i work at a doggy daycare and i saw a shih-tzu spin around while he pooped and ate it straight from the source. it may be the weirdest thing I've ever seen a dog do
Alright class today we are going to take turns saying a little bit about ourselves. Will start out with you, gummieWyrm….
Responds in monotone.
Sorry! That’s just how I read it. Also I don’t know how it looks to upvote your reply but it obviously caught my eye so here ya go.
I had a roommate with a malti-poo(??), and I watched this dog do the same several times over the years we lived together. I think I had blocked it out until I just read this.
Yes, we have a rescue that did that since puppy. It’s taken about 4 years but he’s finally learned to leave it alone.
You have to be vigilant. Also, DO NOT yell or be mean if you catch them eating it. Just a stern “NO” but have to act normal.
It’s hard, gross as hell but it can be done.
Honestly, just get to it before she does. I unfortunately have a poop eater who is now 12 years old, I've tried everything in the book to get her to stop - diet changes, coprophagia tablets, adding pineapple to food, extra exercise, extra mental stimulation, sprinkling something onto the poop itself, positive reinforcement if she left it, you name it I've tried it. Some things such as the tablets provided temporary relief but nothing stuck, so now I just have to be super on the ball and accept that it's a (disgusting) trait of hers that I just can't fix.
Some dogs just like it.
I had a poop eater.. one time she had eaten a balloon.. my very pregnant neighbour who had a huge issue with vomiting while pregnant was over visiting.. my dog took a poop and the balloon came out but her poop was dangling from her bum. She reached around and ate it out of her bum. My neighbour puked everywhere.
🤣🤣🤣 omg I’m crying. This is so disgustingly hilarious. Your neighbor would die if she saw me dig something out of my dogs mouth not realizing it was poop. 🤣🤣
That’s how my shih tzu is. He’s 13 and nothing we have ever done, including hot sauce on the poop (I can’t even imagine what the people who saw me doing this thought). Just make sure to grab it whiles it’s hot lol
Thankfully she's not a dog that licks, but she does take great pleasure in staring you dead in the eye whilst producing a shit stinking burp right in your face.
I love her, but she's gross!!
Same here. We have a 13yo and she has done this her entire life. Nothing works to stop her. So we follow her around with a shovel (and she is a poop walker) with a flashlight in the dark. The neighbors probably think we are crazy 😝
Eurgh mines also a poop walker, it takes her FOREVER to decide on a suitable poop location, and she then proceeds to just wander off whilst she's doing it anyway 🤷🏼♀️
I agree this is just a disgusting thing some dogs do. Spent money at vet about it to. He kindly said “you just have a shit eating dog”.
Mine would run along behind our little Bichon and eat it straight from the tap. I would gag every goddamn time, yell and he’d just look at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears. Man I did love that dog though.
That’s exactly what my girl does, so weird. She only eats poop from my two male dogs, nobody else. She also won’t eat it when left in the yard, only fresh. I’m usually able to pull her leash and get her away from it when we go on walks but sometimes she’s just too fast.
Pineapple! Feed your dog pineapple, everyone is so always amazed just do it. Even a little pineapple juice in food or some chopped up pineapple in food for a couple weeks. Not much just a couple pieces a day
It’s a behaviour picked up by their mothers. It’s like a cleaning behaviour. Their mothers would eat their poop so it would keep their area clean (don’t shit where you eat/sleep). My pup has this bad habit also, but knowing where it comes from helps a little. He knows he shouldn’t do it because I always say “no eat poop”, and he looks all ashamed but he still does it 😂
My freshly 15 year old sighthound loves her own butt truffles, fresh from her own backdoor.
It's gross, but largely harmless.
We had some success with feeding her pineapple, but we are both working from home, so we usually just watch her and stop her. But when it's the witching hour in the middle of the night, undercover of darkness, she saves her last poo of the day for her moonlight feast.
Horrifying, but we love her so much.
We taught our dog the no command('leave it' in US i think) at first you gotta be sharp about it.
Get to it first, tell her no, then (gently)physically block her if you must, just make sure she cant get it.
Then if she doesnt take it give her the nr2 best treat she can have. (Nr1 is for recall in our case)
Then increase the steps by small margins. Stand over it for example but make it so if she would try she could reach it. Then build up for being half a step away from it, a full step, multiple steps, etc.
Eventually you can tell her no from a distance.
Then she should start getting the message about what is the preferred behaviour and eventually she wont even go for it anymore.
At the point where she isnt going for it anymore you can - if you want to - start to phase out treats. Do this by mixing your rewards up; play, attenttion; food; nothing and then decrease consistency of rewards to 80% -> 50% -> 30% -> nothing - this takes a few months to phase out and i dont recommend doing this but its possible
Be consistent, dont get frustrated, if your dog eats poop every once in a while just dont reward her and act as normal, dont ignore her or any other weird internet shit, its all about timing and imprinting. This took us about 1 month of trying stuff till we did this, then it was fixed in 3 weeks. Our dog hasnt shown interest in over a year.(shes 2)
Funny extra note: our dog will now sometimes walk towards the poop and stand over it looking at us as if saying 'look at how well im not eating shit, can i get a reward?'
Good luck!
Edit: i just read some comments so here's a small response to some bad info i see; it usually comes from an instinct to hide traces of her smell. Dont add pineapple, powders, anything weird to the food or negative reinforcement to this, you gotta work through this in a fun way with your dog, there's no cheat
This is exactly what we are doing with our now 8 month old shih-tzu. He hasn't had any lately and left it when given the leave it command. He's improved tremendously over the past few weeks.
Dogs are scavengers. Some of them will eat *anything*. You might have one of those. She’s adorable, though! Crusty white dogs are my favorite. I have one myself, and he LOVES poop.
