Question:
I have a problem with one (or possibly two) of my three dogs. My female (8 years old) eats fecal matter. I know the best thing is to clean up the fenced yard, which I do twice a day. I have even caught her eating the poop while the other dog is going. Now I'm afraid my 1-year-old female Dane is picking up this behavior. I have tried For-Bid, meat tenderizer (which makes them extremely thirsty) and Stop, which is a tablet to stop stool eating and help with gas odor (it contains acidophilus chlorophyll, garlic, kelp, liver, parsley, peppermint and yucca). Nothing seems to work. Any suggestions for breaking this disgusting habit would be greatly appreciated. Their breath stinks; they also have bad gas and, at times, have come in with poop bits dangling from their jowls.
J.A., Springfield, MA Sep 06, 2010
Answer:
Coprophagia (poop eating) is an obnoxious canine addiction that is difficult to control. Dogs who are cage- or kennel-confined and bored often give up this vice when given more freedom and objects to play with. In your situation, your dog may or may not have some nutritional deficiency. Many dogs stop their coprophagia when taken off big-brand, junk dog foods and are given something better to eat. But your dog may simply be conscientiously cleaning up after your other dogs, just as she might with a litter of pups. I would suggest you either muzzle your dog so she can't eat anything outdoors or use a remote-control training collar that gives an alarming buzz to inhibit this behavior (but not one that delivers an electrical shock that some trainers use and that, in inexperienced and insensitive hands, can cause dogs much pain and terror). Adding two tablespoons of plain "live" yogurt (containing live bacteria, not pasteurized) or plain, organic kefir and 1 teaspoon of brewer's yeast (not baker's yeast!) to her food every day may help stop this addiction.
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