lickin/runnin with feces

[WestiePupp]

my pup was about to go #2 on the rug today so i grabbed him asap but while holding him to get to the pee-wee pad he drops the surprises prematurely. while this was happenin i was holdin him and hurryin to the pee-wee pad sayin NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

then he lets the surprises go and i set him down so that i can go get stuff to clean it with. i saw him sniffin the feces which is normal in which i see many dogs do. but today i saw him lick it! then i freaked out and said OMG NO NO NO NO!!!! then i grabbed him again and tried to push him away from it and then he runs toward it and grabs it with his mouth and runs away with it! and then i was like hey!!! come back here! and he drops the feces somewhere else

i know u can use for-bid but is this normal for a puppy to do and is it ok? im worried about his health from doin something like this! it was nasty!

 

[Herschel]

Some dogs are copraphagic and will eat their feces. In some cases, its due to an enzymatic problem and you can add pineapple juice to his food to prevent it. Other dogs are just unstoppable crap eaters. This might have arisen due to your reactions to his going to the bathroom in the house. Do you make loud sounds that startle him? Does he feel bad after he has an accident in the house? If so, eating it or running with it could be his way of hiding it from you.

If your dog just wanted a (disgusting) snack, then pushing him away from it isn't necessarily the best response. You could teach him a solid "Leave it" or "Drop it" command, and then reward him with a desirable treat. Right now, the way he views the situation:

Dog: "I found something nice. Smells funny, lets see if it tastes good."
You: Runs over and says "Nooooo!" and pushes him away.
Dog: "Hey man, that's my snack. Don't hate!"
You: Tries to keep dog away from feces.
Dog: "If you won't let me have it, I'm going to steal it!"

See? By not telling him to leave it alone or distracting him, you basically made him feel like he needed to either hide the feces better so you don't get mad, or that he should steal it and run because you're going to take it away from him.

This article about bite inhibition also talks about the "Leave it!" command.
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bite.txt

 

[Charliesmommy]

I tried for-bid, and every other trick I could find with Charlie. Nothing worked. He eventually just grew out of it. But lots and lots of puppies do it.

I would highly recommend getting rid of the pee pads altogether and teaching him to go outside. As far as I'm concerned, pee pads only teach the dog to go in the house.

 

[showpug]

Stool eating, although gross, is a normal canine behavior. Many wild dogs do this in the winter months and bitches in search of extra calories because they have pups will also do this. It's a pre-programmed survival mechanism that dogs just have. The products like For-bid don't generally work and are a waste of money. This is nothing to freak out about or panic. Just prepare a plan on how you are going to prevent the behavior.

I have a house full of poop eaters. My plan - I stand with a poop scoop under them as they go or else one of my dogs will surely get to the waste before I do :yikes: