The dog is eating poop!! Last summer, when we got our puppy home, we made an unpleasant discovery. He ate his own feces, and he was as fast as a weasel.
How to get the dog not to eat poop? The easiest way is to have the dog on a leash at all times so that it does not get a chance when you are out. Also, make sure to rest it frequently so that no accidents happen indoors. It can also help to add more fiber to your dog’s food.
That the puppy ate his own feces was a really unpleasant discovery. I was also afraid that the puppy was sick in some way. But I’ll tell you how we got rid of the problem.
Why does the dog eat poop?
When the puppies are small, the bitch keeps the puppy box clean by eating the puppies’ feces. It may be that the puppies see how she does and follows.
A puppy can also start eating its feces before it is completely room clean. If it has happened to do something indoors, it may try to clean up after itself.
For a hungry dog, feces can be a welcome addition. If several dogs are competing for the food, it is a little more common for the problem to arise. If your dog needs to lose weight and you drastically cut down on the food, it can suddenly start eating its feces to get full.
I have also read that the dog’s problem eating its feces may be due to too little fiber in the food or some other deficiency. For example, if the food contains many animals, these are not broken down completely, but there is a lot left when it comes out at the other end, so to speak. This means that the dog’s feces have a tempting smell and are happy to eat it again. By giving the dog more fiber in the food, the stool gets a different scent and is not as interesting to eat.
In older dogs, the problem can arise if they are understimulated and have too little to do. If it is rested too seldom or is in a boring dog yard without stimulation, this behavior can occur.
Is the dog sick when it eats feces?
Although the dog’s problem eating its own and other dogs’ feces is very disgusting for us dog owners, there is no indication that it is dangerous for the dog in any way.
Although it is not so common, some diseases lead to an underproduction in the pancreas, malnutrition, and intestinal problems that lead to the dog eating feces.
What to do if the dog is eating poop?
If the dog still manages to eat its feces, raise your voice, and say NO. Yes, of course, you should take it from there too, so it does not eat more.
Getting rid of the poop smell from your dog’s mouth, it has helped to give your puppy a little more to eat. Preferably something that it has to chew a lot to get down. It can be, for example, cabbage or a carrot. It takes a lot of chewing to be able to swallow them as well. Then most of the stench disappears before the dog comes and wants to cuddle with you next time.
Eating poop is not harmful to the dog’s health, but being licked in the face, mouth, or eyes by a dog that has eaten feces can be dangerous to your health.
How to prevent the dog from eating feces?
When we brought our puppy home, we made the unpleasant discovery that he was happy to eat his own feces. The first step you should take is, of course, to pick up after your dog. If there is no poop to eat, the problem is solved, so to speak.
I thought that our puppy would get a lot of freedom and be allowed to run around without being connected when we were in the country this summer. But then he started eating poop. So we had to start having him on a leash as soon as we went out. For him not to eat his feces, it was important to be quick and pick up. He was really fast to turn around and eat the poop, even though he was on a leash. So you can imagine how I, with my foot on the leash, try to prevent him from accessing the poop, while I try to catch it in a bag. It was not entirely easy, and I failed all the time.
A little puppy does not really understand when you say no. Not even if you shout no in horror about getting a poop kiss from it later in the evening. But as our puppy got older, he understood the meaning of the word. Even if he looked for a long time at the pile on the lawn, he could give up. Yes, at least as long as we watch. But if we do not know him, he will eat it.
Outside, you have a leash on the dog, but if the accident occurs when you are indoors, it is not quite as easy to keep an eye on all the time. At night we define which rooms he can be in and so on. But if we have not been out and rested him enough times during the day, accidents happen at night. I have sometimes woken up because there is a smell of dog poop in the house and that he is smashing the whole pile. It is not a pleasant experience. So after that time, I take him out again before I go to bed.
What to put in dog food to stop eating poop
Besides that, I found this tip that the composition of the feed could be wrong. So I started giving him more fiber. There have been, for example, carrots, cabbage, and crispbread. Crispbread is not an optimal food for a dog. But when the dog eats feces, we ended up in an emergency. A dog that stinks and hands out poop brushes is really disgusting. So if crispbread helps, it must have happened, I thought.
What to put in dog food to stop eating poop? Mix spinach, pumpkin, or pineapple with your dog’s food. This should make the stool taste too bad to eat.
I have also read tips on pouring Tabasco over dog poop so that the dog gets used to eating feces. There are also additives you can give the dog in the food. They should taste good when the dog eats his food, but make the stool taste awful. But these tips are not something I have tried myself.
Which of the methods helped?
Our puppy, you have stopped eating feces. I have done to take him out more often, use a leash, pick up the poop after him, and give him extra fiber in the food.
When we are out walking, it sometimes happens that other dog owners have not picked up after their dogs. He remembers these remains from time to time where they are. When there are places where we often go, I have actually picked them up. It takes a long time before they rot naturally. So this way I avoid recurring problems.
He has also understood what I want when I say NO to him. As long as I look at him, he does not eat feces.
I introduced all the changes simultaneously. Even though he gets a lot of fibers, he eats his poo if he can. So having him on a leash watching him all the time is the only way to stop him.
I am also reviewing his dry food. Changing your diet is not something you should do at once. If you are going to change feed, you should slowly phase in the new and mix them during a transition period.
Related questions
Is it dangerous for a dog to eat cat poop? Cat food contains a lot of protein, so even cats’ feces can be of interest to the dog. But this is important to get rid of quickly because cat litter is toxic for dogs to eat.
The dog eats hairpins, is it dangerous? Eating hairpins is not dangerous for the dog, but it can get a little bad in the stomach if it eats a lot.
The dog eats horse poop, can it be dangerous? It is safe for the dog to eat horse poop if it is not the case that the horse has just been dewormed.
