need info on nutrition!

[summer]

Hi, My name is summer and I'm new to this site. I have a four year old girl named shykota! She is my best buddy, and a very good dog. She is the best dog I've ever had the pleasure of having with me. I luv her to death, but she has 1 nasty nasty habit, and I'm not sure how to break her of it, and I would like to know what I'm not giving her that she may need.
This sounds very unpleasant, and is,,,but Shykota always wants to eat feces of mostly other dogs and cats. I know this cant be good for her, so I am wondering what it is she may be lacking that shes not getting in her daily diet. At the moment, I feed her Benefil. She seems to do alright with this brand but obviously she is lacking something in her diet. If you have any knowledge, and or suggestions, please email me. Other than this little bad habit of hers, Shykota is the best friend anybody could want.

Thank you,

Summer

[JessicaR]

I would definitly get her off of beniful!!! That stuff is crap! There are many other comercial foods you could switch to that would be better. Look at the labels and pick one that isnt full of corn, and soy.

[Chris]

Hi, Summer! I personally feed my Shelties Acana. It has all natural ingredients, none of which come from China.

Here's a website that can help you choose from among the best foods:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

[HolisticFurMom]

Originally Posted by summer

Hi, My name is summer and I'm new to this site. I have a four year old girl named shykota! She is my best buddy, and a very good dog. She is the best dog I've ever had the pleasure of having with me. I luv her to death, but she has 1 nasty nasty habit, and I'm not sure how to break her of it, and I would like to know what I'm not giving her that she may need.
This sounds very unpleasant, and is,,,but Shykota always wants to eat feces of mostly other dogs and cats. I know this cant be good for her, so I am wondering what it is she may be lacking that shes not getting in her daily diet. At the moment, I feed her Benefil. She seems to do alright with this brand but obviously she is lacking something in her diet. If you have any knowledge, and or suggestions, please email me. Other than this little bad habit of hers, Shykota is the best friend anybody could want.

Thank you,

Summer

Eating feces is usually a sign your dog is trying to get enzymes. Sometimes it's just a habit and something they like to do. But usually there's some nutrients in the waste they're trying to make up for. See, living creatures were designed to eat fresh, raw food (some more than others) and when they do so they receive the enzymes present in the food and this helps them digest, break the food down, and actually benefit from the food. When one is fed processed, cooked food day in and day out their body has to pull from their resources of enzymes they're supplied with -- but these resources are limited and eventually will dwindle down so your dog will be eating, but most likely not getting anywhere near the full amount of nutrition the food has to offer. You really don't want to use up your supply as you don't get new ones unless it's from the food your eating.

Kibble has added vitamins and such, but synthetic vitamins don't really do the job as they contain just one essential part of the nutrient they're trying to make up for, whereas in the natural state many parts make up that nutrient and you can't derive nearly as much value without all parts. They can usually get a human by until they reach around 50 so you're looking at what? around seven years old before problems start really setting in? Sounds like it would be around the age most dogs start having issues these days, sometimes much younger if the bitch has suffered this way and passed that on. As you can see with humans, we're living shorter lives than the previous generation. Sad though considering how much more knowledge we have access to than previous generations.

If you're going to feed your dog processed foods, which I wouldn't recommend, it's vital you at least add enzymes and make sure they're animal-based enzymes, not plant. I would recommend Dr. Mercola's offhand, but if your dog has a pork allergy, they do use pork for the bile. It can take a few years, depending on the nutrient deficiency, for a human to show the signs of not properly digesting/breaking down nutrients. In fact, I had this issue and it didn't start becoming blatantly obvious until about 28 years into life so in a dog that would be around 4-5 you'd start seeing issue.

A lot of dog foods on the market claim to add enzymes, but they're very finicky and I wouldn't trust that. You will be amazed by the reduction in stools -- trust me! And please keep in mind, no matter what she eats, if the enzymes aren't there and her supply is dwindling, she won't get the nutrients of any food. Most people don't understand the body has to be in the right state to convert nutrients and use them. It doesn't just happen because we've eaten... we can eat all day long but if the balance isn't there, the bacteria and the enzymes and the process doesn't go as it should (even something as simple as if you don't drink enough water with a meal) the animal (or human) won't be able to utilize those nutrients and they'll either sit in the stomach and ferment, which then causes things like yeast infections and parasites to take over, or they'll eventually the malabsorption will catch up with them and lead to other serious health issues, or they'll be removed through waste, normally diarrhea. This is what causes flatulence in animals/humans. They're eating something, most likely processed carbs, that their body can't digest for whatever reason so it's sitting in the lower part of the gut, fermenting. If you're eating something and get gas from it, that means your body didn't digest it properly=you're not getting nutrients from it and it's harming the gut by throwing it off balance and allowing fermented things to sit around and draw bad bacteria and then killing off all the bad bacteria. There is a colony of live bacteria in the gut, and if you don't keep everything inline and eat what the body is MEANT to digest, the whole body suffers.

