Interesting Problem, Well, I think anyway.... - Page 1

Chocolate Lab.  Excellent Bloodlines(Parents, Grandparents, Great Grandparents all AKC Ch with at least a Junior Hunter title, and 2 last 2 generations OFA'd Excellent with CHIC #'s, Great Grandparents OFA'd Good with all other clearances normal for the breed)

DOB:  June, 2007

First 9 Months lived with breeder---not sure if he simply wasn't adopted out, or if he was kept back for a purpose.  Raised in a kennel.

Neutered and sold to a man in wheelchair, married, 2 kids, and another dog in the house.

Man sent the dog for a 2 week b/t with a trainer friend in Kansas City, Missouri(also in a wheelchair).  The intent was not to ever make the dog a service dog.  Family came to the conclusion that the dog was "one dog more than was necessary, so they kept the Rat Terrier, and donated the dog to my dog trainer friend. 

Dog Trainer friend(awesome dog trainer, btw, for all things pet obedience and service dog, if anyone ever needs a referral in Kansas City area) takes dog to vet, hips are good, dog does have rounds and giardia.  She gives meds, does basic work on dog, and sells dog to me.

Dog is with me, with the following issues:  Coprophagia, and loves to play in water buckets(typical lab), and "dirty" .

Dog is on an OK food(since he is going to a disabled handler, I do not typically feed ultra-premium foods), Eukanuba Naturally Wild, Fish.

I have not been able to break this dog on two issues that concern me:  Poop eating and being "dirty".  This dog will tank up on water, come in, go to crate in cool air conditioned room, and pee within 4-5 hours of being crated, and never utter a sound to ask to go out.  BTW, He potties on command.    He doesn't do this all the time, only some of the time.  There is no rhyme or reason to it.  I have noticed, on occassion, that he has peed while lying down, and never even seem to notice. 

I did consult with my vet, we are doing Hormones(possible spay/neuter incontience?).  Urinalsys showed no problems, blood work was excellent, hips are great.  I have had him palpated by both me(I am a certified doggie Chiropractor) and a vet who is a doggy Chiropractor, neither of us can find any issue with his spine or hips(yes, we re-did exrays).

Years ago, when I had my kennel back up in Indiana, I came across several "dirty" dogs, IE, dogs that would lay in their waste, and didn't care.  Always GSD's(no offense).  Benny will also walk through it, and doesn't care.

In regards to the Coprophagia, I have done pumpkin, adolf's meat tenderizer, and "forbid", he has simply moved on to other dogs' droppings now.  I have caught him, literally, eating it as it came out of another dog.  While in the process of pooping(evidently he likes it warm.)  The only positive:(This is said tongue in cheek), one day while I was pooper scooping the yard, he decided to retrieve some to me, and politely dropped it in the bag....Wow, what a service dog!

I have him back on treatment for giardia, in case it wasn't cleared up the first time(I have enough dogs, that it is tough to get a fecal sample with doing it invasively, which I simply haven't bothered to do, but, will after a run of Panacur/Albon.)  I also opted to treat for coccidia, just in case.

My next step is to go RAW or Grain Free Kibble with him.  BTW, He does have chronic Dirrahea as well.

Right now his diet is made up of:  3 cups of Naturally Wild(was feeding him regular Eukanuba until a few days ago), a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin, a tablespoon of Diatomaceous Earth, 6 cc's of Panacur, Probiotics, and 6 cc's of Albon.(He weighs around 60lbs)

I have yet to try spinach or pineapple(may be next---have to go to the store tomorrow anyway).

Oh, yes, and I have e-collared

Part 2....

I have e-collared him, and corrected him in the act, from the house(IE, he thinks "the sky" is correcting him, not me.)

I think that eating poop became a "habit" for him when he was young and bored in a kennel.  I do keep my yard clean(smallish yard).  I scoop 2-3 times per day.

Any thoughts or suggestions that I might be missing?

Have you had his pancreatic enzymes checked? The chronic diarehha could be related to that as well as the stool eating ( an attempt to get missing nutrients). If you know someone who has some viokase they might share a bit so you could try a dusting on his food to see if it helps. ( its incredibly expensive) But just a dusting - too much enzyme produces the same result as too little.

Only had 1 dirty dog in my life and with her it was a maturity issue - just took much longer I think to get the normal muscle control. Interestingly in later life developed DM. Makes one wonder about possible connection. The peeing and not even noticing I've only ever seen in very old spayed bitches and was hormone related. You might want to try giving him ice cubes rather than water. That way can't tank up.

Have you tried dousing hot sauce on some "samples" and setting him up? Or would he just consider it cocktail sauce for his appetizer.

Also might want to check for diabetes.

I have used the spinach and also the pineapple and it seems to work really well.  I never had any luck with the pills or the powered medicines working.

We have done 2 complete blood panels(I always do one with all dogs that come in, since I can get it done at cost)  And I mean, complete blood panels.  We did test for pancreatitis as well.

I will try some extra enzymes.  Where can I get this at?  Any suggestions on it?

I have tried hot sauce, lemon juice, e-collar, boaters air horn, etc....doesn't seem to work.

And, I am thinking that he will grow out of it.  Who knows.  I have also thought to increase his food(IE, give him more)  He is currently getting 3 cups per day, and maintains on that.  I think that more, he won't gain with, just defecate more.

I don't use the spinach (to much iron). The Pineapple works great.!!!..key is to give the pineapple right after they had eaten...kinda like dessert.  Also, don't use the can stuff (to much added sugar)...fresh works best.

Jasmine 

The pineapple worked great for my girl as well. I fed it to all my dogs, as she was interested in their droppings too. A few pieces a day actual did it, and I saw her stopping it within a week.

With the diarrhea....been there too, but with my big boy. At the end, a change in food did the job for him, and we went through several brands before this stopped. I even home cooked for him. Turned out that he doesnt tolerate anything with grain, rice or corn.

With that Lab peeing in the crate and laying in it.... he perhaps learnt early in life that this gets him the attention he wanted, even if it was rather negative. Just a thought. You might have to start from the very beginning, like with an 8 week old puppy.

It sucks but I will always try to feed all dogs at the house the same exact food.  To you it is a pile of crap.  To the turd burglar, it is a hot meal or delicacy not served in his bowl. 

Why wouldn't he have the squirts?  He is eating crap for dessert.

The dog urinates while being in the crate for 4-5 hours.  This is a dog that you stated was in a kennel.  He was able to go freely. Now he needs to build muscles that were not previously used.   Maybe you need to cut down his crate time until he is ready for 5 hrs.  Let him out sooner and more often and build to the longer/less often potty breaks.

Don,

The problem with feeding him the same food, is this:  He is going to another person when he finishes his training. This person is disabled.  I try to keep assistance dogs in training on a food that is accessible to the client(IE, they don't have to look for a specialty store to get the food.).  My dogs are all on Taste of The Wild, and that can be hard to find.....so,.....Eukanuba has always worked for me in the past.

In regards to his peeing in the crate, I should make note:  He doesn't do this during daylight hours, only at night.  I can leave him crated from 9am to 3 pm, with no problems----and that is when I would think that there would be a problem....only at night does he have problems, and it is not consistant.

just limit his drinking at night. ensure he has a pee break just before bed. as for the poo pudding Tabasco works really well put a few drops on the poo's left in the yard  he will learn the hard way. pineapple works well.