Persistent coprophagia

ck9486

I have an 8 month old Shih Tzu that seems to have a compulsion to eat his own poop. He has been doing it ever since we got him. Not only is it gross, but I'm concerned about the health effects. Surprisingly though, he's healthy according to the vet.

I've researched online about remedies and have just about tried them all. I have tried 3 different pills but none have had any effect (even after doubling the dosage). The vet recommended meat tenderizer on his food, but that has not been successful either. He is consuming a premium quality food (Innova) so I don't think it's a diet issue.

While I try my best to clean it up before he can get to it, and get him to "leave it", he still goes after it. Another problem is I cannot watch him every moment of the day and he will immediately start to eat it.

Has anyone had a success story? Or any other possible solutions? I'm willing to keep trying anything since I don't want to rely on the belief that he will simply grow out of it. help

Keechak

some people swear by giving their dog pineapple every day.

sassykzt

My sister had the same experience with 3 different dogs-- 3 diff. breeds! Here is what I learned:

1. When the weather gets colder increased numbers of coprophagia cases occur.

2. Most puppies will stop eating feces after they reach one year of age but some never kick the habit.

3. Gastrointestinal medical problems should be ruled out as a cause for this problem. A malabsorption syndrome may result in nutrients in the food to pass through the dog's intestinal tract virtually unchanged. Since a dog with this type of problem is chronically hungry, the stool may serve as a "between meal snack.

4. Dogs that eat feces often have problems with periodontal disease caused by the stool adhering to their teeth.


Solutions that worked:
One of the things that worked for 2 of the 3 dogs was for my sis was to walk the dog on a leash so that the dog can be immediately taken away from his feces. After the dog has been put back into the house the stool should be picked up and disposed of. Allowing the dog to see the stool being removed may lead to a game of keep away. She stopped letting them be outside by themselves ( fenced in backyard) -- was told by her vet that this behavior becomes a vice of many dogs that are bored.

She was also told to add a meat tenderizer to the food to change the taste of the stool when it is passed. A commercial enzyme powder called FORBID has been marketed to be fed to dogs to make the stool foul tasting. Neither worked for any of the dogs. Sprinkling hot pepper on the stool was also recommended. This must be applied to every bowel movement or the dog will just learn to eat the " untreated" feces. In fact this type of intermittent reward system (i.e. the periodic ingestion of untreated stool) may make the behavior even harder to stop. She was also told that adding Certs to the dog's diet makes the stool taste terrible. This definitely did NOT work but it did improve their breath!

What worked for the third dog was a diet change. He was gradually be changed to a canned dog food diet-- grain free and protein focused. Vegetable oil was slowly added to his diet until he was ingesting about one tablespoon for every ten pounds of body weight. The dog did not receive any treats or table scraps and was be fed on a regular twice a day schedule. Just a month or of this high fat, high protein, low carbohydrate diet changed the dog's behavior. A change in the routine and texture of the diet is more probably why this worked!


Sorry this is so long! I didn't know how else to convey the info. Happy to report all 3 dogs no longer eat their poop. She lives very close so I heard about it on a daily basis and know how stressful it must be for you! Good luck!!!

Labsnothers

The pineapple juice is in my manual from a dog guide school for puppy raisers. The above suggestion of walking on a leash may work.

For more information see http://home.gci.net/~divs/behavior/coprophagia.html

Cracker

Here's Cracker's poo story:

I got Miss C at 4 1/2 months. She ate poo every chance she had (this made me a neurotic poo picker upper and very frustrated at people that DIDN"T clean up after their pets...).
I initially figured it was a learned behaviour, she and her sister had been poorly fed (if at all ) at the Crackhouse and her sister also bullied her for food when at the shelter, enough that they had to separate them. I tried changing diet, training leave it, keeping her on leash etc etc and none of them made any difference. I eventually purchased a remote citronella collar (this is before I crossed over to R+ training) and used it whenever she showed excessive interest in something when off leash. It worked a bit, but did not stop her WANTING to do it.
Cracker developed severe separation anxiety, which started to change to generalized anxiety and after speaking to the vet we started her on anti anxiety medication and a behaviour mod plan for the SA. Well, lo and behold, as her anxiety levels dropped, so did the behaviour of poo eating. It turns out it was a symptom of her anxiety along with being a learned behaviour......

Just something to think about. I would never have assumed it was an anxiety thing until I saw it just stop after time on the meds.

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luv2byte

Our eskie would eat poo every second she got the chance. We read that pumpkin or pineapple worked to stop it, my vet said the same thing. So I tried pineapple, Chloe wouldn't come near it at all. Since this was last October I bought a fresh pumpkin & steamed it, mashed it up and she ate as if she hadn't eaten in days. She LOVES pumpkin and a few squashes as it turns out. After her first snack of pumpkin, no more poo eating. From what I understand pineapple & pumpkin make poo unpalateable, as if it tastes good, whatever. So she stopped and hasn't ever started again. I gave her pumpkin daily for about a month then only occassionally after that. No poo eating still.

