I have a 4 month old Labrador puppy who has taken a fancy to eating his own poo! Can anybody help?

Question

We feed him a 100g cup of burns three times a day,with occassional training treats and biscuits. He has been wormed and been checked with the vets. He is not fat, we walk him twice a day for 20 mins but if we let him off the lead he homes in on anything he can find to eat. He is well trained within the home and has two loving children who give him lots of attention. He is also very hard to control on the lead,and jumps all over any person or dog that he sees, so we bought him a halter lead. Has anybody got any other ideas on any of these matters? It would be muchly appreciated as he's a lovely dog who just needs to learn a few manners! He's a 5 month old brown Lab.

Answer 1

Dog eating feces or coprophagia is a vices developed in an untrained adult dog. Feces eating are a natural behavior of the dog. This habit is more common in puppies than the adults.

The dogs that come from dog shops and rescue kennels are most likely to have this habit. The dog can also pick this habit from poorly cleaned pet houses. The feces that remain in the kennel, if not cleared immediately, may tempt the dog by its smell, there by resulting in dog eating their own feces.

In some animals boredom may be a cause for coprophagia. When the dogs are kept alone in the dog house for longer time, they may try to consume feces as they have nothing else to do.

The dogs have 3000 taste buds as against 10000 taste buds of human being. The dogs have two hundred million cells in the nose as against five million cells in case oh human beings. Hence for dogs smell is more important than the taste of the food.

In order to stop dog-eating feces, we need to clean the feces as soon as possible. We can also add pepper in the feces, the taste of which the dogs will never like. We should feed the animal at proper time. The dog should never be allowed to be hungry. The hunger may prompt the dog to eat the feces.

It is better to feed the dog 3 to 4 times a day, in small quantities instead of feeding heavy food for 2 times. This will reduce the output of the dog. Some dogs may have excessive hunger which is due to insufficiency of exocrine pancreas. Those dogs will eat anything and everything including its own feces.

Some people, if they see their dog eating feces, they will rub the nose of the dog in its excreta. This is a bad practice. The dog may get used to the smell and can continue to do the same thing [feces eating].

Some owners have the habit of shouting at the animal, if they happen to see their dog eating their own feces. This also needs to be avoided as this can make the dog to eat the feces hurriedly.

The sight of dog eating the feces will be certainly disgusting to human being, but the smell and consistency of the feces is attractive to the dogs. Last but not least, putting muzzle to the mouth of dogs may stop the dog eating faces behavior at some extent.

Answer 2

I have a dog of 5 years - he was a street dog from Romania - when I first got him I had to be very careful due to his 'natural' instincts - a lot of what your dog is doing is perfectly normal. Everything you're experiencing is something I've been through or still have to deal with.

Eating dog poo, though unpleasant could be something he may stop in time with some basic training or he may never stop, as mine tends to seek out only the good quality kind - not any old poo you know.......and he's 5 years old! He also has a knack of smelling out dead animals...that is for another time!

You are on the right course with a halter lead but since he is young you should take him to professional training classes - it is much better to tackle these problems now with training rather than leaving it until 'another' day.

From reading what you have written he is just a normal puppy having fun and needs guidance....puppy training is all that is required.

Answer 3

My English Bull Terrier ***** used to do that she is 8 Months old now and seems to have grown out of it. I asked my friend who is a vet for some advise and he said as she was healthy he doubted she lacked any vitamins etc (which can sometimes be why they do it). He said she's probably just being a disgusting puppy, some just are especially gun dogs etc and I'm afraid that's what you have I had a Black lab and he was the most gross thing ever he emptied the cat litter one day and came bounding in to give me a lovely kiss! Yummy cat poo delicacy to Labradors.
Also my friend suggested feeding courgetts to my dog don't actually know what for but I did and she did stop it for a few days.

