Our new puppy has a disgusting habit. She eats her stools. During the day it's not too much of a problem because we pick her up as soon as she poops and then clean it up but at night or when she's alone she's free to eat it. The breeder was feeding her Walmart's Maximum Nutrition for puppies and we bought the same food to keep from changing her diet until she got used to us. We feed our other dog Iams and I'm wondering if we shouldn't just go ahead and switch her to Iams too. Could this be it? I'm open to any suggestions to break her from this disgusting habit. Thanks.

If the feces tasted objectionable, the behavior would correct itself. This is a natural behavior that many people find upsetting and becomes an issue. There is a product available to help curb this behavior called “For-bid”. Since you didn’t mention how old this puppy is it would be very wise and I encourage you to seek the advice and supervision of a veterinarian on how much to give before administering product.

The very best solution to preventing this behavior is to do as you have already did…clean up immediately after each business. Once this becomes a habit; it will be very difficult to break

Here is a link to a reputable company that sells for-bid. You may order from them online, by phone or snail mail. They are available 24/7. In the upper left corner is a search box, type in for-bid as it is spelled here, it will take you to another page, then click on where it says for-bid.



www.drsfostersmith.com

[This message was edited by piggins on 12-31-02 at 10:57 PM.]

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Originally posted by piggins:
Coprohagia is the technical term for eating feces. This has been studied in dogs by several people with no definitive answer for “why’ being found. Nutritional deficiencies are rarely seen.

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I think I know why he's eating his stool.

Probably the same reason he eats leaves and dog food. Because it's no different than any other matter composed object. Animals are curious. They want to taste things that appeal to them. Is that a possibility?

The only reason it looks bad is because humans think of it as muck instead of simply digested food.

As mentioned, this is not uncommon...

Some "reasons"

1) Boredom - if the dog is left in a kennel/crate, the dog may be bored and eats it just cause it's there and they are bored.

2) If you punish the dog for going to the bathroom in the house, they may be hiding the proof that they have done this

3) Poor quality food - if the food is not a good quality food, the food is poorly digested leaving many of the actual nutrients to be lost through the stool - and it smells the same to the dog as when they ate it, so they are eating it again. If you change to a better quality food, they will not do this. If you will ultimately be feeding the dog the Iams you feed to the others, start doing this now (gradually) by adding half and half and then reducing the amount of the old food until you are feeding the same diet as the other dogs.

The is no real "reason" that the dog is eating this, unless the dog could tell you exactly why he/she's doing it.....

I'm wondering if Sparkle was eating her stool because of stress over coming to a new home. She has quit it as far as I know completely. During the night now she leaves little piles that look untouched for me to clean up the next morning. She is settled into our home now and doesn't want to be held all the time like she did when she first came home. She is also finding things to get into like all puppies do at one time or another. Hopefully this is it but I still plan on switching her food to Iams and thanks for telling me to do it gradually.

Meat tenderizer in the food might help. This site might be helpful: http://www.vetinfo.com/deatpoop.html