Eating Poop

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby katiek0417 » December 19th, 2006, 8:10 am

Okay, here's the situation. Sacha (the lab) has been on a rampage with eating poop. I can't tell if she's only eating her own or other's, too (at the old house, she also ate Nisha's). However, it has never been this bad because now she's starting to vomit it up (and trust me, poop by itself smells rancid; regurgitated poop is 100 times worse).

Now, before you give me the common suggestions: meat tenderizer, pumpkin, pineapple, SEP (solid gold makes it; Stop Eating Poop)...I've tried them ALL!!!! Given to her and all the other dogs EVERY meal.

Her diet consists of TW Organics Wilderness Elk and Salmon (1 cup in the morning, 1 cup at night) mixed with 1/2 a patty of Primal (pre-made raw) duck formula. As supplements: Nupro Joint Support, Solid Gold Seameal, Salmon Oil, Acidophilus. She was also getting Concept-A-Bitch (by Solid Gold) to prepare her for breeding, but she didn't come into heat, so I took her off of it (she's been off of it for several weeks now). Once a week she gets a raw egg.

I am at my wits end. She's collar-wise; but the next thing I try will be putting the e-collar on her, and watching her from inside, when she picks up the poop, I'll hit her with electric.

However, I'd like to try to figure out why she keeps eating the poop and finding a natural way to keep her from doing it. Any suggestions?
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Postby msvette2u » December 19th, 2006, 11:18 am

I put a muzzle on Libby. She really likes it when they are frosty and frozen and will whine to get outside to go eat it. I don't know why she does it either and I think she eats other dogs' too.
I kind of have a theory though - she's a medium sized dog with a fairly low metabolism (has never been one to play with toys or otherwise) so we feed her about 2/3 c. of dog food a day and THAT is IT. So I think she gets in a snit because the other dogs eat longer than she does. So I think she goes out and eats it because she thinks we are starving her!
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Postby SpiritFngrz » December 19th, 2006, 11:24 am

Do you think dogs do it out of boredom or sheerly for fun sometimes?
My parents' Rottie will do it sometimes, if she happens to see one in the yard. She even been known to eat dead carcass if she finds something and she also bites her nails. Oh, and let's not even start with the catbox! I think she sees that as a delicacy.
Seriously, I don't get it either.
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Postby mnp13 » December 19th, 2006, 11:30 am

Honestly, the e-collar doesn't sound like a horrible idea at this point.

what has your vet said about it?
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Postby msvette2u » December 19th, 2006, 11:41 am

I think dogs get addicted to it and just don't want to quit ;)
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Postby cheekymunkee » December 19th, 2006, 2:51 pm

Damned sh1t eatin' dogs!
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Postby SisMorphine » December 19th, 2006, 3:58 pm

At the kennel we had a hard time keeping dogs from eating the Wellness Fish and Potato Poop because it tasted oh so good. So maybe with the Salmon being a big ingredient in their food that's why she's so intent on it . . . I dunno, just a thought. Otherwise basket muzzle with poop guard if you can't keep your eye on her.
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Postby Malli » December 19th, 2006, 7:09 pm

perhaps she has a deficiency of some kind?
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Postby katiek0417 » December 19th, 2006, 9:00 pm

On December 19 2006, 6:09 PM, Malli wrote:perhaps she has a deficiency of some kind?


I was thinking that....however, she's getting a balanced diet.

I called the vet. He thinks it might be a wicked case of worms since we have a pregnant female here...

He also suggested the muzzle, so we put her in the muzzle before sending her out tonight...she looked utterly miserable, but if it helps, who cares, right?
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Postby Magnolia618 » December 19th, 2006, 9:57 pm

Or you could just pick up the poop before she gets a chance to eat it :|
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Postby mnp13 » December 19th, 2006, 10:35 pm

In Katrina's defense - 7 dogs make a lot of poop and I think they are all let out one after the other.

