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How to stop a dog from eating its own poop?

posted 2 years ago by damocci (1502)
7 replies | jump to latest

I have a three-year-old German Shepherd and from time to time it eats its own poop. I know this because when I clean up after it I can see that the poop looks like it has been sliced at one end instead of tapering off in the normal way. This is absolutely revolting and because of it I have conditioned him to not lick me ever. Now, licking its human is partly how dogs show their affection and I feel like I am depriving him of his natural instinct. So how do I stop him from doing this?

Please don't suggest that I clean up his business immediately after he empties his bowels. I have a life and I cannot spend all day and all night stalking him in anticipation of his next bowel movement. I need a realistic solution.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12416) 2 years ago

If you talk to your vet and to people at pet supply stores, both will tell you that there are pills you can put in your dog's food that makes their waste smell and taste nasty to them. It takes time, but it will break their habit.

I was watching this tv show a while back called "It's Me Or The Dog," about a woman named Victoria Stillwell, who worked with people who had misbehaving dogs. In one show, she dealt with a young couple whose dog shat all over the house and then ate it later. Turns out the dog was eating his food so fast that he wasn't getting all the nutrients from it, and he was trying to make up for that by eating his own waste.

Contrary to what the comedians tell you, it's not okay for a dog to do that. E.coli bacteria hurts them as much as it does humans if it's in the wrong part of the body.

So Miss Stillwell solved the problem by having the owners space out the dog's daily meal to two half-meals during the day, and she too recommended the pills that would make the waste taste nasty. Taking the dog outside regularly also helped with less accidents around the apartment, and cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom get rid of an excess of bacteria in the home.

[–] damocci (1502) 2 years ago

Another good suggestion. Right now he gets two generous meals a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, and he does tend to wolf them down. The websites I'd read suggested that dogs eating their own poop is called coprophagia, which is supposedly normal behavior. But that doesn't make sense because many pet owners allow their dogs to lick them on the face and I found it absolutely disgusting that people would allows that knowing that there's a possibility that the dog recently ate its own waste.

I'll trying giving him smaller portions to make it three or four meals a day instead. Giving whatever pills you suggest isn't feasible as I imagine the cost will add up over time. Thanks again.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12416) 2 years ago

If at all possible, talk to your vet about how much food a German Shepherd his size should be eating. Far too often owners can over-feed their dogs and not realize it. I mean, many people see a large dog and assume they need to eat a ton of food, but not necessarily, particularly if they are not a very active animal.

Our Alaskan Malamute was 75 lbs, and I think all we fed her was 1 can of dog food with a cup of dried dog food on top every day in the evenings. In fact, we had to stop feeding her certain foods because she was becoming overweight.

Our next dog after the Malamute passed was a German Shepherd/Husky mix, who weighed 65 lbs, and all she required was 1 cup of dry dog food per day. The male Siberian Husky we adopted after the Shepsky passed away was kinda small, and only weighed a maximum of 60 lbs. He too only required one cup of dried dog food in the evenings.

At one point he started getting fat, despite our efforts to keep him healthy, but then the vets did blood work on him and discovered he had hypothyroidism, so once he started taking the artificial thyriod chemical pills, he lost weight like that!

[–] damocci (1502) 2 years ago

Wow, from your comment it sounds like I'm giving him too much food. He gets one cup of dried dog food in the morning and one cup in the evening. The cup is fairly large, about 400ml (13.5 fluid ounces); BUT he doesn't look remotely overweight. On the contrary, he's 25-30kg (55-65lb) and very healthy looking, getting compliments many times whenever he goes out for a walk. Speaking of walking, our walks are long, usually around 5 miles, and he never complains or shows signs of exhaustion. But yes, I'll take him to a vet to find out if I am indeed over feeding him (and it definitely sound like I am). Thanks again.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12416) 2 years ago

Oh good. Sounds like he's relatively healthy, but it's always a good idea to talk to an expert, like the vet. For a long time I worried about our dogs being obese...until I saw photos of actual obese dogs (horrifying, trust me). Turns out that our dogs were never really super-fat, just a little bit overweight. You'll know your pet is obese when they look like they've eaten another dog, or resemble a furry mattress with a dog head, legs, and tail.

It sounds like you're doing him (and yourself) good by walking him, and dang! 5 miles!? You two are in good shape! Most I could do was a little over 1 mile for any of our past dogs. Sounds like he's physically fit, and it's possible what you're doing is making up for any extra calories he eats. From what I read, dogs (and other animals, like horses) have different calorie needs based on how active they are.

Again, it would still be a good idea to talk to the vet, just to make sure that you didn't miss anything in taking care of him.

[–] damocci (1502) 2 years ago

I'm gobsmacked that a movie website is the place I got solutions to problems I've struggled with for years. It's surreal that in less than 24hrs I've gotten solutions here of all places whereas I've spent so much time using all kinds of keywords in Google in search of remedies. Thanks again a bunch. I think my relationship with my dog will be so much better because of your advice.

Don't be surprised if I ask you specifically about how to stop my beloved German Shepherd from peeing on the exact same spot over and over again until it smells like hell on Earth. Yup, he does that as well, lol, but it doesn't frustrate me nearly as much as the two problems you've supplied great solutions for. (Yup, I sound clueless but this is the first dog I've ever owned and I'm trying my best). Cheers!

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12416) 2 years ago

I think you were just lucky to find a fellow dog lover on here :D

You need to first try to find a new spot for him to pee outdoors. Keep it consistent. Next (and I learned this on "It's Me Or The Dog"), you need a cleaner for that specific spot that will cut the enzymes in the dog's piss. See, the reason he keeps peeing in that same area is because no matter what cleaner you use, a tiny bit of those pee chemicals will stay behind, and he will use his nose to find that spot and keep using it. The newer pet cleaners can cut the enzymes in pee while cleaning, so then the smell stops working, and through training, the dog will break his habit.