[stoobs67]

I am new to the forum and I am desperate for help as I have researched everything and nothing has worked. Please bear with me as this might be a long post and excuse me if its rude being my first one on the site.

We just got our second dog on Dec 23 2011. She is a female Rotty. We bought her with all paperwork from a reputable breeder. When I went to pick her up, the breeder informed me that she had another dog shipped from over seas that had 2 parasites and infected her pups. She told me that I would have to wait a week until the meds got rid of them. I really wanted the puppy for xmas, I just picked her up anyway and gave her the meds myself.

After a week or two, we finished the puppy food the breeder had given us to the food the vet and agaway had recommended. Around this time we noticed the puppy had started eating her poop. We had also started crate training her which was working for a while. Until one day she started going in her crate. Yes it was sectioned off, so she just sat in it. She even peed in it right in front of us. So started to leave her in the kitchen since it was much easier to clean up a mess off the tile floor then the dog itself. I brought her to the vet to get her checked out. They said that everything was fine, but she tested for 2 different paracytes from eating poop. These were non contagious and no meds were needed, they just had to be worked out.

But now here is my problem. She obsessively eats her poop and what ever poop she finds. So how am I going to get rid of the current parasites ? Even if I can catch her, she still is going to go in the house when we are not home. I have tried alot of things. The powder from the vet, pineapple, I doubled her daily amount of food, she has tons of toys to play with, I take her for an hour walk every day, I have 5 acers for her to run around, I clean the poop from the yard daily, but she still finds some I cant see. I just changed her food so maybe that will work.

My only other idea is to muzzler her, as ridiculous as that sounds.

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for reading this.

 

[Willowy]

I'm not aware of any parasites that "just work themselves out". If there's a parasite, you need meds to get rid of it. Did the vet say what these parasites were called?

What food is she on? Some foods that have a lot of fillers and grains don't digest fully, so the dog wants to run it through again . A higher-quality, grain-free food might help. And some poop-eating is normal for some dogs. I tend to ignore it if it's not obsessive.

 

[Amaryllis]

Even if parasites do normally work themselves out, and I've heard arguments on both sides, not that I would just let it go personally, if she's eating poop, she's continually reinfecting herself and needs to be treated. I'd get a second opinion from another vet, and very clearly explain what's going on with the poop eating. It sounds like your vet is holding you responsible for everything that goes in her mouth, and that's just unreasonable. I adore my dog, I watch him like a hawk, I am so, so careful- and he manages to get something off the ground to eat almost every day. Not poop, but the principle is the same. It's impossible to keep your dog from eating every single thing they may want to eat, and in this case, that's a huge problem.

ETA: This makes it sound like I'm not trying to train my dog otherwise, or don't think you should. It's just slow going with a food obsessed dog.

 

[trainingjunkie]

The easiest way out of this behavior pattern is to break the pattern and see if it fades. To do this, you need to get the pup house-trained/crate trained and clean up all piles the minute they hit the ground. Then she can't eat them.

This isn't really an unusual behavior. It's yucky, but it's pretty common. I had a dedicated turd-eater. She would only eat the frozen ones. I just had to pick them up or deal with it.

Try not to panic. I am not sure that your dog is reinfesting with the eating of her poo. The dewormer may have killed off the parasites before they passed. Again, this is a question for your vet.

Congratulations on your new addition! The stress will fade!

 

[InkedMarie]

When housebreaking a dog, direct supervision is the key. Also, it's best to take a dog out I side, when housebreaking, on a leash. If you're doing this, he won't have the opportunity to eat poop. I can't help with going in the crate, sorry.

 

[sassafras]

Do you remember what the name of the parasites are? Some are a concern for reinfecting themselves and some are not.