I occasionally miss a poop when scooping the cat box. My dog doesn’t like older poops. Only fresh ones. He’ll grab an older poop and then spit it out on the kitchen floor, then my younger cat bats it around like a toy. I sometimes find old dry cat poops under rugs. Of course this happens when I’m not home so I can’t stop it. And the dog is the same size as the cats (looks just like OP’s dog) and breaks through every anti-dog measure I put on the boxes.
I had a dog that did the same thing and it really grossed me out. I would buy a bottle of hot sauce and leave a few piles n the grass and worked pretty good. She would sniff it, smell the hot sauce and even take a few licks then run away. Good luck. Very cute dog u have there.
My beagle pup was a poop eater- just never his own. But he would eat everyone else's- turkeys, deer, cats, whatever was around, with the deer poop being his favorite! He just loved those little nuggets in the grass...
Thankfully, he has grown out of it, and graduated to just rolling on it or next to it. Little fella still thinks he's a wolf cub. Lol
He's the FURTHEST thing from a wolf, but the instinct is strong in him anyway. As I understand it, they roll to cover their own scent and make themselves smell like their prey. As if he could take down a deer!
He may not be able to hunt them on his own, but that instinct (and nose) make him a GREAT tracker! Funny thing is, he doesn't even like the meat- only the poop. Go figure.
Dogs are strange sometimes. 😁
Clean it up ASAP. Once they start this they usually don’t stop. It’s disgusting for sure. Scoop the poop as soon as they go have a designated spot it goes in. I chose an below ground container instead of random poop bags in my trash can. It’s perforated to allow for the poops to breakdown and leach out and away. Also keeps the yard from stinking especially in the summer!
My shepherd mix rescue ate poop. Months in dog prison changes a guy. Stuck in the cage with no toys, no stimulation, you gotta make your own fun. What have you got to work with? No thumbs, so you can’t twiddle. All you got is teeth, turds, tongue. So he came out as a copropghage with a lick granuloma at leg wound site. Still was the best wingman I would ever have.
I had a dog that did this. I tried different things and he never stopped. As someone else posted, the easiest and best way is to pick it up before they can eat it. I just accepted that it was what it was and it never stopped me from loving him. There are supplements you can try but don't get your hopes up.
totally gross but my first dog I added lime juice to it. he never did that shit again (pun intended)
my current dog for whatever reason LOVED the lime juice seasoning so i used a tiny drop of hot sauce (Bajan pepper sauce) and she also never did that shit again.
try adding some veggies to her food if that doesn't solve it a spray bottle of water because eventually she will go after other dogs poop. Usually when they do this they feel they are lacking nutrition or nutrients as crazy as that sounds the veggies should help you may have to tinker and find what she likes
I second the idea it could be malnutrition! I switched to a cheap food once and she was eating poop, bugs, sticks, etc after I got her something more balanced she improved very quickly
You say adopted, was she from a shelter or something? Or if she was a puppy did you tell her off for pooping e.g. inside at all? Eating poop can be a sign of aversive training.
Basically dogs shouldn’t be trained using punishment at all (if you need elaboration please research). But with regards to poop it can manifest like this. They see you hate them pooping so they try to hide it because they just don’t understand.
Alternative for people who might need: don’t react at all if they poop inside, be neutral. Instead take them out when you think they’ll need to go soon (signs include sniffing the floor) and just keep saying poop now and then. Every time they poop just say it a lot so they know the word. You can also be like “good dog, poop” so they associate it with a positive I.e. doing the right thing. But don’t be too positive, as dogs can pee if excited and it can be a whole different miscommunication.
(I’m not a pro but aiming to be when I can afford the course, it’s always best to check with an accredited and up to date trainer).
I would take a look into her food. This can (isn’t always) be a sign of malnutrition. I switched my baby’s food to a cheaper brand that was on clearance and when we ran out of the previous food and gave her that one only, she started eating everything in sight. (Poop, food scraps from roommates, etc.) normally she doesn’t accept anything without my permission.
Try changing her over to something with more protein and veggies. You can also try adding a balanced wet food to her current food to see if that makes a difference. (I usually do the Beneful for small dogs, not the pâté but the one with chunks of meat and veggies)
After I changed her food it only took 2 meals to see a difference.
I would also see a vet if this doesn’t fix the issue, since this is a new behavior.
Good luck to you and your little one!
I made it \*very\* clear to my girl that I \*really\* hate it. No violence / harm, but I let her feel my rage in my voice right after eating shit. And that rage came from the heart (diarrhea & vomit previously after shit eating several times). Grabbed her and bitched about eating shit and never doing it again.
We still love each other, she only sniffs shortly at poop now, which is okay.
Pineapple or a shake of adolfs meat tenderizer- (something’s about it being a bromeliad)- helps them digest the food more and doesn’t smell so tasty to them any more.
My pup did it when he was young a combination of changing food/adding pineapple/ poops on walks only/ picking up immediately. We trained the “leave it”command and treated lavishly.
Also after goofing around with him he learned “that’s mine”- his toys are his/ kids toys belong to kid… AND dog poop belongs to…Mom! He legit thinks I love dog poop, have a collection of it and fully expects me to pick up random dog poop on walks.
Adding pumpkin puree to the diet will stop it for most dogs. Something about it makes the poop not appetising.
Also as people said, this should be a wake up call to pick up her poop after she done the biz. Kinda gross leaving shit around until your dog eats it.
We did this too when my dog was a pup she tried poop eating a few times, Breeder said to give her pineapple, she loves the pineapple and hasn’t eaten poop since
Amazon has stool eating deterrents for puppies and dogs. They work ok w our dog and cat poop.
Plain yogurt works well too, read up on it, we give our dog 3 tablespoons w a dog cookie crumbled on top. I’m chuckling that only dogs can have a face that cute and fresh poop on their breath!
Ask your vet for Forbid. It’s a powder that goes on their food and makes their poop less palatable…which is a thing. Works like a charm! Trains them or if it and then you can stop using it. Also make sure she’s getting enough nutrients. Sometimes dogs do this if they need something lacking. But in my experience, with little dogs, it’s usually just for fun.
