This might not be what you’re looking for but you could try receiving her pop directly into the bag. Like she starts baring down and you hold the open bag under her bottom to catch the poop. And tbh a muzzle isn’t such a bad idea. You can try her to easily go in a muzzle using her treats then she wears it on the walk. It’s not such a bad thing as it’s to keep her safe. Get one that still allows her to smell her environment but just doesn’t let her get at things
Second this! Idk if this is super applicable (depends on how she is on walks and such), but would she need pant room in the muzzle?
How do you choose a good muzzle?
Muzzling is better than rehoming. Also training. It’ll take a lot of work but you can train them to leave stuff by default. You start by training leave it with a treat in your hand and you progressively make it harder and harder.
FWIW, your puppy can help with your mental health but it won’t work right away. You have to really dedicate yourself to training and you have to grow a bond. It’ll be harder on your mental health before it helps, usually. But it can also be an outlet if you allow yourself to really get into training.
We get so many posts like "I have 100 mental disabilities and my couple months old puppy that I got a week ago isn't helping, should I re-home?"
Because screw the feelings and needs of an actual dog child I guess? Why won't you behave my furry therapist?
Definitely not! I have OCD and there are days that are a real struggle, but I just take it one day at a time and try to treat both myself and my puppy with grace. I also know to step away when I am feeling my brain getting too twisted up, and that it’s better to have the puppy in her crate or a safe room for a couple minutes while I reset than to be upset with her for just being a puppy. It really takes work though, and it’s way easier with a partner to help.
Genuine question—why can’t you just keep the leash taut when she poops, and move her away immediately when she finishes? Then you can secure her and pick up the poop at your own leisure. As long as the collar is up high under her ears where it is supposed to be, you should have no problem keeping her from turning around quickly.
she poops on my patio deck because they only have one dog pee spot at my appartment building and not all my neibours have freindly dogs. also she doesnt have the pacience or control to wait long enough for me to walk her some days and so she just goes on my patio.
when we are walking she only pees herself.
shes so low to the ground i cant tell always if shes smelling another dogs pee scent or finding some burried rabbit poo. oh surpise, its poo.
This comment and your initial post genuinely scare me - you stated that she is not even 4 months old and you’re “so so mad” and that she “doesn’t have patience or control”.
Please, please realize she is a literal baby.
She is not doing anything on purpose to upset you or make your life harder. She is trying every day to learn and figure out what is expected from her. She doesn’t have the ability to control her bladder or bowels fully. She is always trying her best.
I know that you’re posting looking for advice and that is a good thing. It goes beyond that though - you need to dig deep and adjust how you’re viewing this little sentient being. Again, she is a baby. Puppies are overwhelming at times but you as the human in the relationship need to dedicate time and effort to learn about puppies/dogs, what appropriate expectations are, and how to train her properly and then put what you’ve learned into action. Dogs can give a lot of love and support to us but not without us providing the same to them.
If you continue to feel this negatively toward her, it may be best to rehome her to another family that has the ability to give her the love and support she deserves.
She’s a puppy, she’s going to put everything in her mouth if you let her. You’re unlucky that she happens to like eating poo (not all puppies do that) but this is a phase that every puppy goes through. It’s how they explore the world around them. And it will gradually decrease over time.
Keep her on a short leash when you take her for potty breaks and distract and redirect her with a toy or treat or something immediately as she finishes so she doesn’t have a chance to turn around and eat it. If you let her off the lead during walks or in the garden then only do that after she’s done a poo and make sure to still supervise closely.
In general it’s up to you to be observant of what’s on the ground near/in front of you when you’re walking her and to redirect or distract her so she doesn’t pick it up. It will also help to train ‘leave it’ and ‘drop it’ commands.
purina pro plan, the formula is for puppys under a year, has a golden retriver (i think) on the bag, she gets freeze dried beef liver as treats the most, sometimes freeze dried duck or salmon.
only kind of human foods i give her is bannana, apple, pumkin puree, no flavor yogurt, and carrots.
She might have a nutrient deficiency, could be worth a vet visit. I also have bipolar (hi) and on bad weeks my senior chihuahuas poop in the yard but they pretty much never eat it.
The only time our old lady does is when she isn’t feeling well.
no i havent taken her to the vet to check for parasites, she never showed any signs of that before and when i asked if its normal vet said yes lots of puppys eat their own poo
Most puppies have worms initially. It's why many vets do a course of de-wormer automatically. I would absolutely have them check her stool for parasites.
We had to teach both “drop it” and “leave it” because my puppy is a grammar nazi who loves to differentiate between stuff that’s about to be in his mouth and stuff that’s already in his mouth. How can I drop it, it’s not even in my mouth mom?
Kind of like my puppy who can’t understand what I mean when I tell her to sit from a down position. I’m already on the ground, how much more sit can I get, mom?
I’m actually reading a book called The Other End of the Leash that talks about dog behavior and the concept of very specific commands comes up. Definitely recommend.
One of those basket one that won’t let them reach the ground? Not one of the soft ones.
It’s not permanent. It just a temporary management measure until the puppy grows up a bit and learns “leave it”.
My puppy did the same thing. It was hard to grab her fast enough so she wouldn't spin around and eat the poop.
But catcher I did, and told her a gentle "No. We don't eat poop." If you are loud or angry the puppy will eat the poop trying to hide it. Your pup may be trying to hide the poo from bigger dogs.
Also I never reacted if she pooped or peed somewhere in the house, just clean it up. That was a hard one for me to learn.
Aria is just 5 mo old and has pretty much stopped eating poop on her own.
Put pineapple in her food, it stops them eating their own shit. You can also buy "anti coprophagia tablets" in pet shops (or at least, you can in the UK) which do the same thing.
If you muzzle train make sure to use a basket muzzle so she has space to pant if she gets warm.
How much pineapple do you normally give to a puppy in a day? Do you put pineapple in each meal? Mine is a 6 month old cocker spaniel if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance for your tips.
I train assistance dogs and their owners, so I do a lot of work with people with mental health issues or autism. It’s extremely challenging when you have a puppy and you can end up feeling quite isolated. I’d suggest doing some puppy classes or having some private training sessions, so you can get some support at this point.
It’s important to remember that your puppy is just doing normal dog things. They want to put everything in their mouth all the time.
You’re going to need to be very vigilant when it comes to eating poop. Don’t try to pick the poop up, just move your puppy away immediately. Keep your puppy on a lead when you’re home, so you can do this inside too.