One of the things I like about pumpkin is that for a dog if they have diarrhea, feed pumpkin, stops it right away. If they are constipated, feed pumpkin, unplugs them within an hour or two. I've used it for both reasons with great success.

Jades_Mom

I have three dogs that are chronic poo eat eaters (in a pack of 7). I have been told to try fig newtons (didn't work), pineapple and probiotics, (again, didn't work). I do feed pumpkin from time to time but have never fed it consistently and have really had no reason to incorporate it into my poo offender's diet. Try as I do to keep it picked up, when I'm at work, my little ones use potty pads so have access to their siblings potties. Thanks for the suggestions! I'm on a mission now... These are some very informative posts!

StellaLucyDesi

Hi! Here is Stella's story....she was a chronic poop eater when I got her. The breeder told me she was known to do this, so I was on the lookout lol. Anyway, I tried the tablets you buy at the petstore, no luck. Tried meat tenderizer, not luck. Started using Solid Gold Seameal w/prozyme on their food (dry & can) and voila!..no more poop eating! Then I looked at the ingredients. Enzymes and kelp. It also contains pineapple (used for bromelain, I believe). Maybe that is what helped her, IDK? She is also eating grain-free and premade raw now and still does not poop eat. Good luck!

Jades_Mom

Thanks for sharing Stella's story! You have no idea how many times I've picked up the Seameal and put it back down. I've heard good things about it and am always looking for good supplements for my fosters who are usually seniors and in need of some extra good care. That would be an easy fix if it would work on my little poop eaters. I'll pick some up on my way home tonight and let you know how it works. What brand of pre-made raw do you use? I just picked up some Bravo, but haven't used it yet...I know, that's a completely different forum/topic...

StellaLucyDesi

Yes, seameal is one of my favorite supplements. I hope it helps..IDK. Anyway, I am using Nature's Variety raw medallions because I can get it where I work (I have also used primal a little and like it ok...I will be trying Healthy Pet Diet beef formula in the future, too). They have eaten the NV regular chicken formula, beef, lamb, venison and organic chicken. I'm leary of the rabbit because they do source it from China I like the company alot and all the varieties of food they offer. We are using Instinct Duck & Turkey kibble. The cavs were only eating the raw and the other 2 the kibble with raw, but I need to board the dogs sometimes while I visit my kids and decided that the cavs need to be able to eat the kibble while they are boarded, so they all get Instinct and medallions now. Doing great, btw. I'm using Springtime, Inc. Fresh Factors right now because that is where I get Desi's joint chews and I received some Fresh Factors free and like them alot. I will use Seameal again sometime, tho'.

Jades_Mom

Thanks for your input! It's been very informational. I picked up some seameal but haven't tried it yet. I have tried the Springtime, in fact, I made an error when they were doing the two for two and ended up with something like 8 bottles of this stuff...not the Fresh Factors but the Longevity they sell. It seems to give my dogs diarrhea everytime I try to use it, no matter how little I add to their food. I've got some really senior dogs though (shelter dogs) and I always think they need a boost) I'm really hoping that the Seameal will curb my babies interest in poop eating - staying optimistic!....I'll keep you posted.

Squeeker

Unfortunately for us...

We tried the pineapple remedy and she has stopped eating her own poo. However, any OTHER dog's poo is fair game, and I can't make every dog eat pineapple

We just use redirection. When we see Libby heading toward a pile of poo, or if we see her starting to chow down, we recall her (she has a solid recall), treat and praise, and then send her on her way in a different direction.

Labsnothers

I could never get the deer and rabbits on pineapple juice either. I just had to keep a good eye on Aster out in the woods. Her recall was even worse after she went deaf.

FilleBelle

Haha! Even worse...

StellaLucyDesi

Stella only ate her own poop ?? But, of course, I always watch out for the eating of deer and rabbit poop (who knows what diseases they contain). This post is for Jades_Mom...yes, I have tried the Longevity from Springtime, Inc., too. Lucy did not like the taste at all in her food and would refuse to eat it, so we did not try it for long! I really like the ingredients in it, tho'. Oh, well...

Jades_Mom

Well I'm glad that my dogs are not the exception. I really liked the ingredients in Longevity too and had it recommended to me highly, but when it came to giving it to my group, it has been a fiasco. On a different note, I've gotten the Seameal and started using it this weekend. I'm still finding that my girls are moving they poop treats, but they don't seem to be eating them. They are just picking it up and then leaving it. This is a step forward! When I'm home, I always get it as soon as it hits the floor, but today I had to out grocery shopping and when I came home, there was a little on the area rug where they'd moved it from the pads....it was uneaten completely...so I'm thinking I may be on the right track...yeah!

ck9486

Thank you for all the informative posts. I've read through them all and found a couple more suggestions that I will try.

I tried giving pineapple for about a week now and it's been mildly successful. He's at least not eating ALL of it anymore but he still goes for it.

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