Maybe put Sasha out first each time so there isn't any in the yard?
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Postby satanscheerleader » December 19th, 2006, 11:41 pm

On Tue Dec 19, 2006 8:57 pm, Magnolia618 wrote:Or you could just pick up the poop before she gets a chance to eat it :|


That is exactly what I have to do with Nyx. We tried EVERYTHING. She just likes poop. :| Sooooo..... I go out, pick up all the poo, bring her out on a leash, let her poop, pick it up, then let her off leash. It's really annoying but after years of doing it, I'm kinda used to it. :| If any dogs are going to go out with her, they have to poop on leash first, then I pick it up and let them go. I think they are all trained now to poop for Nyx! lol
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Postby bouvierz » December 20th, 2006, 12:43 am

Raina loves Poop also. I read somewhere that females sometimes get fixated on eating poo, some kind of den instinct. I have also tried everything and I cannot stop her. I would love to use a ecollar on her but Im too cheap to buy one. Poop pukes are bad but combing poop out of a bouvier beard is much worse.
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Postby katiek0417 » December 20th, 2006, 12:49 am

On December 19 2006, 9:35 PM, mnp13 wrote:In Katrina's defense - 7 dogs make a lot of poop and I think they are all let out one after the other.

Maybe put Sasha out first each time so there isn't any in the yard?


Well, I typically clean the yard in early afternoon. Unfortunately the lights on the back of my house don't reach the entire yard, so it's very hard to clean the yard in the dark. This means that anything after 6 is in the dark (until 7 the next morning).

You're right, Michelle. They are typically put out one after the other. The problem is we try to leave them out there for a good period of time, and unless it's Jue (b/c he jumps the fence) we don't really watch them....And even when I watch Sacha, there are parts of the yard I don't see if I'm in the house....and if I'm outside with her, she doesn't dare eat it!!!

We used the muzzle tonight, and, if nothing else, she is persistent...she tried to eat poop THROUGH THE MUZZLE.
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Postby HappyPuppy » December 20th, 2006, 12:51 am

Ruby was eating poo when we first got her a year ago. And the 3rd or so bag of different food seemed to do wonders. She hasn't done it in a long while but seems still to be occasionally attracted to soft serv. Yuk. And I've not been able to cure her of kitty crunchies in the yard. Dern cats.
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Postby msvette2u » December 20th, 2006, 12:52 am

she tried to eat poop THROUGH THE MUZZLE.

lol that's what Libby does too! Addicted, I tell you!
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Postby satanscheerleader » December 20th, 2006, 1:02 am

I got a big flashlight for picking up poop at night. Works pretty good. I've tried a few rechargable ones that were somewhat brighter but they kept over heating and burning out. They were bloody expesive, too which sucked. I've had this one the longest, and has even survived me dropping it a zillion times. lol

http://www.energizer.com/products/flash ... .asp?cat=4
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Postby SisMorphine » December 20th, 2006, 1:27 am

On December 20 2006, 12:49 AM, katiek0417 wrote:
We used the muzzle tonight, and, if nothing else, she is persistent...she tried to eat poop THROUGH THE MUZZLE.

Yup, that's why you need to get a poop guard for the front of the basket muzzle. They sell plastic ones or you can make your own with duct tape. That's what we had to do for a few of the Greyhounds at the adoption kennel because they were SO insistant on with eating poop or destroying anything in the yard. Annoying beasts!
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Postby katiek0417 » December 20th, 2006, 5:24 am

On December 20 2006, 12:27 AM, SisMorphine wrote:
On December 20 2006, 12:49 AM, katiek0417 wrote:
We used the muzzle tonight, and, if nothing else, she is persistent...she tried to eat poop THROUGH THE MUZZLE.

Yup, that's why you need to get a poop guard for the front of the basket muzzle. They sell plastic ones or you can make your own with duct tape. That's what we had to do for a few of the Greyhounds at the adoption kennel because they were SO insistant on with eating poop or destroying anything in the yard. Annoying beasts!


This is a working dog muzzle:

Jafco Muzzle

Something I thought of, too...and let me know if any of you have any knowledge about this: she tends to eat Nisha's poop. Nisha is on a diet of partially raw chicken, and Sacha is allergic to chicken....Could there be any connection between eating Nisha's poop and vomiting (since she vomits when she eats chicken). I know it's farfetched....

Until I can figure out how to really correct her for it, I may have to just go with the muzzle and prevent it....[/url]
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Postby iluvk9 » December 20th, 2006, 9:28 am

Give Sacha a BIG KISS for me, will ya?

Gotta love those Labs. 8)
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