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by Mikeyypl on 10 February 2011 - 19:02
Hey! I have a little problem with my 5 month old female GSD. She won't stop eating poop. And when I say she eats poop....I mean it's her #1 priority. It's getting really frustrating. She literally can't be outside without a muzzle. Even when I walk her on a leash she will grab the crap off the ground and will eat it as fast as she can. When wearing a muzzle she will shove her face into the poop. I really don't know what to do anymore. I have little kids running around all the time and I can't have the dog licking/playing with the kids after eating poop. I know dogs eat poop....but I've never seen a dog that absolutely loves it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
by Don Corleone on 10 February 2011 - 19:02
Pick up the poop.
by Mindhunt on 10 February 2011 - 19:02
Might be her food as well. I had a female that did the same thing, I changed her food to a more digestible one, therefore less undigested food came out in her poop. I also made sure to pick it up each time she went. I never leave her out unsupervised since she will "snack". She also did this when stressed or bored. I was told to calmly redirect her when she started "snacking" since getting angry or annoyed will increase her stress. Big thing is nip it in the bud before it becomes a behavior. My female is now 6 years old and she doesn't "snack" anywhere near as much although on a very few occasions when my back was turned, she would try to sneak a taste as soon as she was done poopong. I realized this would occur when she was stressed about something and would work her more often to keep her occupied and happy.
by GSDNewbie on 10 February 2011 - 19:02
I would get her checked for absorbtion issues and try changing her food that perhaps she is not getting what she needs or unable to use what she is getting.
What is she being fed and how much?
What is she being fed and how much?
by Brandi on 10 February 2011 - 20:02
Mikeyypl,
This is an issue that will have you spending lots of money and time trying to figure it out. Being involved with dogs for over 20 years and experiencing this behavior with many dogs, including one of my own, I've never found the actual reason for such behavior. I have tried everything under the sun to get her to stop: changing food several times, picking up the poop (which I still do every single day!), adding pro and prebiotics, vitamin suppliments, spending boo-koo dollars at the vet in blood work, and adding no poop eating stuff to the food. Nothing has worked. My last resort is to purchase a basket muzzle. That alone will be funny because she's a Corgi.=)
Now, on the other hand, my current GSD did so, but only ate his own. After removing him from a very stressfull enviroment, it stopped.
With all that said, try switching the food. Do that ONLY...process of elimination. If it stops..then you got your answere. If not, add an organic pro/pre biotic/vitiman suppliment. If she is eating other dog's poop, adding a 'stop eating poop' suppliment will not work.
If this doesn't work, I suggest a blood panel just to rule that out. If your dog is in good coat and weight condition, is not suffering from diarrhea, then it's probably not an absorbtion issue.
It could also be a training, boardum, lack of excersize issue as well.
Good luck and keep us posted.
This is an issue that will have you spending lots of money and time trying to figure it out. Being involved with dogs for over 20 years and experiencing this behavior with many dogs, including one of my own, I've never found the actual reason for such behavior. I have tried everything under the sun to get her to stop: changing food several times, picking up the poop (which I still do every single day!), adding pro and prebiotics, vitamin suppliments, spending boo-koo dollars at the vet in blood work, and adding no poop eating stuff to the food. Nothing has worked. My last resort is to purchase a basket muzzle. That alone will be funny because she's a Corgi.=)
Now, on the other hand, my current GSD did so, but only ate his own. After removing him from a very stressfull enviroment, it stopped.
With all that said, try switching the food. Do that ONLY...process of elimination. If it stops..then you got your answere. If not, add an organic pro/pre biotic/vitiman suppliment. If she is eating other dog's poop, adding a 'stop eating poop' suppliment will not work.
If this doesn't work, I suggest a blood panel just to rule that out. If your dog is in good coat and weight condition, is not suffering from diarrhea, then it's probably not an absorbtion issue.
It could also be a training, boardum, lack of excersize issue as well.
Good luck and keep us posted.
by LadyFrost on 10 February 2011 - 20:02
add fresh pineapple to her food when feeding her....digested pineapple will make her poop taste bitter...she will stop...and within few weeks you wont even have to do that anymore...
she is eating poop because it passed through her halfway undigested and is still appealing (smells and taste like dog food), if you switch her to raw food/meat and vegetables, rice, etc... it will take longer to digest, she will feel full/satisfied longer, her poop will be small and dry and she wont eat it because it would be completely digested/processed food...
based on experience with my puppy I added pineapple to other dogs food (she was picking other dogs poop) and switched her to raw...within 2 weeks she stopped..occasionally she will come and sniff when its fresh but she wont touch it...
by Turk on 10 February 2011 - 20:02
L-Glutamate amino acid makes poop taste bad - look up Anti-Coprophagic.
by Brandi on 10 February 2011 - 21:02
The only concern with adding stuff to her food to stop the poop eating, is that it sounds like she's eating other dog's poo too. So that defeats the purpose. Also, feeding raw is extremely expensive so if money is not an issue, go for it.
by FlashBang on 10 February 2011 - 21:02
One of our dogs is a poop-eater. Yes, I could use the technical term of corophagia, but "poop-eater" fits him better. He is on a healthy and wholesome raw diet, but he just loves to go outside and eat our other dog's feces. We ended up just picking up the poop after bowel movements to prevent him from doing so. His diet wasn't lacking, and the whole feeding our other dog pineapple, etc. to make the poop less appealing didn't work either. Our other dog is also fed on a raw diet so her bowel movements are small and drier than a kibble-eater. It doesn't matter.
For what it's worth....feeding raw is not "extremely expensive." It is actually less expensive than feeding a high-quality kibble (at least in our area it is.)
For what it's worth....feeding raw is not "extremely expensive." It is actually less expensive than feeding a high-quality kibble (at least in our area it is.)
by Brandi on 10 February 2011 - 21:02
FlashBang,
Yes, sometimes a dog just likes to eat poop and nothing can be done to stop it. My K9 nutricialist has a dog that has always eaten poop and he can't get her to stop either.
They say that it could mean lack of nutrician or if a female does it, it's her motherly instict to clean up. Neither of these theories has fit any dog I've known over the years that ate poop.
I'll have to check into raw diet here in my neck of the woods.
Yes, sometimes a dog just likes to eat poop and nothing can be done to stop it. My K9 nutricialist has a dog that has always eaten poop and he can't get her to stop either.
They say that it could mean lack of nutrician or if a female does it, it's her motherly instict to clean up. Neither of these theories has fit any dog I've known over the years that ate poop.
I'll have to check into raw diet here in my neck of the woods.
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