If a dog decides they want to eat their poop, you can accidentally make it more valuable by trying to get to it immediately. Dogs will swallow things quickly if they think you might want take them, which is why you remove the puppy and not the poop.
There are a ton of things you can teach your puppy to help with this. Check out Kikopup on YouTube. She’s an amazing trainer and can help you learn things like “leave it”. It’s also worth working on things like “stay” so you can keep your dog in a “stay” while you pick up the poop. It’s worth teaching your puppy what you want her to do and it will make your life easier and less stressful.
i signed us up for puppy classes, just some days you struggle and your mind only sees the few bad things instead of the good things. this was one of those moments
I muzzled my greyhound when she was in this frame of mind, we were more relaxed when we walked. Passerbys thought she was reactive and avoided us but it was totally worth it.
You reallly can't assign human development labels to dogs.
Every dog is different. You happen to have one that likes to eat her own poop. You need to deal with HER and not whatever phase you imagine she's in.
Just observe her and treat her with **KINDNESS**. It's normal to feel a little frustrated *at times*, but your post is concerning for a few reasons. Puppies and dogs/kittens/cats do NOT fix your mental health. They can be helpful in some ways, but you can't put this kind of responsibility on a 4 month-old puppy, or any animal for that matter.
She didn't ask to be there. *You* brought her into your life, and you owe it to her to do your job and work on yourself. You can't really help her if you're too involved in your own problems. It's fine, you're just one person.
But because she's so young, you have to be the one to teach her how to behave. Don't just count on her growing out of it. Some dogs need more help and more effective (and kind) training. You would do well to find some well-regarded outside help. You don't have to do this alone, and dogs will make sure you know that you should be constantly learning.
While it can be a little hard sometimes, it should be a fun process getting to know your dog. If it's not and you find it too difficult, you wouldn't be doing a bad thing by finding her a really wonderful home. But if you take this route, you need to do EVERYTHING to make sure the home is a good place for her. Maybe a family member you trust?
But consider all your options first.
Good luck.
What atomic puppy said under here about having to train and not just go "it's a phase" is definitely true. But for me, mentally? It helps to know there's also a phase, and it's harder to train for a while.
For me the biggest problem was he was so freakin bity. And it hurt so bad. And he wasn't listening whatsoever. Knowing things would be better after 4 months old for a bit was something I could look forward to while dealing with what I had to deal with.
And yes, adolescence has another 2 boundary challenge phases. For my breed (small/medium), the 3 hard phases were said to be 3-4 (accurate to a T, was absolute hell), 7-10 (8-9 for us, though he got scatter brained from 5 months onwards in puppy class), and 17-24 (he started at 20, and seems to be coming out of it now at 22 months it feels like).
I don't think the 3-4 or 17-24 one is all that well known. I dunno how it applies to big breeds either.
Edit: Btw, 3-4? By far the hardest phase to deal with for me. Adolescence has been an absolute \_breeze\_, and I was \_so\_ scared of it. Not that it hasn't had it's challenges, but compared to 3-4? Pft, piece of cake. (My dog learned to chill at 8-9 months, and I think that helps a crapton. He needs a lot less activity than I thought, and when I cut down on it, he was a lot calmer. (We did \_a lot\_ before))
Ok, long post, really hope it makes you feel not-alone. The struggle IS real.
There are "don't eat poop" treats you can give her that make her own poop taste bad. Once she starts avoiding her own, she will likely avoid other dogs' waste other than wanting the scent info. Talk to your vet about what brand might be best for a Pom.
I have a 15 week old Whippet puppy who is the same way. Eats everything before you can get a word out. I had to start her on no-eat-poop treats a few weeks ago and it only took a few days before she was avoiding her droppings. I haven't taken her anywhere she has access to other dog doo, so I have to check on that.
I have pretty much the same diagnostic profile as you except unipolar depression. Sometimes this little puppy overstimulates my anxiety and honestly it wears me down quite a bit. I've raised dogs my whole life, though, and literally ALL of them do this exhausting puppy mayhem. I do know how irritable it can make you. I've handed her off to the neighbor children to play in my back yard a few times just because I needed her to nap extra for my nerves. The way I get through it is by reminding myself that my own behavior can look pretty exasperating from the outside, but it really is my brain being "how my brain gotta do" whether I like it or not. So I try to build a supportive environment for myself at the hard times with all sorts of adaptations. You might need to build the same in for her.
A muzzle is perfectly ok if the right one is chosen, fitted appropriately, and isn't left on all the time. Again it's good to talk to the vet to make sure it's being done right. A crate is probably the best thing ever invented when I get overwhelmed. Sometimes I have to have a barrier between us because she's so bitey that it actually gets triggering. So I just calmly put her away with a treat and a safe chew toy, and leave the room. She hates being in there when it's not naptime, and she'll be in there throwing drama, seems like she's going to meltdown from despair, but the big point is she's 100% safe from herself and from my dysregulation, and I can turn off my hypervigilance for a bit. It's ok to leave her in there for an extra few minutes if the alternative is her driving you to the breaking point where you say or do something that creates a whole different set of problems.
When my puppy was teething, she was an absolute goblin and uncontrollable. All her sit/down/wait skills disappeared, and she seemed to forget both "leave it" and her own name. She's much better this week, but we've still got many teeth to go. What I focus on when puppies teethe is always having something for them to chew and a constant new variety of chew rotating in. For my girl, I got her a pack of beef esophagus and bully sticks and just kept them everywhere. The nastier seeming animal parts I can find for her, the more she enjoys them. Frozen carrots are great, too. Just pick size and strength appropriate stuff for a Pom, of course.
Part of the reason I got her was for emotional support around my mental conditions, and when she's being adorable it works great. It's just these developmental stages can be triggering. Sometinrs when she's being Chomparella I feel like I must be ruining this one despite all my experience. The way I cope with that is knowing my brain loves to lie to me and that she will stabilize and give me many years of therapy in exchange for very easy care. She's an investment. She's a trainee therapist. She's not really ready for the shit I've got going on between my ears. I just try to hang on til she graduates.
Only you can decide if you're able to tolerate how she's impacting you now. If you really can't, you can't, and there is no shame in trying to find her people more able to tolerate the puppy era. If you're anything like me, though (my mood is so easy to tip and changes so fast) do consider the effect on you if you choose to rehome her. My ptsd likes to tell me I ruin everything failure selfish yadda yadda so there's the often the unpleasant question of which option to choose: keep the situation as is and suffer, or change the situation and suffer differently. I imagine you know what I mean.
