New pup decided he wants to eat poop

[hazmat]

Well the worst has happened.

Both my Mom's labs are Obsessive Compulsive poop eaters. We left our boys with them over holiday vacation so I could paint the family room, kitchen, hall & stairway. The little guy came back with a newfound taste for eating poop. [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

With 2' + of snow on the ground, scooping the poop is not an easy task, (we are trying our best)

Anything we can do short of keeping him on a leash at all times? Can he be broken of this habit? I plan on calling the vet, but like to be armed with options to discuss.

He's 10 months old & has never shown interest in it before, no changes in diet.

Please Help! [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[WVBill]

Our Basset Hound did that when she was young. It's called "Coprophagia" and apparently it's pretty common. (over 7,000 hits on a Google search).

Our vet gave ("gave" - yeah sure) us something we put in her food that apparently made the poop not tasty to her. She pretty much got over it.

She is still very much a pica - EVERYTHING goes into the mouth: sticks, rocks, grass, rubber bands, twist ties... She doesn't seem to actually eat these things - just chews on them.

Bill

[RichZ]

This only works if you only have one dog. There are pills that you can buy in most pet stores that change the flavor of poop, into something dogs won't eat. When I first heard of that, I cracked up thinking that they have to make poop taste bad!![img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

The trouble is, if you have more than one dog, you'd have to give the pills to all of them, so there isn't anymore tasty poop around. [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Poop eating is VERY common in dogs. It seems that I always have at least one dog who likes to eat poop![img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]

[wingnut]

I've never had any problem with the "normal" stuff (by "I've", of course I mean my dogs) .... but both Samson and Delilah would decide cowpies were tasty when we wandered through the pasture. Since I'm not into letting dogs lick my face ... and I could only scold them if I was with them (they roamed the pastures at will), I just let it go.

[Hank]

Only one of our four eats poop, and has ever since she was a pup. We just "pass" on any dog kisses when she comes back inside licking her lips. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[s1120]

All three of mine do it, and have sence they were pups. We tryed the pills with no luck. Ask the vet, his ansor was to walk the dogs. HAH!. Three dog, with two people walking them? NOT!

[Stoneheartfarm]

Our dog will only eat cat poop, and was always in the litter box. The Vet called it "sneaking out for a poopsicle" [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

Steve

[EJB]

Well, I can't help you with your problem, but can anyone help me with mine?


My dog eats my donkeys poop, and my donkey likes to nibble on the goat droppings he comes across, my problem is, I can't get the goats to eat the dog poop, thus completing the cycle.

If I could just figure this out, I'd never need to buy another bag of feed [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Stoneheartfarm]

Goats are fussy that way. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

Steve

[Hank]

<font color="purple"> My dog eats my donkeys poop </font color>

Our hound who eats her own poop also loves fresh horse poop; scoops it up quick. I cannot attest to goat poop, as she's never encountered it, but I somehow suspect she is something of a poop gourmet. I used to think this was related to her breed being primitive (pure bred for over 5,000 years), but hearing all these stories seems to indicate it's just an individual dog thing.