WHY....do they eat poop?

LOL, some of the stories are funny...both April, and Chelsea before her have.

April likes her own, but only frozen. She'll lick it like a popsicle, it turns my stomach, I'll bellow at the top of my lungs to get her to stop, and then grab the shovel, and get it picked up.

Chelsea liked stuff not her own. You'd think she'd scored a treat, scarfing it down before dad noticed...

Breath doesn't lie though.
 
Some say its a vitamin deficiency. Some say its a behavioural problem. Perhaps they are hungry? I say its just plain gross. I don't know why they do it, but they do.

And they don't do it all the time. Bacca never does. Indy does sometimes.

The only real remedy for it: Pick it up!
 
My theory is simply that it contains undigested food, and therefore is yummy. If you feed inefficient foods full of undigestible ingredients, it increases the turd-eating odds. The more efficient the food (i.e. the closer to raw) that you get, the less the turd eating. Oh, and cat turds are THE BEST THING EVER!!! :dead:
 
I read an article a while ago that talked about why dogs eat poop.

1) It's not unusual for a female dog to "Pick up" after herself and her pups in order to keep preditors away.

2) There is the potential something is wrong in the dogs diet.

3) Picking up after themselves.


As for ways to prevent it, I've heard a few.

1) Clean up after your dog
2) Forbid or Detur.
3) Pineapple/spinach in the food
4) I have heard that putting extremely HOT sauce on the poop might make the dog second guess eating it in the future.
 
robroy said:
I have have been blessed to be the master of three shedland sheepdogs.
My boys are actively employed in herding farm animals.
Occasinaly they will revert to consumming excrement; and while this may be distressing to witness, it is an entirerly common behaviour to canines of this type. What I mean by this, is that breeds such as the Sheedland Sheepdog, Border Collie, and the Scotch Collie are the most closely domestic beeds to the actual canis lupis (wolf) of all moden dog breeds.
They are highly intelligent and will repeat ANYTHING that they think will gain your attention.
In a nut shell; ignore the behavour and capture your sheltie's attention with an attractive distraction - play with him/her until they are tired out.

Please people, remember that Shelties are not house pets - they need to be outdoors and active.
Click to expand...
Shelties are house pets. Most people do not have farm animals to be herded. We go out and play with our dogs.
Sandstorm doesn't eat dog poop- bunny poop is better.
 
When I first got Emma, I already had 3 Chihuahua’s. Abbie, the oldest Chi was to the extreme poop eater. I actually saw her “waiting” while one of the other dogs were “doing their business” in anticipation and nabbed it before it hit the ground! I was totally disgusted. I tired everything out there to stop that behavior, but to no success.

Abbie past last October and I thought the poop eating was over. But I suspect Emma is indulging in the same side snack now. I have never seen her do it as I do try to pick things up quickly, but as one poster said “the breath does not lie”. Not a full blown poop eater; but there is the occasional breath test that says differently. I as well would love to stop this behavior. Eck!
 
With Mally eating his poo was a "puppy thing". When I would ask him, do you have to go poo-poo, Mally, he would literally "lick his chops". (whether he had to go or not.) Then right after he turned one he stopped eating his poo. (thank god because he was quick at it)
 
I have tried carottes and pine apple.
And about every product on the market.
My older dog NEVER ate poop until watching his baby brother Ryder do it. Now I have 2 poop eaters.
I agree the only thing to due is pick it up. With a back yard full of snow and some days -20F I am not always sucessful. I can not even walk them every day( Which would be the second best prevention)The cold I can tolerate but the side walks are a skating rink.
I hope this Spring and summer I will be able to break this habbit.
The only upside is that it forces me to brush their teeth every day.:eek2:
 
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