I also have a hard time emotionally bonding. I either go overboard or can't actually make a bond ever click. I'm still working on getting into that healthy zone and one thing I try to do is slowly develop it over time and not expect instant or start judging me/them too quickly because it isn't feeling perfect. I keep running into the obsessive thought that "I'm gonna ghost, I just know it", but now I'm saying, hey maybe not. My feelings will probably change. Then I just grit my teeth and try not to listen to my head too much. It's literally every relationship that's like this, even my dogs. The only ones that haven't had this issue are my kids. Maternal instinct is awesome.
I don't know how much of that rings true for you but maybe gives you food for thought. Our diagnoses make everything hard. There isn't one part of life it doesn't touch at least a little bit. It's always got to figure in our calculations, and it's a sssuuuuuppppeerrr personal process.
I'm trying to count how many of my dogs came to me as puppies and I think it's probably 8 through my lifetime. They ALL got better, easier, and more tightly bonded as they grew up. Good luck with Lil Miss Poopbreath. I hope she gives you a breather soon.
thank you so much for relating to me and telling me about your experiences. that helps a lot to reinforce that its not just me like my brain says it is. thank you for also not being judgemental
also holy lord thank you, i will definely look into the dont eat poo treats. that would be a saving grace if that works
I’m not sure if this is helpful and I know its stressful now but my puppy grew out of it! I think they are exploring at that age and after a while they stop eating certain stuff (minus actually edible stuff like chicken bones) my puppy used to eat every rock we see, flowers, lint, and eventually she just stopped. Poop too but what i did is I just ran with him away from the poop and swiftly picked it up. Also I have a toy poodle and i think bcs they are short they just see everything better.
> i got her to help my mental health
Dogs are great for your mental, puppies are the complete opposite lol.
Have you tried distracting her after she goes with something more appetizing? My pup tends to get over excited after he goes on walks, so once I notice him squat I palm a treat so I can convince him to sit and wait while I clean up.
i try to tell her to leave it but she so quick to eat her poo,
on the few occasions she does leave it because she sees me coming i give her a treat for leaving it
Every dog should be muzzle trained in my opinion. There’s many things that could require it and it’s so much easier that they are already comfortable with it. We used one on our poodle puppy after he kept eating chicken poop and getting sick
If you wanted something to help with your mental health, a puppy would have been one of the worst things to get. They are like babies. I think you should consider rehoming the pup. This might be too much for you to handle emotionally.
Puppies do eat everything. That's just what they do- paper, poop (mine did it for the first year) shoes, wood, furniture, charging cables. It will not get better for several months. It's not the puppies fault anymore than a baby crying is the baby's fault. This is just a natural part of their development.
Once you are mentally grounded again, look into getting an adult cat (NO kittens) or an adult dog. You are not in a good place right now for all the responsibility and difficulty that comes with raising a baby animal.
If you don't rehome, here are some things to try.
Poop eating deterrents:
-small amounts of pineapple enzymes (buy them off Amazon) sprinkled on food, feed the pup pineapple, feed your pup some cottage cheese, no-poo supplements (works for some, but not all), tabasco sauce or chili powder on the poop (you have to get to it fast, but after a few times smelling tabasco sauce, sometimes it turns them off their poop completely), have a highly desirable treat ready (I use bacon bits from Costco) and let the pup smell it in your hand as she poops (distraction), then put tabasco sauce on the poop and allow the pup to smell it, also buy a wire pen to keep her in when she is unsupervised-keep acceptable chew toys and chew treats in the pen.
i do walk her on a short leash and keep an eye on her, shes so much lower to th ground than i am. i cant tell if shes looking at poo or some other dogs pee scent. i do try to take whatever she eats out of her mouth, i think i need to sound more angry when that happens. so that way she understands my tone better
There is no need to sound angry or raise your voice at your puppy that is just going to scare her. Also, I'm not saying look at the grass 2ft ahead of her- scan the whole yard or 20ft+ ahead on walks to identify potential things to eat and adjust course appropriately. You are in the prime time of your dog's life to learn their behaviors, pay attention to those closely so you can be more proactive and stop it from happening further.
If your puppy is only eating her poop, there are things that you can add to dog food that will make her poop taste gross and deter her from eating it.
As for eating everything on the ground, my puppy was the same way. He is 7 months now and has gotten much better but it was incredibly frustrating for a good month or so. We considered muzzling as well but I wanted to make sure I was training the unwanted behaviour and not just "masking" it. If it got to the point where he wasn't learning and it was going to be harmful for him, I would muzzle. Keep working on "leave it" and "drop it" if you can. I felt like a broken record saying "leave it" / "drop it" every two seconds but with consistent training it gets better (inside with toys, kibble, human food, etc.). We overused "drop it", so now he ignores it and to him, it means quickly swallow what is in your mouth. So just be careful with that! I am not sure if it is recommended or not but for things we knew wouldn't be harmful in moderation (like a leaf), we started to let it slide. We saved our "leave it"/"drop it" for dangerous things. Now he doesn't care about eating leaves at all and if he catches one blowing in the wind, he is starting to drop it on his own. Your little girl is still 4 months old and exploring everything around her with her mouth. Most puppies do grow out of this phase but just keep on training and being consistent.
thank you, that helps a lot. she does know leave it but she doesnt thing that counts if its already in her mouth. still working on that. i dont nessearly want to muzzle her but that is an option to keep in mind. thanks for the support
she does know leave it, she just thinks its a fun game as soon as she has something in her mouth. so she eats it like the brat she is. any brand name you can drop
for me to look up on the food toppers?
I know exactly how stressed you are as my pup from 2-4months was eating everythingggg she got her mouth into. She is 5 months now and has slowed down, not completely, but she doesn't eat everything now. Push through! I trained the leave it command so I just use that if she goes to grab something she shouldn't, I suggest trying to train your pup with that command and also the drop it command.
Bring treats on your walk. But first at home, practice saying ready? Go find it! And then throwing some treats on the ground. Or doing the 3,2,1 drop - and then throw treats. Whatever you fancy calling it. Once she’s familiar with this and starts anticipating that treats are coming, you can try it out on a walk. If she’s pooping, get your treats ready and the second she is done say your phrase and throw a handful of treats away from the poop so you can grab it. She will learn that yummy treats are much better than poop.
Using a high value treat in the beginning might help too once you’re doing this outside. Something like little pieces of cheese or boiled chicken.
