Question:
My question is about Satchi, my Shiba Inu-husky mix, female, 8 years old.She persists in eating poop, no matter whether she has been fed recently or not. She eats her own, the poop of other dogs, etc. She seems obsessed with it, and she can't stay away from it in the yard and on walks. She was abandoned as a puppy and found living on the street. I've always assumed she learned to eat poop to survive and therefore became conditioned to view it as food.I am a psychologist and have tried all I can think of to alter this behavior, obviously without success.You mentioned in a recent column something to the effect that this sort of behavior may actually be caused by a nutrient deficiency, and the more I think about it, the more it seems to fit with Satchi's behavior. Can you refer me to anything you've written about this problem? Would using your canine nutritional supplement be the next step?Thank you for your time. I strongly support your bioethical approach, even though I'm sure you get flak for it. Keep up the
D.S., Minneapolis, MN Jul 30, 2006
Answer:
Try giving your dog plain yogurt (1/2 cup with live, nonpasteurized culture, every other day) and acidophilus pills according to the package's directions for two weeks. Also give the dog Brewer's yeast (1 teaspoon daily in her food), a digestive-enzyme pill containing papain, one human multivitamin/mineral capsule daily (it must contain zinc) and 1 teaspoon each of powdered kelp/seaweed and flaxseed oil for six to eight weeks. The homemade dog-food recipe on my Web site (www.doctormwfox.org) may also help.Muzzle the dog when outside to prevent coprophagia (feces eating), but be cautious in hot weather when the dog needs to pant. You can, after a few days, try aversive training by taking the muzzle off in the yard after you have covered some feces with hot chili pepper or jalapeno-pepper juice.Good luck. This is a common problem in dogs with psychological and physical problems. The supplement approach, gleaned from the positive results from other readers of my column, may help. It certainly will not cause any
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