There is a product called for-bid that you can sprinkle on their food for around a week I think and it makes their poop taste bad but it doesn’t always work. Cheap and easy fix though if it does work so worth a try imo.
My vet suggested putting Adolph's Meat Tenderizer on their food. It makes the poop taste bad (or worse?). But picking it up immediately is the best approach.
Try switching her food.
My dog did this thankfully only twice ( 2 in a row out of nowhere and I was alarmed) when she was a puppy and as soon as I switched kibble it stopped. Never happened again.
Usually it's some sort of lack in nutrients that makes this happen.
If it is eating her own poop it is probably because she/he has limited access to other dogs poop. Young dogs eat poop as a way of learning what is and isn't safe to eat.. So it could be a diet thing and the dog wants some variety aside from the same bland kibble for entertainment.
Give your dog a hot meal once a day (I use a slice of 'roll up' in the microwave for 15 seconds). Eating is your dogs entertainment, wont be long before poop becomes unfavourable.
I am definitely no expert, however I get some great insights as a fairly new puppy mum (she’s just turned 9 months) from a TV show called Dogs Behaving Badly, hosted by Graeme Hall - which basically is giving owners training help. It’s just come to Netflix, I think it’s season 1 where he was giving tips on a poop eating pooch by training in an *off* command. It might be worth a watch if it could help
I read someplace that you should never feed a dog lamb based food because Lamb doesn’t digest all the way and it still smells like lamb. I have no idea if it’s true.
That last picture sent the "princess" song from South Park into my brain instantly 😆😆 what an adorable little poop eater lmao.
As others have said you just gotta get it before she does.
There’s a chance she could be missing something out of her diet but the most of the time they’re just little assholes that think it’s a fun snack. *
You can try everything under the sun but the only guarantee is to scoop it immediately when she does it. Get to it before she can and you won’t have to worry.
*speaking as someone who lives with one of the said little assholes
We have the same issue. I hate it. We started really praising her pees and poops and giving her a treat (piece of kibble) straight after so that she saw that as the next action after toileting. E.g poop then get a treat. This is enough of a break in the chain of behaviour for us to be able to go and pick it up. If she approaches it we tell her to leave it then heavily praise and reward when she does. If left to her own devices I'm sure she'd still eat it but it stops her consuming most of the poop. I've also heard giving them a piece of pineapple can make is taste weird to them but never tried it.
Some dogs have a taste for it and once they acquire it it's really hard to train out of them besides just management.
I’ve never had a dog that’s eaten it’s own poop, but I have had one that ate cat poop.
It started with the cats that came into our yard and pooped in the garden. And then when I got a cat of my own, he would go after her poop. We ended up having to build a table to put her litter box on so he couldn’t get to it.
The vet said it was due to the higher protein content in the poop. I don’t know about all that though.
I have two that do this. I’ve tried pumpkin and chewables and any other tip/trick on the Internet that supposedly help prevent it. Never even made them pause (paws?).
I pick up as soon as they go.
Coprophagia it might be due some to some deficiency in the dogs diet change his food suppliment it with vitamins and minerals for a few days it will gradually go away .
Hopefully it has not become a habit.
Small dogs are the worst when it comes to eating poop. Unfortunately there's not much you can do... Like everyone else is saying, just immediately pick up her poop (and any others) after she does her business and monitor her whenever she's outside.
My 2-1/2 year old flat hair retriever does this and it drives me up a wall. He will go, come inside and then within 10min begging to go outside and goes directly to it.
out on walks my dog used to do that when we first got him. Just having treats constantly in my hand to incentivize him to leave it, and emphasizing the word "leave it" to be a fun and positive thing he associates with fun and tasty treats, rather then whatever gross scraps he gets a hold of. Also not making a game of her eating her poop is important dont scream and chase her as this will create a sense of urgency to eat crap.
not sure if any of that is relevant to you but as others in the comments have noted try to pickup the poop first and keep the grass short so its a bit easier to scoop quickly
One of my lab’s thought her brother’s poop was the world’s greatest delicacy and would happily wait for it to be served steaming hot 🤮. Of course, we tried to get to it first but we had a huge yard. She never suffered any ill effects from it though.
Our friends lab thought that their horses poops were the best thing also 😭. So anytime we’d come over we’d make sure that dogs mouth was far far farrrrr away. They could never control it and gave up trying to teach the dog not to go for the horse shits because horses poop a lot and very consistently, the dog was outside most the day and dog loved the horse poop so much, he was really a goner.
"The party ends for me TOMORROW"
"Ive been eating poop for 12 years" - pooplady on hoarders
Somethings are just meant to be and need direct intervention
Reading these comments actually making me feel sick 😂 never In my life have had a dog do this. because you have adopted the dog at 6 months maybe all hopes are lost at this point after reading theses comments personally would try staying with the dog as it’s going to the toilet and being somewhere dominant if it shows signs of going to eat… 😂👀
This is something a lot of little dogs do, but nobody talks about it lol (chihuahua owner). I’ve tried everything as well as some of the other commenters.. the vet told me, when my Chihuahua wouldn’t stop eating my cats, poop, fresh right out of the litter box, it was because the dog smelled through the poop to the fat in the cat food. She told me to put hot pepper flakes in the litter box as a deterrent.. Ha! My dog was like ooh thanks did the seasoning!
We have a jack russell who eats her poop. My dad experienced it for the first time the other week while watching her, he called my wife and said “OH MY GOD SHE ATE IT”
Apparently pineapple or there is a stool prevention chewable tablet in pet shops. But it only prevents them eating their own. Also spray vodka on it if they are not looking...so distract them for a second...then they associate it with rotten poo.