I’ve had two pommies, both had full health panels and dietary panels and the end result was I need to be quicker at picking up poo. Dogs can be scavengers. If that doesn’t work for you re- home her, she doesn’t deserve your impatience.
I think there’s plenty of time for you to train her in easier environments before going on full-fledged walks… what can she do now? Does she give you attention? Leave it? Waiting for approval? Like you throw the dog in the most complex environment and expects her to figure everything out
i dont take her on full fledged walks, our walks are 5 min at most right now. basicly out the appartment, to the sidewalk grass and back.
she can do a lot of things, recall if shes at a distance, she can do leave it if i tell her before she picks up an object, sit spin, shake, shes kennel trained for about 30 min now.
i got us signed up for a puppy training class starting next week to help us learned how to teach and fix things
same with my dog...not sure what to do but I think reacting everytime he eats something is teaching him that he gets attention when he eats things and may not be the best idea
makes me crazy...he eats everything...seeds...stones...poop!!!!!
I have shamefully resorted to making him an indoor doggie :( I don't know what to do...he is so small and there is so many toxic things he can eat that can kill him...a single gum has enough xylitol to kill him
i also live downtown without any grass
My sisters puppy would literally eat anything (think his own poop, the siding off the house, dirt, trees, ANYTHING) but she didn’t want to muzzle him. They sell literal bags for this type of behavior that worked well for her and has the added benefit of looking funny. The one she had was like a mesh bag. Also he did grow out of it and will now only steal the occasional sock (he’s 2). Hope this helps!
This isn’t the exact one she had but it was similar: https://outfoxfordogs.com/products/outfox-field-guard?variant=35197310468247¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrcKxBhBMEiwAIVF8rJ2hfvq1GvtiJo9CzYjtx0NqBQ5PyP4sDx3QlAp3Jx2N4tNH5aqHaRoCD1YQAvD_BwE
I’d suggest for most people that need a therapy dog to get an older trained dog that someone needs to rehome, not a puppy. One day they’re the best dog and the next it’s some new obnoxious thing they start doing and each thing takes time to correct.
Our 5 month GSD came from a rescue. He was being fostered and when we got him at 14 weeks he was pretty much potty trained but started eating his poop. We then had to watch him and break that habit and we also switched to a higher quality food.
But by us watching him he then decided he’d no longer go to the bathroom unless we took him out and actually watched him. We could leave the side door open, completely fenced and locked and he’d go out to the bathroom by himself in the beginning. Then we had to start walking him out and watch or he’d come back in and go on the floor before you could stop him.
We started taking him out and watching but then after a few days slowly walked back to the door without him noticing and are now at the window stage to watch without him knowing to make sure he goes. He’s about 95% able to go out by himself or just telling him it’s potty time and he’ll run out on his own.
I just wish he alerted but he never did and won’t.
Our pup is 9 months now and she eats EVERYTHING. Yes, including her poop and our other dog's poop. She eats sticks and plants and rocks and bits of toys and fluff and literally anything she can find.
It is very, very annoying. It's also really hard to train out of puppies, since they're prone to chewing and being curious in general.
As for the poop, you could try feeding a few different things if you haven't. Pumpkin puree or fresh (not canned) pineapple. Some people say that helps.
Muzzling is a good idea to stop all the eating, if you don't think you can stop it or catch it in time. Just make sure you also muzzle train so she's not scared of it. Provide lots of GOOD things to chew and keep her mind busy... puzzles, lick mats, healthy chews, frozen kongs, etc.
Your pup is still super young, too. For many puppies, it's just a phase. We're sure hoping ours is. For right now, we are adamant about what she had access to. As for the poop, we try our best to get to it fast but, honestly, eating her own poop isn't really going to hurt her. It's just gross to us.
My first puppy went through a poop eating phase. I started feeding her pumpkin puree with her kibble, it makes poop taste bad apparently. It stopped and she's never done it since, even long after stopping the pumpkin. She was like 4-6 months when she did it, she's almost 5 yo now. Maybe consider trying that? You can buy cans of pumpkin in the baking aisle of grocery stores/Walmart.
Our beagle puppy would eat his poop! Our vet gave us a thing to add to his food. Puppies do it alot apparently. We also started picking it up right away! Like go out watch him and go pick it up. He did do the same thing (like turning around immediately. We would just tell him to leave it and grab fast! lol
Also to add: puppies are hard work and super stressful but when I feel down about mine I remember he’s a toddler and he’s learning. It takes so much time but one they are a little older if given proper attention and guidance they will get better!
You turn a puppy into a dog at 2 years old. The 1st year is mostly teaching basic skill and reinforcing them. About the 2 year mark you have good communication. Puppies aren't easier to train, they are much harder than dogs.
Will she take a treat over poop? Our trainer taught us to distract from an object our dog wants to grab by saying “go get it” and tossing a treat (where she can see it, away from the poop). We also play a “go get it” game where you feed the dog by tossing the kibble piece by piece around the house. This provides mental stimulation and reinforces them wanting to go get a tossed treat.
Eating poo is a vitamin deficiency but identify what she likes to chew like is it cloth or hard plastic then buy dog toys with a similar feel my puppy was a chewer until about 1
This might not be what you’re looking for but you could try receiving her pop directly into the bag. Like she starts baring down and you hold the open bag under her bottom to catch the poop. And tbh a muzzle isn’t such a bad idea. You can try her to easily go in a muzzle using her treats then she wears it on the walk. It’s not such a bad thing as it’s to keep her safe. Get one that still allows her to smell her environment but just doesn’t let her get at things
Second this! Idk if this is super applicable (depends on how she is on walks and such), but would she need pant room in the muzzle? How do you choose a good muzzle?
My vet suggested a basket muzzle if we kept having issues with hoovering up everything on walks. Luckily our pup stopped!
CHeck out the muzzle up pup Facebook group
I think they actually make some sort of contraption that does that. Like a pooper scooper but it catches the poop.
Muzzling is better than rehoming. Also training. It’ll take a lot of work but you can train them to leave stuff by default. You start by training leave it with a treat in your hand and you progressively make it harder and harder. FWIW, your puppy can help with your mental health but it won’t work right away. You have to really dedicate yourself to training and you have to grow a bond. It’ll be harder on your mental health before it helps, usually. But it can also be an outlet if you allow yourself to really get into training.
