Our puppy seems to think our other 2 dogs' poop is a gourmet snack. We've tried EVERYTHING! Any chance he'll outgrow it?

Our puppy seems to think our other 2 dogs' poop is a gourmet snack. We've tried EVERYTHING! Any chance he'll outgrow it?

We've tried vet recommended products, bananas, Adolph's meat tenderizer, you name it. He doesn't eat his own--just the other 2 dogs'. Gross as it sounds, the fresher the better.

We keep the yard clean. Vet suggested muzzling him but that sounds extreme. Of course I guess it would work.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Asked by pch250 59 months ago Similar questions: puppy dogs' poop gourmet snack chance he'll outgrow Pets > Dogs.

Similar questions: puppy dogs' poop gourmet snack chance he'll outgrow.

It is very common, but there are some health concerns. I cannot believe that your vet suggested muzzling your dog. You should find a new vet.

That seems cruel. Anyway, eating poop seems to fulfill some need in the dog, and that needs to be addressed. The article suggests a couple of things: keep up with the pooper-scooper.

Make sure your dog is not hungry. Try one of those additions to the feed that makes feces taste bad (check with your new vet first). See the whole article here:WHY DOES MY DOG EAT FECES?

Dogs will sometimes eat their own feces. Others are attracted to feces from other animals, such as cats, horses and deer. The reasons range from a vitamin deficiency to boredom or anxiety.

The scientific name for this behavior is coprophagy. If your dog eats feces, be sure to report this to your vet. Even though it's very common, it's one of the behaviors associated with rabies, and there are health risks for stool-eating dogs.

They can infect themselves with parasites, such as giardia, Filaroides, or coccidian. If the feces are around for two to three weeks or more, roundworms and whipworms may be present. Here are some suggestions for solving this problem:Use that pooper-scooper!

Besides some of the other solutions you can try to your dog from eating his own feces, one of the best is to pick up all fecal matter before your pet can get to it. Your dog can't eat something that is not there. Is the dog hungry?

One simple explanation to this problem might be that your dog is hungry. Try increasing the frequency of feedings. If you usually give a meal once a day, try splitting the portion and give food twice each day for about a week and see if that stops the behavior.

Give your dog lots of roomGenerally speaking, dogs don't like to sleep or live too close to where they defecate. If they're being kept on a dog run or in a laundry room that's too small, they may eat their feces just to keep their space clean. If your puppy or dog is exhibiting this behavior and you keep him in a rather confined area, you may be able to put an end to it by giving him a little more living space.

Try a tasty treatIf your dog eats his feces while on leash while you're out walking, you might need to use some diversionary tactics to break the habit. Take some doggy treats with you and after your dog does his business, and before he can turn around and eat it, distract with a treat and have the dog take a couple steps forward. While the dog is busy eating the treat, clean up the mess.

If your dog eats other feces it finds while out on walks, you may have to use a muzzle until you find a solution to the problem. Doesn't that taste awful enough? There are commercial products, that when put on a dog's food, supposedly produces a stool with an unpleasant taste.

Other products used are MSG (monosodium glutamate), Bitter Apple, hot sauce or cayenne pepper. Unfortunately, none of these products have been consistently successful in getting rid of the problem. Before using any of these products, check with your veterinarian.

Your vet might be able to suggest something other patients have found success with. Kitty tootsie rollsThere probably isn't a dog around that wouldn't grab a quick snack from the cat's litter box if given half a chance, much to our disgust! That's because cat food, and therefore cat feces, is very rich.

If you're able, clean out the litter box right after your cat uses it. But if you can't watch over the litter box, make it inaccessible to your dog by applying a hooded litter cover, placing the box on an elevated surface, or placing the box in a room with a cat door or leaving the door open just enough to allow the cat to get in, but not the dog. You can also try putting a baby gate around the kitty litter box that has an opening big enough for your cat, but is too small for the dog.