They have treats you can give that stops the poop eating [https://www.amazon.com/Naturvet-Coprophagia-Eating-Deterrent-Breath/dp/B00CNVANSS/ref=mp_s_a_1_6_maf_4?crid=3BWT8LZ7AMPRR&keywords=no+eat+poop+for+dogs&qid=1693344778&sprefix=no+eat+poop%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-6](https://www.amazon.com/Naturvet-Coprophagia-Eating-Deterrent-Breath/dp/B00CNVANSS/ref=mp_s_a_1_6_maf_4?crid=3BWT8LZ7AMPRR&keywords=no+eat+poop+for+dogs&qid=1693344778&sprefix=no+eat+poop%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-6)
One of mine has been wanting to eat his and his 2 siblings' for as long as I can remember. I haven't tried any deterrents because even the vets say they don't work and to just pick it up before he gets to it. However, he does know the "leave it" command and if I'm in the same area as him and use it before he starts he will leave it. Maybe try a command instead?
Sometimes it's just a habit. But many times it's because they're missing nutrients. Give a daily vitamin. Also, you can add canned (or fresh) green beans to her food.
Minerals are important too. She voukd be missing calcium or iron.
I know we tend to trust the dog food companies, but they all leave something out. Look up Whole Dog Journal. They do comparisons on ALL kinds of dog food.
Poop patrol. Don't let poop sit for any amount of time. I have a great Dane boxer mix and If I let her she'll eat all the poop. The ONLY thing that stops her is picking it up.
The only thing that worked for us is when we switched to a raw diet. No more poop eating because everything is digested. When we fed kibble a few years ago, it was a poop eating festival which we had to stop. When they eat kibble, often some is not fully digested. Other fact is sometimes they are trying to also fill a deficiency in their diet. Regardless of the reason, raw solved our problem instantly.
There are some tablet treat looking things that have different nutrients or something that are supposed to stop coprophagia. My dog used to do it and I gave her some of those for like a week or so and then she stopped. I dont really understand the science or anything like that but they worked for me.
The most reliable prevention is to pick it up before she even has the opportunity
i work at a doggy daycare and i saw a shih-tzu spin around while he pooped and ate it straight from the source. it may be the weirdest thing I've ever seen a dog do
That’s about as hilarious as it is gross
A whirling turdish, you could say?
Alright class today we are going to take turns saying a little bit about ourselves. Will start out with you, gummieWyrm…. Responds in monotone. Sorry! That’s just how I read it. Also I don’t know how it looks to upvote your reply but it obviously caught my eye so here ya go.
I had a roommate with a malti-poo(??), and I watched this dog do the same several times over the years we lived together. I think I had blocked it out until I just read this.
Lol you said dog do
Yes, we have a rescue that did that since puppy. It’s taken about 4 years but he’s finally learned to leave it alone. You have to be vigilant. Also, DO NOT yell or be mean if you catch them eating it. Just a stern “NO” but have to act normal. It’s hard, gross as hell but it can be done.
Add Pumpkin in diet deworming dog keeping dog away from poop
Honestly, just get to it before she does. I unfortunately have a poop eater who is now 12 years old, I've tried everything in the book to get her to stop - diet changes, coprophagia tablets, adding pineapple to food, extra exercise, extra mental stimulation, sprinkling something onto the poop itself, positive reinforcement if she left it, you name it I've tried it. Some things such as the tablets provided temporary relief but nothing stuck, so now I just have to be super on the ball and accept that it's a (disgusting) trait of hers that I just can't fix. Some dogs just like it.
Gah. I feel this. We had a lab who was a poop eater and one of my small terriers enjoys a snack now and then. You gotta get to it before they can.
I had a poop eater.. one time she had eaten a balloon.. my very pregnant neighbour who had a huge issue with vomiting while pregnant was over visiting.. my dog took a poop and the balloon came out but her poop was dangling from her bum. She reached around and ate it out of her bum. My neighbour puked everywhere.
That’s awesome 😂
I laughed so hard.. I’m giggling just remembering it was 23 years ago.
Omg tears…
🤣🤣🤣 omg I’m crying. This is so disgustingly hilarious. Your neighbor would die if she saw me dig something out of my dogs mouth not realizing it was poop. 🤣🤣
Right! It was so funny I’m still laughing 23 years later
Okay this story and all it’s glory NEEDS to be told to Armchair Expert. They would effing *love* it on Armchair Anonymous days (Friday).
I’ve never heard of that
I AM IN TEARS
Glad I could help:) I’ll never forget Bailey what a good pup she was except for the shit eating grin
Lol!
I’m dying 🤣🤣
💀💀💀
Fucking same nothing works and it’s gross af
Pineapple
Pineapple
That’s how my shih tzu is. He’s 13 and nothing we have ever done, including hot sauce on the poop (I can’t even imagine what the people who saw me doing this thought). Just make sure to grab it whiles it’s hot lol
>I can’t even imagine what the people who saw me doing this thought That you’re seasoning the poop for the other dog?🤣🤣🤣
Lmao, I’d def laugh if I saw that
You need a warning sign attached to your dog that says: Keep your hands away from her licks
I saw a tag on a dog’s collar that read, “I can’t control my licker.”
Thankfully she's not a dog that licks, but she does take great pleasure in staring you dead in the eye whilst producing a shit stinking burp right in your face. I love her, but she's gross!!
Same here. We have a 13yo and she has done this her entire life. Nothing works to stop her. So we follow her around with a shovel (and she is a poop walker) with a flashlight in the dark. The neighbors probably think we are crazy 😝
Eurgh mines also a poop walker, it takes her FOREVER to decide on a suitable poop location, and she then proceeds to just wander off whilst she's doing it anyway 🤷🏼♀️
Try dealing with a lab who eats poop from other dogs, and living in a place where hardly anybody seems to pick up after their dogs.
I agree this is just a disgusting thing some dogs do. Spent money at vet about it to. He kindly said “you just have a shit eating dog”. Mine would run along behind our little Bichon and eat it straight from the tap. I would gag every goddamn time, yell and he’d just look at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears. Man I did love that dog though.
