[Chris / Oakley]

This thread is all about what the title says... Poop. I have a couple questions, concerns.

My pup, Oakley is about 7 months (GSD/LAB/Husky Mix) and 60lbs, he eats about 3.8 Cups of Orijen Large Breed Puppy per day. I know it seems like a lot, but if I give him less he's ravenous, mooching like crazy and REALLY chowing down on his poop and anything he can get his mouth on. He excretes about 3 times a day, varying between 0.5 and 1lbs per outing. (Haven't used the scale, just guessing based on the size). To me this seems like a lot for a high quality food? I mean, I know I feed him a lot, but he's maybe 1lb overweight right now as he gets at the very least an hour of walking/playing per day.

Any info there would be great.

Also, on the flip side, why would he be eating his poop? I've caught him twice, first time I had to physically remove it from his mouth as he would not drop it. Then today he did it again, while I was out cleaning up the yard, saw him excrete, and then caught him 20 min later chowing down, ate at least 50% before I caught him, then another 25% while I was yelling at him to stop. With the exception of what he just made the yard was spotless, I just finished doing it. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not underfeeding him, but what do I know.

Help.

 

[FourIsCompany]

Dogs eat poop for various reasons. It might be just because he likes it.

How much should he be eating according to the bag?
Have you had him checked for worms?
Does he eat twice a day?
I don't know how much fat is in his diet, but a high fat diet could also be the reason he's eating it. If you're feeding him too much of a food that has a high-fat content, the poop might be very inviting.

I read about this somewhere. I'll try to find it.

Here it is. Why dogs eat poop.

 

[Independent George]

That sounds like about right to me, actually -don't pups at that age require around 50% more calories than an adult of equivalent weight?

ETA: I just checked Orijen's feeding guidelines - they recommend 3-3.75 cups. I'd say you're within standard error.

You might want to spread the food around in smaller meals; he might be eating more food than he can digest in a single meal, and the excess is just passing through his system. Every dog's metabolism is different, so it can be any number of things.

 

[Chris / Oakley]

Dogs eat poop for various reasons. It might be just because he likes it.

How much should he be eating according to the bag?
Have you had him checked for worms?
Does he eat twice a day?
I don't know how much fat is in his diet, but a high fat diet could also be the reason he's eating it. If you're feeding him too much of a food that has a high-fat content, the poop might be very inviting.

I read about this somewhere. I'll try to find it.

Here it is. Why dogs eat poop.

Hmm, I haven't had him checked for worms, he just had all his shots maybe 2 months ago? Could worms be a cause of eating poop? I mean, I think he's only done it twice in 2+ months, as he is always supervised while outside. This is for a couple reasons, 1 our fence is currently only 4' (new one going in as soon as the ground thaws) and 2 so we can tell if he is going on his regular schedule, etc... help us know what his body is doing.

He does eat twice a day, 8am and 5pm... 3.8 cups split evenly between the feedings. I have been thinking about changing him to a 3 feeding schedule, as it seems like a LOT of food for him to eat at once. I just wasn't sure before if we would always be able to make it home mid day for a 3rd feeding. But as I am making it home daily to let him out I could make that into his 3rd as well.

As for the fat, the bag lists it as... 16% fat? (I ended up making a table, easier instead of a link)

Thanks for the link, very interesting... one jumped out at me, maybe because I'm hoping that's all it was.

11. If your dog watches you pick up poop, he might learn to do the same. This is called allelomimetic behavior. Your dog observes you and learns from you, by putting the poop in his mouth you put poop in a bag.

Both times I've caught him doing it, was right after I finished cleaning up the yard...

That sounds like about right to me, actually -don't pups at that age require around 50% more calories than an adult of equivalent weight?

ETA: I just checked Orijen's feeding guidelines - they recommend 3-3.75 cups. I'd say you're within standard error.

You might want to spread the food around in smaller meals; he might be eating more food than he can digest in a single meal, and the excess is just passing through his system. Every dog's metabolism is different, so it can be any number of things.

Actually, Orijen bases their feeding guidelines on the 'Adult Weight'. his adult weight should fall in the 65-90lb range, and that states 3¾ - 4½ cups. So I'm on the low end of that spectrum. I found a food calculator that ended up saying the EXACT same amount that we have been feeding him, either a weird coincidence, or the thing is magic.

Hmm, but you could be right about eating more then he can digest, he eats 1.9 Cups/twice a day. It's weird, when he was on CS I swear he pooped less, but ate more, 4 cups even. (This is when he was at 5.5-6months and only 50 or so pounds) The other thing I've noticed is since switching to Orijen, his stools have firmed up quite a lot, and gone from a medium brown to a very dark brown.

 

[FourIsCompany]

My 80 lb GSD eats about 3.5 cups a day. Yes, he's always "hungry", but that's because he loves food. I go by his look and feel, not how hungry he acts.

I never fed my dogs puppy food, so I think I would switch over to an adult food if I were you.

 

[Chris / Oakley]

My 80 lb GSD eats about 3.5 cups a day. Yes, he's always "hungry", but that's because he loves food. I go by his look and feel, not how hungry he acts.

I never fed my dogs puppy food, so I think I would switch over to an adult food if I were you.

He does love food, but he was free feeding when we got him from animal services. I know he's always 'hungry', but... there is 'hungry', then there is 'HUNGRY' where he is trying to eat anything and everything... and hounding us like crazy while we're trying to eat. Which is what he was doing when we first switched him to Orijen, so we upped him a little over half a cup and he went back to just 'hungry'. As for his look, his eyes look better then almost any other dog I've met, and his coat is silky smooth, very soft. His weight, well, his belly hangs a little low after eating, but other then that he is quite trim. Actually, funny story, after being on Orijen for 2 weeks he lost the little fat that he had, and I started getting all sorts of compliments on how fit he looks.

As for the Puppy to Adult food, the ingredients are the same, the only difference is a little less fiber, calcium, phosporous, etc... and when I say a little, I mean, between 0.1 and 1% difference. I mean, I wouldn't mind switching him to adult, it's $3 less per bag, but I'm not sure if he'd benefit more staying on puppy, vs. switching to adult.

 

[Chris / Oakley]

Bump, to get any more info.. and here's a pic of him to show his current stature.