why does dogs eat there own doo-doo?

Question

I have a four month old puppy. Just about three weeks ago I notice he was eating doo-doo. When I tell him no, by his actions he knows he is doing wrong. What can I do to stop this.

Answer 1

It may be a couple of things. It could be the stress from separation from its litter or your puppys not getting enough nutrients from his/her current diet. I don't know what kind of food you're feeding him, perhaps if you go with science diet (mix it with your current food), if this doesn't work, there may be another problem, When you were potty training the dog and you saw him poo poo, so someone may have been too rough on him, so now if he poo poos in the house, he wants to get rid of the evidence before he gets caught. Simple solution for that, feed him 30 minutes before a walk then take him for a walk, then when he poo poos, say good boy, do this for a couple of weeks.

I hope this helps

Answer 2

Cram the puppy's nose in to the doo-doo and keep it there for a minute or so. Don't be alarm by his whimpering and struggling to get free that is just normal. You will observe that once your puppy nose is out of the doo-doo an attempt will be made to clear its nasal passage. Don't help! during this time your puppy will be staring at you hoping for assistance. Just say NO with a stern voice. By doing this; I assure you your puppy will have lost its appetite for doo-doo.

Answer 3

Some dogs do and some dogs don't. Some dogs outgrow it and some do not......No matter what you try to stop them, they will still do it. The answer is very simple and cheap. Every single time they go out to poop, be right behind them and pick it up. That should give you incentive to keep the yard clear of poop. Look at this way, the poop won't be there to eat and you will have a nice yard that you don't have to warn people to watch out for the dog poop!

Answer 4

Many animals eat their own poo. My guinea pig does too. I recent read about it saying that some animals digestion is fast and they don't get all the nutrition from their food, so after they poo, they will reeat the hald digested food to get all the nutirents from it. Cows have 4 stomachs and chew cud. They eat grass, it goes into one stomach, they vomit it back up into their mouth and rechew it and then it goes into another stomach. Their stomach acid isn't as strong as humans. Dogs and rodents have strong acid but their intestines can't absorp all the nutritions the first time because the food passes through them fast. In a human, it takes 12-24 hours for a meal to go entirely through us. In dogs, cats and rodents, it takes 2-4 hours. It's a nature thing for some animals to do this. But a pet dog can be trained to stop it. Use a stern voice and look him directly in the eyes when you tell him no. Good luck!

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

It is said the dogs that eat their feces usually have a dietary deficiency. This is a myth and is not true. It is also said that some medical problems, however, can contribute to coprophagy (eating feces).

Sometimes anxiety and stress can play a role. For some dogs, eating feces may be a behavior learned from watching other animals. Female dogs will eat the feces of their newborn puppies as it was done when they were wild to protect them from a predator finding her litter. . Finally, some dogs may eat feces just because they think it tastes good. There are several things on the market to prevent this. They do not work; do not waste your money. The best way to prevent this is to simply clean up what ever messes are left in the yard.

Answer 7

It's nothing too harmful unless he's eating another dog's waste seeing as he could contract worms. Puppies usually grow out of it. Coprophagia is a condition that causes dogs to eat their feces.

You could make sure to clean up after the puppy right after it does its business.

You can get pills to give to your puppy that makes it less 'appetizing'.

Try adding a few tablespoons of canned pumpkin to your puppies food...supposedly, it tastes good going in, but tastes horrible afterwards.

Answer 8

I have 3 dogs. One of them when she was little just to eat my others dogs doo-doo. I really don't know why she did it, but your pup will eventually stop doing it once he gets older. Don't worry, eating poop will not harm him.

Answer 9

DO NOT HIT YOUR DOG OR RUB YOUR DOGS NOSE IN IT... BAD ADVISE !!!

There is a 3-second rule... if you don't catch him/her doing it and respond within 3-seconds... they wont understand... period.

if you hit them, they will think your a bully, want that?

if you rub there nose in it, they will think your a disgusting bully who just humiliated them... later, if they get close to you it may be just so you dont freak out on them again and less out of trust or love, want that?

Also... it's not that he knows he's doing wrong... your tone of voice tells him your about to jump him about "whatever"... they think we are crazy gods... oh well... try the other tips that are safe...

Answer 10

All dogs do that, I was told it's because they are missing something in their diet. Just make sure you cleanup all of the poo in your yard & try a different dog food, like Pro Plan it is one of the best dog food's on the market.
Hope this helps.