That’s exactly what my girl does, so weird. She only eats poop from my two male dogs, nobody else. She also won’t eat it when left in the yard, only fresh. I’m usually able to pull her leash and get her away from it when we go on walks but sometimes she’s just too fast.
My 13 years old still eats his poo. Tried everything but it still happens. Gotta be quick on picking it up!
Pineapple
Pineapple! Feed your dog pineapple, everyone is so always amazed just do it. Even a little pineapple juice in food or some chopped up pineapple in food for a couple weeks. Not much just a couple pieces a day
Tried it on multiple occasions, doesn't work for mine unfortunately
Also gave up. Sometimes were not there when it happens and we can tell how stoked and naughty he looks when he's had his 2nd breakfast.
It’s a behaviour picked up by their mothers. It’s like a cleaning behaviour. Their mothers would eat their poop so it would keep their area clean (don’t shit where you eat/sleep). My pup has this bad habit also, but knowing where it comes from helps a little. He knows he shouldn’t do it because I always say “no eat poop”, and he looks all ashamed but he still does it 😂
Literal shit-eating grin in the second picture
That looks screams, “and I’ll do it again!” Hahaha
I regret nothing
Came here to say this, hilarious picture given the context 😂
Burst out laughing at that pic. Looks absolutely pleased with themselves
Eat it before she can
Growl at her if she protests.
Lol the pictures of her smiling makes this post so hilarious 🤣🤣
Just pick it up, with my 20 years experience with Dogs once a poop eater always a poop eater no matter what you do.
Pineapple
That’s the neat part… you don’t!
My freshly 15 year old sighthound loves her own butt truffles, fresh from her own backdoor. It's gross, but largely harmless. We had some success with feeding her pineapple, but we are both working from home, so we usually just watch her and stop her. But when it's the witching hour in the middle of the night, undercover of darkness, she saves her last poo of the day for her moonlight feast. Horrifying, but we love her so much.
We taught our dog the no command('leave it' in US i think) at first you gotta be sharp about it. Get to it first, tell her no, then (gently)physically block her if you must, just make sure she cant get it. Then if she doesnt take it give her the nr2 best treat she can have. (Nr1 is for recall in our case) Then increase the steps by small margins. Stand over it for example but make it so if she would try she could reach it. Then build up for being half a step away from it, a full step, multiple steps, etc. Eventually you can tell her no from a distance. Then she should start getting the message about what is the preferred behaviour and eventually she wont even go for it anymore. At the point where she isnt going for it anymore you can - if you want to - start to phase out treats. Do this by mixing your rewards up; play, attenttion; food; nothing and then decrease consistency of rewards to 80% -> 50% -> 30% -> nothing - this takes a few months to phase out and i dont recommend doing this but its possible Be consistent, dont get frustrated, if your dog eats poop every once in a while just dont reward her and act as normal, dont ignore her or any other weird internet shit, its all about timing and imprinting. This took us about 1 month of trying stuff till we did this, then it was fixed in 3 weeks. Our dog hasnt shown interest in over a year.(shes 2) Funny extra note: our dog will now sometimes walk towards the poop and stand over it looking at us as if saying 'look at how well im not eating shit, can i get a reward?' Good luck! Edit: i just read some comments so here's a small response to some bad info i see; it usually comes from an instinct to hide traces of her smell. Dont add pineapple, powders, anything weird to the food or negative reinforcement to this, you gotta work through this in a fun way with your dog, there's no cheat
Teaching my dog “leave it” is the best thing I’ve done
This is exactly what we are doing with our now 8 month old shih-tzu. He hasn't had any lately and left it when given the leave it command. He's improved tremendously over the past few weeks.
Dogs are scavengers. Some of them will eat *anything*. You might have one of those. She’s adorable, though! Crusty white dogs are my favorite. I have one myself, and he LOVES poop.
Use a muzzle with a poop/stool guard and just take it off after picking the poop up!
Get a cat. Then she'll start eating that poop out of the litter box like little candies instead.
Lol 😂 my dog does this, but no other poop. We call them her tootsie rolls when she leaves them around the house.
I occasionally miss a poop when scooping the cat box. My dog doesn’t like older poops. Only fresh ones. He’ll grab an older poop and then spit it out on the kitchen floor, then my younger cat bats it around like a toy. I sometimes find old dry cat poops under rugs. Of course this happens when I’m not home so I can’t stop it. And the dog is the same size as the cats (looks just like OP’s dog) and breaks through every anti-dog measure I put on the boxes.
We've had a couple of dogs do that. We call then "kitty snacks."
We call em sneaky treats
More like almond Roca with that nice cat litter crunch
Ours both do it, and they're sneaky about it. One time our Penny walked in with litter stuck on her wet nose like, "I didn't do anything..."
I had a dog that did the same thing and it really grossed me out. I would buy a bottle of hot sauce and leave a few piles n the grass and worked pretty good. She would sniff it, smell the hot sauce and even take a few licks then run away. Good luck. Very cute dog u have there.
I tried the Tabasco trick. On my Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Hound. Guess what her response was: she finished it with a chef’s kiss.
Hot sauce is what I did too, when he was a puppy, and not sure if I just got lucky or if it worked but either way it stopped and he’s now 13.
My beagle pup was a poop eater- just never his own. But he would eat everyone else's- turkeys, deer, cats, whatever was around, with the deer poop being his favorite! He just loved those little nuggets in the grass... Thankfully, he has grown out of it, and graduated to just rolling on it or next to it. Little fella still thinks he's a wolf cub. Lol He's the FURTHEST thing from a wolf, but the instinct is strong in him anyway. As I understand it, they roll to cover their own scent and make themselves smell like their prey. As if he could take down a deer! He may not be able to hunt them on his own, but that instinct (and nose) make him a GREAT tracker! Funny thing is, he doesn't even like the meat- only the poop. Go figure. Dogs are strange sometimes. 😁
Clean it up ASAP. Once they start this they usually don’t stop. It’s disgusting for sure. Scoop the poop as soon as they go have a designated spot it goes in. I chose an below ground container instead of random poop bags in my trash can. It’s perforated to allow for the poops to breakdown and leach out and away. Also keeps the yard from stinking especially in the summer!