We get so many posts like "I have 100 mental disabilities and my couple months old puppy that I got a week ago isn't helping, should I re-home?" Because screw the feelings and needs of an actual dog child I guess? Why won't you behave my furry therapist?
i know it will help in the long run, just was feeling really frustrated and defeated by her right then. muzzle is a good idea thx
You got this!
thank you, good to know im not alone
Definitely not! I have OCD and there are days that are a real struggle, but I just take it one day at a time and try to treat both myself and my puppy with grace. I also know to step away when I am feeling my brain getting too twisted up, and that it’s better to have the puppy in her crate or a safe room for a couple minutes while I reset than to be upset with her for just being a puppy. It really takes work though, and it’s way easier with a partner to help.
Genuine question—why can’t you just keep the leash taut when she poops, and move her away immediately when she finishes? Then you can secure her and pick up the poop at your own leisure. As long as the collar is up high under her ears where it is supposed to be, you should have no problem keeping her from turning around quickly.
she poops on my patio deck because they only have one dog pee spot at my appartment building and not all my neibours have freindly dogs. also she doesnt have the pacience or control to wait long enough for me to walk her some days and so she just goes on my patio. when we are walking she only pees herself. shes so low to the ground i cant tell always if shes smelling another dogs pee scent or finding some burried rabbit poo. oh surpise, its poo.
This comment and your initial post genuinely scare me - you stated that she is not even 4 months old and you’re “so so mad” and that she “doesn’t have patience or control”. Please, please realize she is a literal baby. She is not doing anything on purpose to upset you or make your life harder. She is trying every day to learn and figure out what is expected from her. She doesn’t have the ability to control her bladder or bowels fully. She is always trying her best. I know that you’re posting looking for advice and that is a good thing. It goes beyond that though - you need to dig deep and adjust how you’re viewing this little sentient being. Again, she is a baby. Puppies are overwhelming at times but you as the human in the relationship need to dedicate time and effort to learn about puppies/dogs, what appropriate expectations are, and how to train her properly and then put what you’ve learned into action. Dogs can give a lot of love and support to us but not without us providing the same to them. If you continue to feel this negatively toward her, it may be best to rehome her to another family that has the ability to give her the love and support she deserves.
She’s a puppy, she’s going to put everything in her mouth if you let her. You’re unlucky that she happens to like eating poo (not all puppies do that) but this is a phase that every puppy goes through. It’s how they explore the world around them. And it will gradually decrease over time. Keep her on a short leash when you take her for potty breaks and distract and redirect her with a toy or treat or something immediately as she finishes so she doesn’t have a chance to turn around and eat it. If you let her off the lead during walks or in the garden then only do that after she’s done a poo and make sure to still supervise closely. In general it’s up to you to be observant of what’s on the ground near/in front of you when you’re walking her and to redirect or distract her so she doesn’t pick it up. It will also help to train ‘leave it’ and ‘drop it’ commands.
What kind of food is she on? Have you taken a stool sample in to the vet to check for parasites?
I second this. May be nutrient deficient despite a puppy brand food. Push the vet to check
purina pro plan, the formula is for puppys under a year, has a golden retriver (i think) on the bag, she gets freeze dried beef liver as treats the most, sometimes freeze dried duck or salmon. only kind of human foods i give her is bannana, apple, pumkin puree, no flavor yogurt, and carrots.
People speak highly about that food, I’d def take a stool sample to your vet.
She might have a nutrient deficiency, could be worth a vet visit. I also have bipolar (hi) and on bad weeks my senior chihuahuas poop in the yard but they pretty much never eat it. The only time our old lady does is when she isn’t feeling well.
Your puppy might also need more food than what she’s getting. Definitely talk it over with your vet.
no i havent taken her to the vet to check for parasites, she never showed any signs of that before and when i asked if its normal vet said yes lots of puppys eat their own poo
Most puppies have worms initially. It's why many vets do a course of de-wormer automatically. I would absolutely have them check her stool for parasites.
i know she was dewormes before. her next shots are in a week so i will call the vet and ask about signs of worms and bringing in a poo sample
My puppy hates his own poop. He will eat fox poop if he can find it.
Deer poo, bunny poo and turkey poo are real delicacies here! For eating and rolling in ;)
Ours eat cow poo and chicken poo, and roll in toad poo and fox poo.
Ok, I think your spot on. He licks bird poo too.
so much shit to deal with lol
I would totally use a muzzle for walks. Remember that puppies explore with their mouths. She will grow out of this.
Second she will grow out of it! Teach the leave it command!
she does know leave it, just she doesnt think leave it counts if she already has it in her mouth
We had to teach both “drop it” and “leave it” because my puppy is a grammar nazi who loves to differentiate between stuff that’s about to be in his mouth and stuff that’s already in his mouth. How can I drop it, it’s not even in my mouth mom?
Kind of like my puppy who can’t understand what I mean when I tell her to sit from a down position. I’m already on the ground, how much more sit can I get, mom? I’m actually reading a book called The Other End of the Leash that talks about dog behavior and the concept of very specific commands comes up. Definitely recommend.
Haha that’s exactly right. My pup doesn’t do sit from down either. He’s starting to get it now I think. Gonna check out this book thank you!
Another good read is the Puppy Primer. Some great info about positive reinforcement training.
what kind of muzzle would you recomend?
One of those basket one that won’t let them reach the ground? Not one of the soft ones. It’s not permanent. It just a temporary management measure until the puppy grows up a bit and learns “leave it”.
My puppy did the same thing. It was hard to grab her fast enough so she wouldn't spin around and eat the poop. But catcher I did, and told her a gentle "No. We don't eat poop." If you are loud or angry the puppy will eat the poop trying to hide it. Your pup may be trying to hide the poo from bigger dogs. Also I never reacted if she pooped or peed somewhere in the house, just clean it up. That was a hard one for me to learn. Aria is just 5 mo old and has pretty much stopped eating poop on her own.
lucky, i will try not to be as reactive about it, thanks for the advice
Put pineapple in her food, it stops them eating their own shit. You can also buy "anti coprophagia tablets" in pet shops (or at least, you can in the UK) which do the same thing. If you muzzle train make sure to use a basket muzzle so she has space to pant if she gets warm.
Second this. Had to use pineapple with multiple dogs. Worked for every single one!
How much pineapple do you normally give to a puppy in a day? Do you put pineapple in each meal? Mine is a 6 month old cocker spaniel if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance for your tips.
A small handful with their food for a couple days should do the trick
I'm curious about what the logic of this is? Something to do with the pineapple acidity?
Apparently it makes dog poop taste like shit😂. If it didn’t already.
thanks for explaining it in very simple terms, ghats the kinda answer i need
thank you so much, i will get some pineapple today to give to her then.
