Eating Poop!

TainaPR

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#1
Taina, my 5 month old pup has recently started eating her poop :yikes:

I'd like to know if this can be related to some type of nutrient deficiency? When we purchased her I started her on Nutro Natural but in search of a better food we switched to Blue Buffalo. I believe I made a huge mistake in buying a 15lb bag without knowing what I was in for. I'd say theres still about 13lbs of food.

Ive given her pineapple and it has worked but then she will start eating it again. I will be buying another can first thing in the morning.

Also, in recent weeks shes become resistant to pooping in her 'area'. Instead of crating her I have her in the laundry room (about 5'x5' and right next to the kitchen where she can see us) She pees fine on the pads but rarely poos instead preferring to wait until we let her out to play. Could it be shes trying to keep her area clean?

Am I making a mistake in having her bed/food/potty area in the same space? Her bed and food are on one end and her pads/papers on the other. Please help!
 

el_pic

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#2
...
I'd like to know if this can be related to some type of nutrient deficiency? ...
Am I making a mistake in having her bed/food/potty area in the same space? Her bed and food are on one end and her pads/papers on the other. Please help!
Most prob a nutrient deficiency.
We had same problem w Sassy and she was outdoor trained and an adult of 5 years {we got her from rescue}.
The problem went away after we discovered Dinovite supplement to her food.
There are emotional issues that can contribute to this problem.
http://www.k9healthsolutions.com/dinovite-supplement.html

At 5 months your dog should be outdoor trained which will also help.
 

Beanie

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#3
Dogs eat poop for lots of reasons, puppies especially. Some puppies grow out of it, some puppies don't. I wouldn't be alarmed.
If she doesn't eat it when you feed her pineapple, that's good! I would just keep feeding it for a while. The pineapple makes it smell or taste bad to them. There are other products (pills and stuff) you can buy at places like PetSmart that do the same thing but if the pineapple works I'd stick with that. It could be that once she gets a bit older and if you've kept up the pineapple trick, the habit will be broken, and she won't eat her poop anymore.


The not pooping in her area should be a good thing! You want her to hold it until she's outside!
 

Doberluv

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#4
It's not due to a nutrition deficiency...not necessarily. Some dogs eat poo. That's all there is to it. They like it. It's partially digested food. It tastes like food to them. It's gross to us, but usually won't hurt them unless they eat poo that has some kind of parasite in it. Dogs are scavengers and they eat road kill and all kinds of utterly disgusting things and always have during their evolution. It's likely a survival mechanism. I have a dog that eats poop, but not his own....only the other dog's in the house. And even dogs I've had that didn't eat dog poo did always find rabbit or deer poo a real delicacy. LOL. Don't worry too much. I just clean up their poo pretty much immediately, then Jose` can't get to it. I don't appreciate poopy breath or kisses from Jose` when he's eaten poo. That's the only thing I don't like. Plus, the times where there's been an over sight and he's gotten too much, he has been known to throw up and that is something I can't even think about this early in the morning, especially since I'm eating my breakfast.:eek:
 

Toller_08

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#5
I have a poop eater and she's not lacking in nutrients as far as I know. We've tried adding different supplements and stuff and she's had a fair amount of food changes throughout her life, and none of it curbed the behaviour at all. She just does it because she thinks it tastes good. She's not obsessive about it, but if she happens upon some, she'll eat it. We just make sure to pick it up immediately and she doesn't go outside unsupervised at all. She hasn't eaten any in forever because we work hard to prevent it, but if she had the chance she sure would. It's gross, but not much one can do aside from making it unavailable. Glad the pineapple worked for you. No such luck here.
 

TainaPR

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#6
Thanks so much for all the replies :) Ive been feeding her pineapple on and off whenever I have some for myself and it has reduced her poop eating because poop kisses are just gross!
 

~Tucker&Me~

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#7
Thanks so much for all the replies :) Ive been feeding her pineapple on and off whenever I have some for myself and it has reduced her poop eating because poop kisses are just gross!
I am glad you got it all sorted out! I didn't know the pineapple trick, good thing to know.
 

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