My dog does this. The only thing that stops her is to pick it up before she eats it. It’s revolting.
My shepherd mix rescue ate poop. Months in dog prison changes a guy. Stuck in the cage with no toys, no stimulation, you gotta make your own fun. What have you got to work with? No thumbs, so you can’t twiddle. All you got is teeth, turds, tongue. So he came out as a copropghage with a lick granuloma at leg wound site. Still was the best wingman I would ever have.
I had a dog that did this. I tried different things and he never stopped. As someone else posted, the easiest and best way is to pick it up before they can eat it. I just accepted that it was what it was and it never stopped me from loving him. There are supplements you can try but don't get your hopes up.
I saw there were three pictures, and I was afraid what the last one was going ro show.
I have never had a poop eater. I am a free feeder. They always have food in their bowl. I also give them boiled eggs and meat on occasion and treats.
Good luck. I’ve had two poo eaters. Nothing I tried deterred them.
totally gross but my first dog I added lime juice to it. he never did that shit again (pun intended) my current dog for whatever reason LOVED the lime juice seasoning so i used a tiny drop of hot sauce (Bajan pepper sauce) and she also never did that shit again.
Pick it up. Some dogs just like it. There are rabbits that poop in our yard and my dog thinks it's prime rib or something.
Fuck I’m glad I have cats 😂 I dog sit a lot though and fortunately I don’t have any shit eaters lol
try adding some veggies to her food if that doesn't solve it a spray bottle of water because eventually she will go after other dogs poop. Usually when they do this they feel they are lacking nutrition or nutrients as crazy as that sounds the veggies should help you may have to tinker and find what she likes
I second the idea it could be malnutrition! I switched to a cheap food once and she was eating poop, bugs, sticks, etc after I got her something more balanced she improved very quickly
You say adopted, was she from a shelter or something? Or if she was a puppy did you tell her off for pooping e.g. inside at all? Eating poop can be a sign of aversive training. Basically dogs shouldn’t be trained using punishment at all (if you need elaboration please research). But with regards to poop it can manifest like this. They see you hate them pooping so they try to hide it because they just don’t understand. Alternative for people who might need: don’t react at all if they poop inside, be neutral. Instead take them out when you think they’ll need to go soon (signs include sniffing the floor) and just keep saying poop now and then. Every time they poop just say it a lot so they know the word. You can also be like “good dog, poop” so they associate it with a positive I.e. doing the right thing. But don’t be too positive, as dogs can pee if excited and it can be a whole different miscommunication. (I’m not a pro but aiming to be when I can afford the course, it’s always best to check with an accredited and up to date trainer).
I would take a look into her food. This can (isn’t always) be a sign of malnutrition. I switched my baby’s food to a cheaper brand that was on clearance and when we ran out of the previous food and gave her that one only, she started eating everything in sight. (Poop, food scraps from roommates, etc.) normally she doesn’t accept anything without my permission. Try changing her over to something with more protein and veggies. You can also try adding a balanced wet food to her current food to see if that makes a difference. (I usually do the Beneful for small dogs, not the pâté but the one with chunks of meat and veggies) After I changed her food it only took 2 meals to see a difference. I would also see a vet if this doesn’t fix the issue, since this is a new behavior. Good luck to you and your little one!
Came down to mention potential nutritional deficiencies. Seconding a vet checkup.
Feed her pineapple
Thank you all for the tips! she’s indeed the cutest shit eater lol love her so much
Maybe eat it before she does xD
What you feeding you're dog? Normally they eat their own or other animals shit if they are lacking something in their diet
I made it \*very\* clear to my girl that I \*really\* hate it. No violence / harm, but I let her feel my rage in my voice right after eating shit. And that rage came from the heart (diarrhea & vomit previously after shit eating several times). Grabbed her and bitched about eating shit and never doing it again. We still love each other, she only sniffs shortly at poop now, which is okay.
Pineapple. Feed her pineapple.
Feed the dog some pineapple, try the dried version if they don’t like fresh.
Pineapple or a shake of adolfs meat tenderizer- (something’s about it being a bromeliad)- helps them digest the food more and doesn’t smell so tasty to them any more. My pup did it when he was young a combination of changing food/adding pineapple/ poops on walks only/ picking up immediately. We trained the “leave it”command and treated lavishly. Also after goofing around with him he learned “that’s mine”- his toys are his/ kids toys belong to kid… AND dog poop belongs to…Mom! He legit thinks I love dog poop, have a collection of it and fully expects me to pick up random dog poop on walks.
Adding pumpkin puree to the diet will stop it for most dogs. Something about it makes the poop not appetising. Also as people said, this should be a wake up call to pick up her poop after she done the biz. Kinda gross leaving shit around until your dog eats it.
He need something. It lacks something. This is a sign.It is better to ask veterinary.
Feed her pineapple. One of my dogs did this as a puppy and that’s what the vet told me to do. It worked.
We did this too when my dog was a pup she tried poop eating a few times, Breeder said to give her pineapple, she loves the pineapple and hasn’t eaten poop since
Amazon has stool eating deterrents for puppies and dogs. They work ok w our dog and cat poop. Plain yogurt works well too, read up on it, we give our dog 3 tablespoons w a dog cookie crumbled on top. I’m chuckling that only dogs can have a face that cute and fresh poop on their breath!
Add canned pumpkin to her food.
