Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My beagle is 6 1/2 months old. He has a tendency to do two things that are frustrating for us. We are new pet owners. My dog eats animal feces - rabbit, deer, but never his own. He also eats dirt. We cannot get him to stop. We have him on Nutro dog food - kibble and soft food. We feed him twice a day. We just switched his food to Canidae kible and soft food. The food change has not changed the behavior. He also digs up clumps of grass but it seems he does this just to eat the dirt underneath. Occasionally this makes him sick. Anything we can do to deter this behavior? We don't want him getting sick and we keep him leashed outside but he always manages to put something in his mouth. Oh, and wood is another favorite to fill his belly. Any suggestions? We have a multitude of toys for him to chew on, which are made of different materials - rawhide, nylon, a tennis ball, bones, etc.
Thanks!

Thaney

>>My beagle is 6 1/2 months old. He has a tendency to do two things that are frustrating for us. We are new pet owners. My dog eats animal feces - rabbit, deer, but never his own. He also eats dirt. We cannot get him to stop. We have him on Nutro dog food - kibble and soft food. We feed him twice a day. We just switched his food to Canidae kible and soft food. The food change has not changed the behavior. He also digs up clumps of grass but it seems he does this just to eat the dirt underneath. Occasionally this makes him sick. Anything we can do to deter this behavior? We don't want him getting sick and we keep him leashed outside but he always manages to put something in his mouth. Oh, and wood is another favorite to fill his belly. Any suggestions? We have a multitude of toys for him to chew on, which are made of different materials - rawhide, nylon, a tennis ball, bones, etc.
>>Thanks!
>>
>>Thaney
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you have him on leash with you holding the other end outside, a head halter will allow you to prevent him from eating stuff off the ground. I like the Halti's ability to close the dog's mouth. It's best to have a lesson with a trainer to fit the dog, introduce him to it, and teach you how to use the device safely and effectively. If you are an experienced trainer, here's a link to an article about it:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1730&S=1&SourceID=47
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

Sorry I'm so late to this, but strange thing you mentioned Nutro. I'd been using it on and off with good results up until about 18 months ago. The company is notorious for constantly changing suppliers to keep costs down, and in doing such, the overall quality of the meats goes down. They also fail to change their packaging immdeiately following a change in formulas. Dog food companies are not required to have to change the label for up to 6 months after a change has been made. But Nutro found a way around this by OCNSTANTLY changing formulas!
I have heard firsthand accounts of Nutro causing itchy, flaky skin, anal gland problems, and inability to loose weight (since carb content is so high). A breeder firend of mine had her Beagles on Nutro for several years with great success, and recently had to switch them off. I also had a disaster with Nutro Max Natural a few months back. Large piles of smelly poo, yeast infections, itchiness ...
Coprophagia (stool eating) is primarily caused by two factors, from what I've seen. They are lack of adequate nutrition & boredom. However, with every case I've dealt with, coprophagia was cleared up with diet change and a bit of vigilance until the dog got out of the habit.
Try changing foods and see what happens. I've had luck with Eukanuba Adult Maintenance, Pro Plan/Purina One (I like Purina One a bit better for Beagles), & Blackwood 3000.