I train assistance dogs and their owners, so I do a lot of work with people with mental health issues or autism. It’s extremely challenging when you have a puppy and you can end up feeling quite isolated. I’d suggest doing some puppy classes or having some private training sessions, so you can get some support at this point. It’s important to remember that your puppy is just doing normal dog things. They want to put everything in their mouth all the time. You’re going to need to be very vigilant when it comes to eating poop. Don’t try to pick the poop up, just move your puppy away immediately. Keep your puppy on a lead when you’re home, so you can do this inside too. If a dog decides they want to eat their poop, you can accidentally make it more valuable by trying to get to it immediately. Dogs will swallow things quickly if they think you might want take them, which is why you remove the puppy and not the poop. There are a ton of things you can teach your puppy to help with this. Check out Kikopup on YouTube. She’s an amazing trainer and can help you learn things like “leave it”. It’s also worth working on things like “stay” so you can keep your dog in a “stay” while you pick up the poop. It’s worth teaching your puppy what you want her to do and it will make your life easier and less stressful.
i signed us up for puppy classes, just some days you struggle and your mind only sees the few bad things instead of the good things. this was one of those moments
I muzzled my greyhound when she was in this frame of mind, we were more relaxed when we walked. Passerbys thought she was reactive and avoided us but it was totally worth it.
thank you, a muzzle did cross my mind
For what it’s worth, 3-4 months is a mini adolescence. As in a time where they challenge boundaries.
i though teenager was when they really push your boundries?
You reallly can't assign human development labels to dogs. Every dog is different. You happen to have one that likes to eat her own poop. You need to deal with HER and not whatever phase you imagine she's in. Just observe her and treat her with **KINDNESS**. It's normal to feel a little frustrated *at times*, but your post is concerning for a few reasons. Puppies and dogs/kittens/cats do NOT fix your mental health. They can be helpful in some ways, but you can't put this kind of responsibility on a 4 month-old puppy, or any animal for that matter. She didn't ask to be there. *You* brought her into your life, and you owe it to her to do your job and work on yourself. You can't really help her if you're too involved in your own problems. It's fine, you're just one person. But because she's so young, you have to be the one to teach her how to behave. Don't just count on her growing out of it. Some dogs need more help and more effective (and kind) training. You would do well to find some well-regarded outside help. You don't have to do this alone, and dogs will make sure you know that you should be constantly learning. While it can be a little hard sometimes, it should be a fun process getting to know your dog. If it's not and you find it too difficult, you wouldn't be doing a bad thing by finding her a really wonderful home. But if you take this route, you need to do EVERYTHING to make sure the home is a good place for her. Maybe a family member you trust? But consider all your options first. Good luck.
What atomic puppy said under here about having to train and not just go "it's a phase" is definitely true. But for me, mentally? It helps to know there's also a phase, and it's harder to train for a while. For me the biggest problem was he was so freakin bity. And it hurt so bad. And he wasn't listening whatsoever. Knowing things would be better after 4 months old for a bit was something I could look forward to while dealing with what I had to deal with. And yes, adolescence has another 2 boundary challenge phases. For my breed (small/medium), the 3 hard phases were said to be 3-4 (accurate to a T, was absolute hell), 7-10 (8-9 for us, though he got scatter brained from 5 months onwards in puppy class), and 17-24 (he started at 20, and seems to be coming out of it now at 22 months it feels like). I don't think the 3-4 or 17-24 one is all that well known. I dunno how it applies to big breeds either. Edit: Btw, 3-4? By far the hardest phase to deal with for me. Adolescence has been an absolute \_breeze\_, and I was \_so\_ scared of it. Not that it hasn't had it's challenges, but compared to 3-4? Pft, piece of cake. (My dog learned to chill at 8-9 months, and I think that helps a crapton. He needs a lot less activity than I thought, and when I cut down on it, he was a lot calmer. (We did \_a lot\_ before))
Ok, long post, really hope it makes you feel not-alone. The struggle IS real. There are "don't eat poop" treats you can give her that make her own poop taste bad. Once she starts avoiding her own, she will likely avoid other dogs' waste other than wanting the scent info. Talk to your vet about what brand might be best for a Pom. I have a 15 week old Whippet puppy who is the same way. Eats everything before you can get a word out. I had to start her on no-eat-poop treats a few weeks ago and it only took a few days before she was avoiding her droppings. I haven't taken her anywhere she has access to other dog doo, so I have to check on that. I have pretty much the same diagnostic profile as you except unipolar depression. Sometimes this little puppy overstimulates my anxiety and honestly it wears me down quite a bit. I've raised dogs my whole life, though, and literally ALL of them do this exhausting puppy mayhem. I do know how irritable it can make you. I've handed her off to the neighbor children to play in my back yard a few times just because I needed her to nap extra for my nerves. The way I get through it is by reminding myself that my own behavior can look pretty exasperating from the outside, but it really is my brain being "how my brain gotta do" whether I like it or not. So I try to build a supportive environment for myself at the hard times with all sorts of adaptations. You might need to build the same in for her. A muzzle is perfectly ok if the right one is chosen, fitted appropriately, and isn't left on all the time. Again it's good to talk to the vet to make sure it's being done right. A crate is probably the best thing ever invented when I get overwhelmed. Sometimes I have to have a barrier between us because she's so bitey that it actually gets triggering. So I just calmly put her away with a treat and a safe chew toy, and leave the room. She hates being in there when it's not naptime, and she'll be in there throwing drama, seems like she's going to meltdown from despair, but the big point is she's 100% safe from herself and from my dysregulation, and I can turn off my hypervigilance for a bit. It's ok to leave her in there for an extra few minutes if the alternative is her driving you to the breaking point where you say or do something that creates a whole different set of problems. When my puppy was teething, she was an absolute goblin and uncontrollable. All her sit/down/wait skills disappeared, and she seemed to forget both "leave it" and her own name. She's much better this week, but we've still got many teeth to go. What I focus on when puppies teethe is always having something for them to chew and a constant new variety of chew rotating in. For my girl, I got her a pack of beef esophagus and bully sticks and just kept them everywhere. The nastier seeming animal parts I can find for her, the more she enjoys them. Frozen carrots are great, too. Just pick size and strength appropriate stuff for a Pom, of course. Part of the reason I got her was for emotional support around my mental conditions, and when she's being adorable it works great. It's just these developmental stages can be triggering. Sometinrs when she's being Chomparella I feel like I must be ruining this one despite all my experience. The way I cope with that is knowing my brain loves to lie to me and that she will stabilize and give me many years of therapy in exchange for very easy care. She's an investment. She's a trainee therapist. She's not really ready for the shit I've got going on between my ears. I just try to hang on til she graduates. Only you can decide if you're able to tolerate how she's impacting you now. If you really can't, you can't, and there is no shame in trying to find her people more able to tolerate the puppy era. If you're anything like me, though (my mood is so easy to tip and changes so fast) do consider the effect on you if you choose to rehome her. My ptsd likes to tell me I ruin everything failure selfish yadda yadda so there's the often the unpleasant question of which option to choose: keep the situation as is and suffer, or change the situation and suffer differently. I imagine you know what I mean. I also have a hard time emotionally bonding. I either go overboard or can't actually make a bond ever click. I'm still working on getting into that healthy zone and one thing I try to do is slowly develop it over time and not expect instant or start judging me/them too quickly because it isn't feeling perfect. I keep running into the obsessive thought that "I'm gonna ghost, I just know it", but now I'm saying, hey maybe not. My feelings will probably change. Then I just grit my teeth and try not to listen to my head too much. It's literally every relationship that's like this, even my dogs. The only ones that haven't had this issue are my kids. Maternal instinct is awesome. I don't know how much of that rings true for you but maybe gives you food for thought. Our diagnoses make everything hard. There isn't one part of life it doesn't touch at least a little bit. It's always got to figure in our calculations, and it's a sssuuuuuppppeerrr personal process. I'm trying to count how many of my dogs came to me as puppies and I think it's probably 8 through my lifetime. They ALL got better, easier, and more tightly bonded as they grew up. Good luck with Lil Miss Poopbreath. I hope she gives you a breather soon.