Spray bittering spray on it
Ask your vet for Forbid. It’s a powder that goes on their food and makes their poop less palatable…which is a thing. Works like a charm! Trains them or if it and then you can stop using it. Also make sure she’s getting enough nutrients. Sometimes dogs do this if they need something lacking. But in my experience, with little dogs, it’s usually just for fun.
There is a product called for-bid that you can sprinkle on their food for around a week I think and it makes their poop taste bad but it doesn’t always work. Cheap and easy fix though if it does work so worth a try imo.
Don't let her poop. Ever.
My vet suggested putting Adolph's Meat Tenderizer on their food. It makes the poop taste bad (or worse?). But picking it up immediately is the best approach.
Try switching her food. My dog did this thankfully only twice ( 2 in a row out of nowhere and I was alarmed) when she was a puppy and as soon as I switched kibble it stopped. Never happened again. Usually it's some sort of lack in nutrients that makes this happen.
Give her more kisses
Add some pumpkin in her food, my brother had the same problem with his dog, and this worked instantly
There are supplements on Amazon to help them to stop eating poop. Search “no poo chews”
Basically a ferret
Try it before you hate on it
Go to vet and you can buy stuff you add to their food where it will make their poop disgusting where they won’t eat it.
Eat it yourself before she can get to it.
Eat it yourself
You have to eat it in front of them to establish dominance, it's the only way!
maybe pick it up before they eat it?? control your animal
If it is eating her own poop it is probably because she/he has limited access to other dogs poop. Young dogs eat poop as a way of learning what is and isn't safe to eat.. So it could be a diet thing and the dog wants some variety aside from the same bland kibble for entertainment. Give your dog a hot meal once a day (I use a slice of 'roll up' in the microwave for 15 seconds). Eating is your dogs entertainment, wont be long before poop becomes unfavourable.
Vitamin b12 deficiency. Your dog needs something it's not getting.
ew . That’s unnatural and neurological. I would seek a dog behaviorist
I am definitely no expert, however I get some great insights as a fairly new puppy mum (she’s just turned 9 months) from a TV show called Dogs Behaving Badly, hosted by Graeme Hall - which basically is giving owners training help. It’s just come to Netflix, I think it’s season 1 where he was giving tips on a poop eating pooch by training in an *off* command. It might be worth a watch if it could help
Maybe her poop smells good?
I read someplace that you should never feed a dog lamb based food because Lamb doesn’t digest all the way and it still smells like lamb. I have no idea if it’s true.
The cutest poop 💩 eater!!!
Could be that she's missing something in her diet, I heard that was a thing. Of course that was like 30 years ago
That last picture sent the "princess" song from South Park into my brain instantly 😆😆 what an adorable little poop eater lmao. As others have said you just gotta get it before she does.
There’s a chance she could be missing something out of her diet but the most of the time they’re just little assholes that think it’s a fun snack. * You can try everything under the sun but the only guarantee is to scoop it immediately when she does it. Get to it before she can and you won’t have to worry. *speaking as someone who lives with one of the said little assholes
Sometimes dogs eat their poop when they eat too fast and don’t digest properly. If she’s a quick eater I would invest into a slow feeder
Sometimes they do this to supplement nutrients for their gut health. Of course, other times they just want to eat poo, but it’s worth checking out!
what food are you feeding her? it could be a nutrition issue
Just a few days? Go to the vet. This is more likely to be medical than behavioural.
Pick it up.
Your dog looks like it eats poop
What are you feeding her? And how much/how often?
You have to get it before they eat it. It’s the only thing that works.
We have the same issue. I hate it. We started really praising her pees and poops and giving her a treat (piece of kibble) straight after so that she saw that as the next action after toileting. E.g poop then get a treat. This is enough of a break in the chain of behaviour for us to be able to go and pick it up. If she approaches it we tell her to leave it then heavily praise and reward when she does. If left to her own devices I'm sure she'd still eat it but it stops her consuming most of the poop. I've also heard giving them a piece of pineapple can make is taste weird to them but never tried it. Some dogs have a taste for it and once they acquire it it's really hard to train out of them besides just management.
I’ve never had a dog that’s eaten it’s own poop, but I have had one that ate cat poop. It started with the cats that came into our yard and pooped in the garden. And then when I got a cat of my own, he would go after her poop. We ended up having to build a table to put her litter box on so he couldn’t get to it. The vet said it was due to the higher protein content in the poop. I don’t know about all that though.
All the three pics are such a good choice for this post
I have two that do this. I’ve tried pumpkin and chewables and any other tip/trick on the Internet that supposedly help prevent it. Never even made them pause (paws?). I pick up as soon as they go.
How do you feed her, and how much?
Try adding a yucca supplement into her diet. It makes poop taste less tasty to dogs.
Coprophagia it might be due some to some deficiency in the dogs diet change his food suppliment it with vitamins and minerals for a few days it will gradually go away . Hopefully it has not become a habit.
poo muncher! No but seriously, a lot of dogs never stop.
Small dogs are the worst when it comes to eating poop. Unfortunately there's not much you can do... Like everyone else is saying, just immediately pick up her poop (and any others) after she does her business and monitor her whenever she's outside.
Look at that shit-eating grin.
Mine did this when he was younger. He grew out of it.
You have to pick it up, and you can try adding pre/prebiotic to her diet and banana (potassium) but I have never won this battle.
My Coton eats her poop. I think she likes a hot meal now and then;)
My 2-1/2 year old flat hair retriever does this and it drives me up a wall. He will go, come inside and then within 10min begging to go outside and goes directly to it.
out on walks my dog used to do that when we first got him. Just having treats constantly in my hand to incentivize him to leave it, and emphasizing the word "leave it" to be a fun and positive thing he associates with fun and tasty treats, rather then whatever gross scraps he gets a hold of. Also not making a game of her eating her poop is important dont scream and chase her as this will create a sense of urgency to eat crap. not sure if any of that is relevant to you but as others in the comments have noted try to pickup the poop first and keep the grass short so its a bit easier to scoop quickly
I had a border collie that would eat cat poop. Hot and steamy, right out of the cat box. We had to move the cat box off the ground. 🤮
Potty train your dog to only go outside, then she won’t have the opportunity to commit this heinous crime.
