April 19, 2011
My dog eats his feces. What can I do?
Full Question:
Hi Ed, my 3 year old dog has been eating his own feces lately pretty much right after he goes after I let him out when I get home from work. I believe he has just started this behavior. He always does it after I get back in the house. I've tried to watch him from the inside and caught him doing it a couple of times. I yell "no" and get out immediately to correct him with his prong collar. However, tonight he just did it again and the circumstances are the same (doesn't even try it in front of me, but does it when no one is out in the yard with him). He gets plenty of food (5 cups and he weighs about 85-90), and I take him out almost daily to exercise, train, and play. In addition, he doesn't display this behavior when we are at the park just only at home. I also pick up his poop every other day or so and have used pepper and a repellent product from pet co to cover up his poop with. When I do that he leaves it alone. But then again I think he only try's to eat it right after he eliminates. I don't know why that is, do you? I would appreciate your advice.Thank you,
Tom
Ed's Answer:
I don't know if anyone truly knows why dogs do this. people may have opinions but they are probably all guesses - mine is in that category too.
I feel that there is a dietary issue here. So I approach it from a health standpoint. I start by making sure the dog is wormed - twice in a two week period.
I then put the dog on a good once a day vitamin and switch the dog's food to one of the top quality brands - Science Diet or Eucanuba. The fact is that if I only had one dog I would make the dog food like I have explained in the article on my web site. Put the dog on a natural diet and feed it the way I explain. I believe that if he gets veggies and meat and human grade ingredient dog food this practice will stop. An 85 pound dog should get 5 cups of food a day so he should not be doing this as a result of being hungry.
What you have to worry about is the dog getting Giardia. If that happens he will get the runs and be sick. He then needs 5 to 10 days metronidizol (or three days of Panacur). People get Giardia by drinking water from a stream that cows and deer have crapped in.
If all of this does not work, then the solution is to spend more time with your dog. If it is doing this because he is bored and is getting a screw loose then you should put him on a daily training program. The time spent training a dog is time well spent. Proper training means a lot of praise and this goes a long way with the relationship of a dog.
If you would like to learn something about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes.
I feel that there is a dietary issue here. So I approach it from a health standpoint. I start by making sure the dog is wormed - twice in a two week period.
I then put the dog on a good once a day vitamin and switch the dog's food to one of the top quality brands - Science Diet or Eucanuba. The fact is that if I only had one dog I would make the dog food like I have explained in the article on my web site. Put the dog on a natural diet and feed it the way I explain. I believe that if he gets veggies and meat and human grade ingredient dog food this practice will stop. An 85 pound dog should get 5 cups of food a day so he should not be doing this as a result of being hungry.
What you have to worry about is the dog getting Giardia. If that happens he will get the runs and be sick. He then needs 5 to 10 days metronidizol (or three days of Panacur). People get Giardia by drinking water from a stream that cows and deer have crapped in.
If all of this does not work, then the solution is to spend more time with your dog. If it is doing this because he is bored and is getting a screw loose then you should put him on a daily training program. The time spent training a dog is time well spent. Proper training means a lot of praise and this goes a long way with the relationship of a dog.
If you would like to learn something about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes.
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