how do i stop my 5 month old puppy eating poo?

Answer 1

My dog started eating him poo at 5 mths - he's 10mths now and if we don't get there soon enough he will still eat it.

I was really concerned I wasn't feeding him enough of the right food. After consulting with the vet she advised me that it was because I was giving him a good quality food, it wasn't digesting fully and still coming out smelling nice (I couldn't disagree more!). She suggested putting him on an organic food such as Burns and said that sometimes help. The food change didn't help with my dog but others have suggested putting pepper of a touch of chilli sauce on the poo, I haven't done either because he usually turns around and eats it straigt away so I don't get the chance. I am sure that there is nothing wrong with your dog atall - someone else told me it's a bad habit like humans bite their nails. Please don't worry about it I'm sure your pup will be fine.

Answer 2

It is very common for puppies to do this. The best thing is to deny them access to the stool. I would definitely try a round of FORBID for at least 5 days in a row. And below is more information for you...


Why Does My Dog Do That?

Coprophagia is a common condition in which animals will eat feces. Many dogs are naturally curious or just might like the taste(yuck!). However, certain medical conditions could also lead to coprophagia. Poor nutrition, pancreatic insufficiency (lack of digestive enzymes), inflammatory bowel disease or an intestinal absorption disorder may leave your dog hungry or searching for those
missing nutrients in his or her excrement. Other diseases that increase the appetite such as Diabetes or Cushing's Disease may leave your dog craving extra food. Blood tests are needed to confirm such diseases. In addition, there are also several theories that can explain this "undesirable" behavior. To avoid a scolding for
house soiling, dogs will remove "the evidence" or they may be imitating their owners' scooping behavior and simply eat the waste.
Maternal instincts may also play a role in coprophagia since it is the female's duty to lick the puppies and consume the waste to keep the litter healthy and the den clean as well as prevent the scent from attracting predators. And thus the puppies learn by mother's
example. Other factors such as anxiety, stress, attention seeking and boredom can also cause coprophagia.

No matter what the cause, you want to stop this behavior. Dogs that eat other animals' feces can pick up parasites and a host of diseases. Your dog could also pass some of these unwanted guests onto you or your children. In addition to internal parasites, organisms such as Toxoplasmosis are transmitted in some cat feces.
It's also possible that the feces can become infested with fly larvae, foreign bacteria, fungus, etc. Some viral diseases, such as Parvovirus, can also be transmitted by the fecal-oral route.

If your veterinarian has found your dog to be healthy, you will need to make a behavioral change. The most effective prevention is to keep yards and kennels free of feces. Pick up your dog's stool immediately. Always supervise your dog when outside and walk your dog on a leash to control access. Avoid negative responses that can
actually reinforce the behavior if you're your dog is simply seeking attention. Positive Reinforcement is the process of reinforcing another behavior instead of the coprophagia. When the dog is about to begin eating feces, the owner can use any variety of commands. "Leave it", "come", "sit", etc. The idea here is to
distract the dog long enough to allow the owner to pick the feces up and make the dog forget about the coprophagia behavior.

Such food additives as Forbid and Deter makes the feces taste bad. Adding various enzymes (Prozyme or meat tenderizer) to the diet of a coprophagic animal may help by breaking down more of the nutrients in
the diet. Alternately, putting something noxious tasting like hot sauce on the feces will cause an aversive response (due to bad taste) and will eventually cease the behavior. However, for this to be effective, it must be used 100% of the time. Moreover, if the dog
engages in this behavior when unattended, a muzzle may be a practical solution to the problem.

Answer 3

Many dog foods are cereal based and your dog may need more protein..another reason for coprophagia is boredom. Believe it or not, I had a dog who would only do this in the winter when the excrement was frozen. I think my dog was a bit puzzled or curious by the frozen nature of her poop. Other dogs just play with it.

Stopping the behavior is difficult. I think you can train an intelligent dog to do most anything. To some extent I think this is simply a behavioral problem.

Answer 4

I asked my vet the same thing because my puppy was always eating cow poo he said it was a puppy thing and is one of the causes of worms and you must do your best to stop him but he should grow out of the habit be firm but kind, good luck.

Answer 5

Lots and lots of tounge kisses with your dog should clear everything up....lol....Seriously, what kind of food are you feeding your pup? Make sure it's got all the nutrients he really needs, and make sure he understands that his eating poop is not an acceptable behavior. I think the water-gun idea is pretty good....never hit your dog though, it doesn't accomplish anything, and eventually it will get mad and crap on your chest in your sleep.

Answer 6

teach your dog the command 'leave it'. or when he goes to smell the poo, pull him away

i dont wanna scare you are anything but if he eats another dogs poo and that other dog is infected with something, he can get sick too.

Answer 7

my pup went thru this.

tell him it's not nice & rather than hit him i'd suggest a different short sharp shock, a small water pistol squirt him once & tell him No.
it worked on my staffie.
the pistol became a game & he 4got al about eating poo!
he did grow out of it.
the vet told me he did it because he wasn't getting enough 2 eat when he was being weaned off his mums milk.
ensure ur puppy's fed morning & night.

Answer 8

i dont know but i bet if open a can dog food once a day then add dry to it he might be let say too full to eat poo

Answer 9

You can't really. He will probably outgrow it in time, but will still do it from time to time. Mother dogs teach their puppies to "clean up after themselves" because in the wild, leaving feces or food around would attract predators, so the mother dog will often eat her puppy's feces until they're old enough to do it themselves.

Answer 10

hi teach him to "leave it" on command, use a treat to reward as you walk past poo. say in low growly voice "leave it" then show treat to encourage and distract as you walk past