Quality TimeIncrease the time you spend playing with and exercising your dog. Provide a wide variety of appropriate chewing objects. Some dogs learn that eating feces is a way to get attention, even if it is negative attention.As difficult as it may be, ignore your dog if you catch him or her in the act and don't scold.

Instead, concentrate on preventing it next time. Many dogs learn not to show this behavior when their owners are present, but will wait until they are alone. Punishment after the fact is NEVER helpful.

Animals do not understand they are being punished for something they did hours, minutes or even seconds before. This will not resolve the problem and is likely to produce either fearful or aggressive responses from your dog.In addition to consulting your vet, you may want to consult with a behavioral specialist who can teach you a variety of behavior modification techniques that might help resolve the problem. Sources: http://www.dogskool.com/web/news/fall2002/page3.html .

The only way is to scoop as soon as they.... you know! There are harmless things you can add to your dogs' food that MAY make the feces unpalatable to your puppy. Check with your Vet for these products, such as Forbid.

However, they usually don't work! Your puppy may have nutritional deficiencies. Are you sure you're feeding a nutritionally complete and high quality diet?

The only real answer to coprophagia is to scoop your other dogs' feces as soon as they eliminate so that your puppy can't get a shot at it. Otherwise, the behavior is likely to continue, mostly as a habit. It is probably just something that the pup learned at a very early age and it will be really rough to train him out of.

Good luck with this -- I also have a dog that has this disgusting habit and there are days when I wonder what life is like for those who don't hover in their backyard with a scoop at all hours of the day or night! Sources: vetmed.wsu.edu/pets/_archive/study.htm .

Vets idea sounds best Still sounds to me like the puppy is missing some nutrient in his diet and could use a multivitamin for pups. Actually a comfortable muzzle wouldn't be extreme or 'being mean'. You just want to modify his behavior.

Sources: Pup mom HELENofTROY's Recommendations Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems Amazon List Price: $24.95 Used from: $13.49 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 383 reviews) The Dog Whisperer: A Compassionate, Nonviolent Approach to Dog Training Amazon List Price: $10.95 Used from: $6.00 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 75 reviews) The Art of Raising a Puppy Amazon List Price: $24.95 Used from: $6.69 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 146 reviews) .

1 Nikki, regarding your answer "It is very common, but there are some health concerns. ":We keep the yard clean but it's not the "old poop" that he eats. It's so disgusting but as soon as he sees one of the other dogs going (they're both females) he's on them before it even hits the ground.

I've given the females all the remedies to their feed that's available with no luck. Plus it just makes them sick. Common sense tells me it could be a male dominance thing.

We're going to have him neutered this week mostly because he's showing signs of aggression (he's a bull terrier). So maybe that will help it. I'm beginning to agree with you on the vet.

He just blows it off. Our town isn't very big so I don't think we have any dog behaviorists. I need the "Dog Whisperer"!

Thanks for your reply! .

Nikki, regarding your answer "It is very common, but there are some health concerns. ":We keep the yard clean but it's not the "old poop" that he eats. It's so disgusting but as soon as he sees one of the other dogs going (they're both females) he's on them before it even hits the ground.

I've given the females all the remedies to their feed that's available with no luck. Plus it just makes them sick. Common sense tells me it could be a male dominance thing.

We're going to have him neutered this week mostly because he's showing signs of aggression (he's a bull terrier). So maybe that will help it. I'm beginning to agree with you on the vet.

He just blows it off. Our town isn't very big so I don't think we have any dog behaviorists. I need the "Dog Whisperer"!

Thanks for your reply!

Didn't have an underbite when he was younger. " "Why do my dogs eat their own poop? And what can I do to stop them?" "Why do people allow their dogs to poop in other peoples yards?

" "my puppy won't poop in the yard ... only on the cement ... got any advice? " "What are dogs sniffing for when they are looking for a place to pee/poop?" "How do I stop my puppy from eating poop?

Anyone has any good ideas for paper training how to poop with a puppy.

Didn't have an underbite when he was younger.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.