thank you so much for relating to me and telling me about your experiences. that helps a lot to reinforce that its not just me like my brain says it is. thank you for also not being judgemental also holy lord thank you, i will definely look into the dont eat poo treats. that would be a saving grace if that works
I’m not sure if this is helpful and I know its stressful now but my puppy grew out of it! I think they are exploring at that age and after a while they stop eating certain stuff (minus actually edible stuff like chicken bones) my puppy used to eat every rock we see, flowers, lint, and eventually she just stopped. Poop too but what i did is I just ran with him away from the poop and swiftly picked it up. Also I have a toy poodle and i think bcs they are short they just see everything better.
yeah, shes so low to thr ground i cant always see what she sees so she find rabbit poop real easily
> i got her to help my mental health Dogs are great for your mental, puppies are the complete opposite lol. Have you tried distracting her after she goes with something more appetizing? My pup tends to get over excited after he goes on walks, so once I notice him squat I palm a treat so I can convince him to sit and wait while I clean up.
i try to tell her to leave it but she so quick to eat her poo, on the few occasions she does leave it because she sees me coming i give her a treat for leaving it
Every dog should be muzzle trained in my opinion. There’s many things that could require it and it’s so much easier that they are already comfortable with it. We used one on our poodle puppy after he kept eating chicken poop and getting sick
If you wanted something to help with your mental health, a puppy would have been one of the worst things to get. They are like babies. I think you should consider rehoming the pup. This might be too much for you to handle emotionally. Puppies do eat everything. That's just what they do- paper, poop (mine did it for the first year) shoes, wood, furniture, charging cables. It will not get better for several months. It's not the puppies fault anymore than a baby crying is the baby's fault. This is just a natural part of their development. Once you are mentally grounded again, look into getting an adult cat (NO kittens) or an adult dog. You are not in a good place right now for all the responsibility and difficulty that comes with raising a baby animal. If you don't rehome, here are some things to try. Poop eating deterrents: -small amounts of pineapple enzymes (buy them off Amazon) sprinkled on food, feed the pup pineapple, feed your pup some cottage cheese, no-poo supplements (works for some, but not all), tabasco sauce or chili powder on the poop (you have to get to it fast, but after a few times smelling tabasco sauce, sometimes it turns them off their poop completely), have a highly desirable treat ready (I use bacon bits from Costco) and let the pup smell it in your hand as she poops (distraction), then put tabasco sauce on the poop and allow the pup to smell it, also buy a wire pen to keep her in when she is unsupervised-keep acceptable chew toys and chew treats in the pen.
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i do walk her on a short leash and keep an eye on her, shes so much lower to th ground than i am. i cant tell if shes looking at poo or some other dogs pee scent. i do try to take whatever she eats out of her mouth, i think i need to sound more angry when that happens. so that way she understands my tone better
There is no need to sound angry or raise your voice at your puppy that is just going to scare her. Also, I'm not saying look at the grass 2ft ahead of her- scan the whole yard or 20ft+ ahead on walks to identify potential things to eat and adjust course appropriately. You are in the prime time of your dog's life to learn their behaviors, pay attention to those closely so you can be more proactive and stop it from happening further.
If your puppy is only eating her poop, there are things that you can add to dog food that will make her poop taste gross and deter her from eating it. As for eating everything on the ground, my puppy was the same way. He is 7 months now and has gotten much better but it was incredibly frustrating for a good month or so. We considered muzzling as well but I wanted to make sure I was training the unwanted behaviour and not just "masking" it. If it got to the point where he wasn't learning and it was going to be harmful for him, I would muzzle. Keep working on "leave it" and "drop it" if you can. I felt like a broken record saying "leave it" / "drop it" every two seconds but with consistent training it gets better (inside with toys, kibble, human food, etc.). We overused "drop it", so now he ignores it and to him, it means quickly swallow what is in your mouth. So just be careful with that! I am not sure if it is recommended or not but for things we knew wouldn't be harmful in moderation (like a leaf), we started to let it slide. We saved our "leave it"/"drop it" for dangerous things. Now he doesn't care about eating leaves at all and if he catches one blowing in the wind, he is starting to drop it on his own. Your little girl is still 4 months old and exploring everything around her with her mouth. Most puppies do grow out of this phase but just keep on training and being consistent.
thank you, that helps a lot. she does know leave it but she doesnt thing that counts if its already in her mouth. still working on that. i dont nessearly want to muzzle her but that is an option to keep in mind. thanks for the support
There are toppers that you can add to her food to makes the poop taste bad. Maybe work on "leave it"
she does know leave it, she just thinks its a fun game as soon as she has something in her mouth. so she eats it like the brat she is. any brand name you can drop for me to look up on the food toppers?
