisiana hot sauce. Dog won't like the taste, hopefully.
It's a matter of retraining both yourself and the dog. Don't make a big deal out of his eating the poo-- remove him from the poo so he can't eat it.
You also were worried about whether or not he eats his poo while you are gone. Do you crate your dog? If not, please start crate training him. Puppy will think of it as his den, his space, his lair. He also will not dirty his own space.

Answer 6

dogs eat poop because they are dogs. if he is on a good, well balanced DOG FOOD then he is not lacking in vitamins or minerals. it's just a dog thing.

he needs to be trained properly by going to a qualified, professional trainer. the "leave it" command is very helpful. if the dog has not been trained, it is unfair to have expectations of him. while you are looking for a good trainer, walk him, on lead when he goes potty. when he is done, immediately walk him away from it. it would be a really good idea to also pick it up and dispose of it.

a good solid training program is the best way to combat unwanted behaviors. it teaches the dogs and us!

Answer 7

My moms pup does the same thing. There is no real answer as to why this occurs pls don't spank the little cutie! he's probably forgotten what he even did to deserve a spanking....about 5 seconds after the EVIL deed....lol!! HOWEVER try this.....sprinkle some watered down Tabasco sauce liberally on his "mistake" be consistant (every time he poops) and he will catch on. gd luck!!

Answer 8

Hitting him will not stop him from doing a bad behavior. Your vet can give him a powder that you put in his food for 3 days that will make his poop taste nasty to me (I know you would think it already was nasty lol).

Answer 9

The following came from http://familyfun.go.com/parenting/learn/activities/expert/petveteatpoop/

Dogs will commonly eat their own as well as other animals' feces. Puppies are known to eat their own excrement during paper training and housebreaking, and it is believed to be due to a combination of physiological and behavioral factors.

On the physiological side, since the digestion of food is not always complete, puppies still see nutrient value in their feces and view it as a snack. Often dogs are attracted to undigested rice, corn or peanuts in their stool if they happen to consume these foods. Maximizing digestion can help solve this problem. To do so, add enzyme supplements to their food, such as meat tenderizer (from the supermarket), papaya extract (a natural enzyme available at health food stores) or products from pet supply stores especially designed to help dogs digest. Mix the enzyme powder in each meal, and let it sit for 15 minutes prior to feeding it to your pet. This should eliminate the presence of anything they view as "good" in their stool. It will not help with the peanuts or corn, but these foods should not be fed to your pet in any event.

Another way to discourage coprophagy (the medical term for eating poop) is to coat the stools with hot sauce or vinegar, thereby making the experience of eating it unpleasant (as if it seemed great thus far!). Sometimes owners have to go to the extreme measure of injecting the stool with hot sauce so the pet gets the full extent of the bad flavor. Yet another method is through products which taste good when mixed in the pet's food and eaten, but turn bitter when excreted in the pet's feces (isn't science great?). Doing this or the hot sauce method for one to two weeks is usually enough to convince a dog that their food bowl is a safer spot for snacks.

On the behavioral side, many pets eat their stool during the training stages because they become confused about whether to go to the bathroom on or off the paper or outdoors. Just as potty training for kids is tough, telling a dog when and where to eliminate is emotionally stressful. They will feel bad about going in the wrong place and destroy the evidence by eating it. Owners often call me because they are concerned that their puppy has not had a bowel movement in a few days, but it usually turns out to be a case of recycling.

Answer 10

You have a very good answer here but I just wanted to add that you should stop spanking him. It won't provide you with the outcome you want and may have the opposite effect you desire. Stern voice and positive reinforcements are what you need.