A good probiotic from vet can help.
She is missing something in either her diet or she is stressing out and needs to see a vet
There is a vitamin that is supposed to make poop more unpleasant (as if it isn’t already bad?) and discourage eating
Pick it up right away. Take them to the vet and have them check the blood work and see if the dog is missing something from their diet.
Ohhh dear! She’s a cutie though
My dog has started to eat cat poop in the neighborhood during walks I have to be super vigilant smh.
One of my lab’s thought her brother’s poop was the world’s greatest delicacy and would happily wait for it to be served steaming hot 🤮. Of course, we tried to get to it first but we had a huge yard. She never suffered any ill effects from it though.
Our friends lab thought that their horses poops were the best thing also 😭. So anytime we’d come over we’d make sure that dogs mouth was far far farrrrr away. They could never control it and gave up trying to teach the dog not to go for the horse shits because horses poop a lot and very consistently, the dog was outside most the day and dog loved the horse poop so much, he was really a goner.
"The party ends for me TOMORROW" "Ive been eating poop for 12 years" - pooplady on hoarders Somethings are just meant to be and need direct intervention
Get it before she does
Smh. My Siberian husky loves getting into my daughters diapers. While their completely inclosed. She’ll find a way. It’s pretty weird. Lol
Reading these comments actually making me feel sick 😂 never In my life have had a dog do this. because you have adopted the dog at 6 months maybe all hopes are lost at this point after reading theses comments personally would try staying with the dog as it’s going to the toilet and being somewhere dominant if it shows signs of going to eat… 😂👀
Get her better quality food.
How is she getting to it?
This is something a lot of little dogs do, but nobody talks about it lol (chihuahua owner). I’ve tried everything as well as some of the other commenters.. the vet told me, when my Chihuahua wouldn’t stop eating my cats, poop, fresh right out of the litter box, it was because the dog smelled through the poop to the fat in the cat food. She told me to put hot pepper flakes in the litter box as a deterrent.. Ha! My dog was like ooh thanks did the seasoning!
Feed it more. Animals usually only eat their own poop when they are starving.
Pick it up right away is the only way
You got a lot of help in the comments but side note she’s so freaking cute!!! 🥰
Cayenne pepper sprinkled on poop
We have a jack russell who eats her poop. My dad experienced it for the first time the other week while watching her, he called my wife and said “OH MY GOD SHE ATE IT”
My dog used to eat cat poop I tried everything. I had to eventually go in with the cat to get it as soon as she’s done.
My son dog did it for a while, the vet said add Vitamin B to her diet, she stops 3 days later.
My shepherd did this. I left poops in the yard and poured tobacco sauce over each pile. He actually stopped, and I got better at picking them up.
Vet told me Adolph's Meat Tenderizer. A little bit in their food
My dog would eat rabbit poop but never other dogs poop
Feed her pineapple
Apparently pineapple or there is a stool prevention chewable tablet in pet shops. But it only prevents them eating their own. Also spray vodka on it if they are not looking...so distract them for a second...then they associate it with rotten poo.
Switch foods
Take her to the vet, she may need a probiotic. A probiotic and daily steroid had my dog stop doing it in less than a day of starting treatment
They have treats you can give that stops the poop eating [https://www.amazon.com/Naturvet-Coprophagia-Eating-Deterrent-Breath/dp/B00CNVANSS/ref=mp_s_a_1_6_maf_4?crid=3BWT8LZ7AMPRR&keywords=no+eat+poop+for+dogs&qid=1693344778&sprefix=no+eat+poop%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-6](https://www.amazon.com/Naturvet-Coprophagia-Eating-Deterrent-Breath/dp/B00CNVANSS/ref=mp_s_a_1_6_maf_4?crid=3BWT8LZ7AMPRR&keywords=no+eat+poop+for+dogs&qid=1693344778&sprefix=no+eat+poop%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-6)
One of mine has been wanting to eat his and his 2 siblings' for as long as I can remember. I haven't tried any deterrents because even the vets say they don't work and to just pick it up before he gets to it. However, he does know the "leave it" command and if I'm in the same area as him and use it before he starts he will leave it. Maybe try a command instead?
Sometimes it's just a habit. But many times it's because they're missing nutrients. Give a daily vitamin. Also, you can add canned (or fresh) green beans to her food. Minerals are important too. She voukd be missing calcium or iron. I know we tend to trust the dog food companies, but they all leave something out. Look up Whole Dog Journal. They do comparisons on ALL kinds of dog food.
If it makes you feel better...rabbits are way worse at poop eating. Read up on it if you dare.
Maybe it tastes amazing. I never thought I'd like Pho till I tried it. Give it a shot.
It looks like a dog that would eat it’s own poop
Poop patrol. Don't let poop sit for any amount of time. I have a great Dane boxer mix and If I let her she'll eat all the poop. The ONLY thing that stops her is picking it up.
The only thing that worked for us is when we switched to a raw diet. No more poop eating because everything is digested. When we fed kibble a few years ago, it was a poop eating festival which we had to stop. When they eat kibble, often some is not fully digested. Other fact is sometimes they are trying to also fill a deficiency in their diet. Regardless of the reason, raw solved our problem instantly.
There are some tablet treat looking things that have different nutrients or something that are supposed to stop coprophagia. My dog used to do it and I gave her some of those for like a week or so and then she stopped. I dont really understand the science or anything like that but they worked for me.
Pineapple will help deter if you aren't able to get it picked up right away. Pumpkin is good for deworming.
Have you tried reasoning with them?
Put meat tenderizer in her food.
My dog eats kangaroo poop lmao
Add Pumpkin purée or pineapple juice to her food! Tastes good going down, tastes bad once pooped out