Answer 4

eating poo is a very common problem in pups.they normally learn off there mum who would clean up after the pups.it's not pleasant but actually the dog does'nt mind it and it hasn't been found to cause any long term illnesses.the best bet is to just clean up after him every time he goes dont get cross with him as this will make him think it's even more fun,just tell him no loudly and firmly.Labs are very boistrous in there puppy stages and jumping up at people is his way of getting attention.the halter lead is a good idea my lab x has one aswell and it gives you much more control,while he's wearing it keep telling him to heal and treating him when he does the behaviour you want.if you feel you would like more help on the matter enroll in a good dog training class with reward based methods.good luck.

Answer 5

Most people do not realize that pet dogs are the best fed critters in the world, better then most humans in third world country's.
This good food (treats and biscuits) passes through the dog. A dogs poo still has this good food in it, making it very desirable to dogs. A dog who is a stray or poorly fed dog will feed off the dog like yours (who are fed good) poo. Just one reason dog parks like for those to clean up after there dogs (of course they are not going to tell you this is why. Usually they will say because some dogs could have worms or a decease which they could but better to scare peeps. People remember being scared).
Make sure you clean up after your dog, try every day. This can become a bad habit. At first just wanting to get to the good stuff that is left in the poo..Try to back off of the treats. If you have to feed something just feed a piece of the dogs food. Praise is the best treat, and is always availible.
Horse poo is fantastic for dogs coats....When our horses get there feet trimmed our dogs love the trimmings...
I am sure you are going to try to train this pooch too. As for dogs there are more opinions about what and how to train etc. then in American Politics lol!
Good luck!

Answer 6

THey make a powder you mix in with the food that will stop them from eating poop. It makes it taste really bad and they will stop eating it.
Work with your dog on the command LEAVE IT. You can use it any time he picks up something you do not want him to have . You tell him leave it and if he does not drop it you go and remove it fro his mouth. This command works very well we teach it to all of our hunters. They will drop anything when you tell them.
The later type lead works well for dog who pull. It sounds like you shoud get into a basic obedience class and just do some normal training with your dog. Sit stay down and come and teaching him to heel on lead. At 5 months he is young and has a short attention span train with him several times per day for about 10-15 minutes per session. Work on about two things per session.
Sounds lkie a wonderful puppy. I just love those chocolate labs pups they are so cute with so much personality.

Answer 7

As far as eating poo goes, this is something your pup will most likely grow out of. I have a 17 month old aussie and she grew out of it just a couple months ago. It is gross, but there isn't a whole lot you can do about it.
Do you use a choke chain? Sounds mean, but it isn't, and it really helps. When he pulls on the leash, just snap the leash very quickly to grab his attention and praise him for not pulling. Using positive reinforcement is the best thing. Lots of treats too!
Also, make sure your commands are just one word, such as "sit", "down" or "stay". Good luck!

Answer 8

Consumption of feces is a common but disturbing habit in dogs. While the cause for this behaviour is unknown, there has been a product developed to help stop this vice.
It's called "DETER" it is a Coprophagia treatment which stops dogs and puppies consuming their own feces.
it is safe and effective and easy to administer and has a 98% success rate.
you can buy this in most pet shops over the counter, if not go to your vet who will be able to give you something similar

hope this helps xx

Answer 9

Many puppies and dogs do this. It is not a healthy practice. There are a number of products you can buy to put in their food to make their poo less appetizing. Go to local pet store, they will know. Or call your vet and ask them the name of the product. Hopefully it is his own poop he is interested in, because there may not be too much you can do if he eats other dogs poop. But a vet would know.

Answer 10

There is no easy answer to this problem . No-one knows why dogs do this , just some do it more than others . A few of ours have done this in the past and the only answer is to be vigilant and maybe keep a strapped muzzle on your dog until they get out of the habit . cats litter trays are also an attractive proposition to dogs . again ,no one including vets know the answer . Keep watching and if neccessary use a strapped muzzle to prevent this . David