[take4roll10]

Originally Posted by HolisticFurMom

Eating feces is usually a sign your dog is trying to get enzymes. Sometimes it's just a habit and something they like to do. But usually there's some nutrients in the waste they're trying to make up for. See, living creatures were designed to eat fresh, raw food (some more than others) and when they do so they receive the enzymes present in the food and this helps them digest, break the food down, and actually benefit from the food. When one is fed processed, cooked food day in and day out their body has to pull from their resources of enzymes they're supplied with -- but these resources are limited and eventually will dwindle down so your dog will be eating, but most likely not getting anywhere near the full amount of nutrition the food has to offer. You really don't want to use up your supply as you don't get new ones unless it's from the food your eating.

Kibble has added vitamins and such, but synthetic vitamins don't really do the job as they contain just one essential part of the nutrient they're trying to make up for, whereas in the natural state many parts make up that nutrient and you can't derive nearly as much value without all parts. They can usually get a human by until they reach around 50 so you're looking at what? around seven years old before problems start really setting in? Sounds like it would be around the age most dogs start having issues these days, sometimes much younger if the bitch has suffered this way and passed that on. As you can see with humans, we're living shorter lives than the previous generation. Sad though considering how much more knowledge we have access to than previous generations.

If you're going to feed your dog processed foods, which I wouldn't recommend, it's vital you at least add enzymes and make sure they're animal-based enzymes, not plant. I would recommend Dr. Mercola's offhand, but if your dog has a pork allergy, they do use pork for the bile. It can take a few years, depending on the nutrient deficiency, for a human to show the signs of not properly digesting/breaking down nutrients. In fact, I had this issue and it didn't start becoming blatantly obvious until about 28 years into life so in a dog that would be around 4-5 you'd start seeing issue.

A lot of dog foods on the market claim to add enzymes, but they're very finicky and I wouldn't trust that. You will be amazed by the reduction in stools -- trust me! And please keep in mind, no matter what she eats, if the enzymes aren't there and her supply is dwindling, she won't get the nutrients of any food. Most people don't understand the body has to be in the right state to convert nutrients and use them. It doesn't just happen because we've eaten... we can eat all day long but if the balance isn't there, the bacteria and the enzymes and the process doesn't go as it should (even something as simple as if you don't drink enough water with a meal) the animal (or human) won't be able to utilize those nutrients and they'll either sit in the stomach and ferment, which then causes things like yeast infections and parasites to take over, or they'll eventually the malabsorption will catch up with them and lead to other serious health issues, or they'll be removed through waste, normally diarrhea. This is what causes flatulence in animals/humans. They're eating something, most likely process carbs, that their body can't digest for whatever reason so it's sitting in the lower part of the gut, fermenting. If you're eating something and getting gas from it, that means your body didn't digest it properly=you're not getting nutrients from it and it's harming the gut by throwing it off balance and allowing fermented things to sit around and draw bad bacteria and then killing off all the bad bacteria. There is a colony of live bacteria in the gut, and if you don't keep everything inline and eat what the body is MEANT to digest, the whole body suffers.

One of my dogs eats raw and will still eat poop, our other dog's poop and I'm sure if we had a cat she would feast on its poop too. She is fed quality raw, organic veggies and treats, plus digestive enzymes and vitamins added to her diet. Our other dog who eats high quality kibble and also gets digestive enzymes and vitamins is always a poop eater, so definitely not always a nutrient issue.

To the OP, I would first try a better quality dog food. Many of Beneful's foods contain an abundance of corn, grains, by-products and very little meat. Remember to slowly gradually transition your dog for at least two weeks.

Honestly, the only thing that stopped my dog from eating poop is not allowing her to have access to it. I always walk her or go in the yard with her, so the second she poops I clean it up.

[HolisticFurMom]

Originally Posted by take4roll10

One of my dogs eats raw and will still eat poop, our other dog's poop and I'm sure if we had a cat she would feast on its poop too. She is fed quality raw, organic veggies and treats, plus digestive enzymes and vitamins added to her diet. Our other dog who eats high quality kibble and also gets digestive enzymes and vitamins is always a poop eater, so definitely not always a nutrient issue.

To the OP, I would first try a better quality dog food. Many of Beneful's foods contain an abundance of corn, grains, by-products and very little meat. Remember to slowly gradually transition your dog for at least two weeks.

Honestly, the only thing that stopped my dog from eating poop is not allowing her to have access to it. I always walk her or go in the yard with her, so the second she poops I clean it up.

Like I said, some it's a habit. It's not even "bad" to eat poop. But usually there is something drawing them too it and it's something they're missing. I eat all organic and healthy, but my gut still isn't able to break it down so until it's in a better state, I have to take an enzyme with it. Plus, feeding a raw veggies isn't a good idea, FYI. They can't break down the cell walls... I'm assuming you meant pureed veggies?

You could also say it's instinct to cover up any tracks so that's why they eat poop. Lots of reasons...but either wya, enzymes should ALWAYS be fed.