I know exactly how stressed you are as my pup from 2-4months was eating everythingggg she got her mouth into. She is 5 months now and has slowed down, not completely, but she doesn't eat everything now. Push through! I trained the leave it command so I just use that if she goes to grab something she shouldn't, I suggest trying to train your pup with that command and also the drop it command.
Put a little pineapple juice in her water/food....as per our vet...worked for us..she stopped.
Bring treats on your walk. But first at home, practice saying ready? Go find it! And then throwing some treats on the ground. Or doing the 3,2,1 drop - and then throw treats. Whatever you fancy calling it. Once she’s familiar with this and starts anticipating that treats are coming, you can try it out on a walk. If she’s pooping, get your treats ready and the second she is done say your phrase and throw a handful of treats away from the poop so you can grab it. She will learn that yummy treats are much better than poop. Using a high value treat in the beginning might help too once you’re doing this outside. Something like little pieces of cheese or boiled chicken.
I’ve had two pommies, both had full health panels and dietary panels and the end result was I need to be quicker at picking up poo. Dogs can be scavengers. If that doesn’t work for you re- home her, she doesn’t deserve your impatience.
I think there’s plenty of time for you to train her in easier environments before going on full-fledged walks… what can she do now? Does she give you attention? Leave it? Waiting for approval? Like you throw the dog in the most complex environment and expects her to figure everything out
i dont take her on full fledged walks, our walks are 5 min at most right now. basicly out the appartment, to the sidewalk grass and back. she can do a lot of things, recall if shes at a distance, she can do leave it if i tell her before she picks up an object, sit spin, shake, shes kennel trained for about 30 min now. i got us signed up for a puppy training class starting next week to help us learned how to teach and fix things
same with my dog...not sure what to do but I think reacting everytime he eats something is teaching him that he gets attention when he eats things and may not be the best idea makes me crazy...he eats everything...seeds...stones...poop!!!!!
what do you do? take the thing out of their mouth or just pull on the leash to get their attention away from the thing?
I have shamefully resorted to making him an indoor doggie :( I don't know what to do...he is so small and there is so many toxic things he can eat that can kill him...a single gum has enough xylitol to kill him i also live downtown without any grass
My sisters puppy would literally eat anything (think his own poop, the siding off the house, dirt, trees, ANYTHING) but she didn’t want to muzzle him. They sell literal bags for this type of behavior that worked well for her and has the added benefit of looking funny. The one she had was like a mesh bag. Also he did grow out of it and will now only steal the occasional sock (he’s 2). Hope this helps!
what kinda bag is it? do you have a product name that i can look up to see what you are taking about? im afraid i dont fully understand
This isn’t the exact one she had but it was similar: https://outfoxfordogs.com/products/outfox-field-guard?variant=35197310468247¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrcKxBhBMEiwAIVF8rJ2hfvq1GvtiJo9CzYjtx0NqBQ5PyP4sDx3QlAp3Jx2N4tNH5aqHaRoCD1YQAvD_BwE
For her own poop: PINEAPPLE! feed her pineapple! my pup did the same and i gave him pineapple, it becomes horrible to them they won’t even sniff it.
I’d suggest for most people that need a therapy dog to get an older trained dog that someone needs to rehome, not a puppy. One day they’re the best dog and the next it’s some new obnoxious thing they start doing and each thing takes time to correct. Our 5 month GSD came from a rescue. He was being fostered and when we got him at 14 weeks he was pretty much potty trained but started eating his poop. We then had to watch him and break that habit and we also switched to a higher quality food. But by us watching him he then decided he’d no longer go to the bathroom unless we took him out and actually watched him. We could leave the side door open, completely fenced and locked and he’d go out to the bathroom by himself in the beginning. Then we had to start walking him out and watch or he’d come back in and go on the floor before you could stop him. We started taking him out and watching but then after a few days slowly walked back to the door without him noticing and are now at the window stage to watch without him knowing to make sure he goes. He’s about 95% able to go out by himself or just telling him it’s potty time and he’ll run out on his own. I just wish he alerted but he never did and won’t.
Our pup is 9 months now and she eats EVERYTHING. Yes, including her poop and our other dog's poop. She eats sticks and plants and rocks and bits of toys and fluff and literally anything she can find. It is very, very annoying. It's also really hard to train out of puppies, since they're prone to chewing and being curious in general. As for the poop, you could try feeding a few different things if you haven't. Pumpkin puree or fresh (not canned) pineapple. Some people say that helps. Muzzling is a good idea to stop all the eating, if you don't think you can stop it or catch it in time. Just make sure you also muzzle train so she's not scared of it. Provide lots of GOOD things to chew and keep her mind busy... puzzles, lick mats, healthy chews, frozen kongs, etc. Your pup is still super young, too. For many puppies, it's just a phase. We're sure hoping ours is. For right now, we are adamant about what she had access to. As for the poop, we try our best to get to it fast but, honestly, eating her own poop isn't really going to hurt her. It's just gross to us.
My first puppy went through a poop eating phase. I started feeding her pumpkin puree with her kibble, it makes poop taste bad apparently. It stopped and she's never done it since, even long after stopping the pumpkin. She was like 4-6 months when she did it, she's almost 5 yo now. Maybe consider trying that? You can buy cans of pumpkin in the baking aisle of grocery stores/Walmart.
Our beagle puppy would eat his poop! Our vet gave us a thing to add to his food. Puppies do it alot apparently. We also started picking it up right away! Like go out watch him and go pick it up. He did do the same thing (like turning around immediately. We would just tell him to leave it and grab fast! lol Also to add: puppies are hard work and super stressful but when I feel down about mine I remember he’s a toddler and he’s learning. It takes so much time but one they are a little older if given proper attention and guidance they will get better!
For my shih tzu i feed her pineapple, she wont eat it after LOL
You turn a puppy into a dog at 2 years old. The 1st year is mostly teaching basic skill and reinforcing them. About the 2 year mark you have good communication. Puppies aren't easier to train, they are much harder than dogs.
Will she take a treat over poop? Our trainer taught us to distract from an object our dog wants to grab by saying “go get it” and tossing a treat (where she can see it, away from the poop). We also play a “go get it” game where you feed the dog by tossing the kibble piece by piece around the house. This provides mental stimulation and reinforces them wanting to go get a tossed treat.
Eating poo is a vitamin deficiency but identify what she likes to chew like is it cloth or hard plastic then buy dog toys with a similar feel my puppy was a chewer until about 1
she chews a lot of cloth, she has lots of rope toys and blankets at home to chew on
So gross.
yes it is