Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted a message a little while back about my dane eating her poop. Well my boyfriend and I have been picking it up when both of them go and now my little puppy is eating it too. Tinkerbell taught him to eat it because he wasn't doing it before. This morning Tinkerbell throw up all over the kitchen and it was this brown color and it looked as if it had chunks of her waste in it that she had eaten and it smelled just like it not acidy like normal throw up. I don't know what to do because I can't pick up after them when I'm at school or work and she just keeps eating it. I didn't even know that she was eating it because she doesn't do it in front of me or when I'm watching her through the window.

>>I posted a message a little while back about my dane eating her poop. Well my boyfriend and I have been picking it up when both of them go and now my little puppy is eating it too. Tinkerbell taught him to eat it because he wasn't doing it before. This morning Tinkerbell throw up all over the kitchen and it was this brown color and it looked as if it had chunks of her waste in it that she had eaten and it smelled just like it not acidy like normal throw up. I don't know what to do because I can't pick up after them when I'm at school or work and she just keeps eating it. I didn't even know that she was eating it because she doesn't do it in front of me or when I'm watching her through the window.

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You may need to do day boarding or get a pet sitter or something. They have to be supervised and picked up after. That's the only thing that really works.
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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

There has to be something else. That is not an option for me that would cost way too much money. There isn't any type of training technique that I would be able to use?

>>There has to be something else. That is not an option for me that would cost way too much money. There isn't any type of training technique that I would be able to use?

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Eating poop is normal behavior for dogs and is highly rewarding because they get to eat it every time. Management is the only solution that really works. Punishment does not work for a behavior that is so self-rewarding.
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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

I read that if I put pumpkin or pineapple in their food that it will make the poop taste realy bad. I also read that their are commercial products that I can put in the food as well. I put crushed pineapple in their food for now and then I will try pumpkin later to see how it works. If neither works then I will try the commercial stuff. Hopefully something will work. Do you know if these things will be ok for them to eat on a short term diet?

>>I read that if I put pumpkin or pineapple in their food that it will make the poop taste realy bad. I also read that their are commercial products that I can put in the food as well. I put crushed pineapple in their food for now and then I will try pumpkin later to see how it works. If neither works then I will try the commercial stuff. Hopefully something will work. Do you know if these things will be ok for them to eat on a short term diet?

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You should check with your vet first. Pumpkin is high fiber and could cause loose stools. Pineapple is high sugar. Neither really fits a dog's nutritional needs, so giving too much would throw the diet out of balance.
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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

What food are you feeding these two dogs?

Pumpkin is not good for keeping the dog from eating the feces, and neither is pineapple. Pumpkin IS good for helping regulate stools.. if the dog has diarhea or is constipated the fiber in the pumpkin will help regulate the dog.

Pineapple has WAY too much sugar (as mentioned) for a young dog, or really a dog of any age, and I have never heard of anyone giving pineapple to their dogs for any reason other than a very ocassional treat.

There ARE commercial products available but most of them do not work. I don't mean this to sound harsh, but you are going to have to figure out one way or another to be able to pick up after your dog so the stool eating will cease. It is also highly unlikely that one dog "learned" to eat feces from the other dog... I have never seen this behavior exhibited in my own dogs (learning to eat feces from another dog) nor have I heard it mentioned from anyone I know. It could be very possible that the food you are feeding is causing the problem.

Caroline Smith
FarView Great Danes

I am feeding my puppies Eagle Pak that both my breeders recommended that I feed them. Well as far as the second dog learning to eat it, then why is he eating it? He never did it before so I don't understand why he is doing it now. Everyone that I have been discussing this with have told me that it is not a big problem and if they don't stop then it will be okay. So if the pumpkin or meat tenderizer don't work I'm not going to be all that worried about it. I was told the worst that can happen is that they will get sick. If that happens then I hope it's outside. I wish I was able to pick up after them during the day when I'm at school or work but it just isn't possible so I will just have to deal with it and hope that she grows out of it. Oh and another thing that I heard works is the B.A.R.F diet, do you know anything about that?

I had one dane that would eat her own stools and when I switched to BARF she stopped. It took awhile before she quit it. While it is nasty to watch wolves will eat poop as I understand it and I agree that it's no big deal for the dog as it is with us who have to watch them do it.

I will try the BARF diet after I try the meat tenderizer. I'm glad to hear that someone found a way to combat this disgusting behavior. Do you still feed the BARF diet or when she stopped eating it did you stop feeding it?

I have fed the BARF diet for 5 years. My dogs are alot healthier on it than on kibble. I rarely have to take them to a Vet.

Okay I'm waiting for a lady in the great dane club i attend to call me and she is going to set me up with the BARF diet. Thank you very much for the help.

I know this is kind of late in the thread, but my dane also eats her poop from time to time. My shepard never used to, but when they were together and Abby (dane) began eating her poop, Morgan all of a sudden decided to take over and start to do the same. I pick up the poop daily, but there are those times when you are not aware that they went...they go so fast sometimes! I have been hearing so much about the BARF diet, what exactly is this? I have never heard of it before.

Well I'm glad to hear that someone else has a dog that learned to eat poop from the first dog. Not that I'm happy about it but everyone told me I was crazy because dogs don't learn those types of behaviors. The BARF diet is some sort of meat diet (I think you mix it with the dry food). I read about and am not too familiar with it. I am going to try it within the next month or two because I heard a lot of good things about it but for now I am trying other ways to get her to stop. When I try it I will let you know how it works. If you use it before me maybe you could tell me how it worked for you.

The BARF diet isn't to be mixed with kibble. You feed it by itself. It's a mixture of raw meat/bones and organ meat and veggies/fruits. There's lots of info on it if you Google it. Be sure and study the diet before you start to feed it so you understand the concept of it. I have fed nothing but BARF for 5 years and am pleased with the results.

Oh I must have read it wrong thanks for correcting me. I know I have a lot to read before I consider it. Did your dogs eat their own poo before you fed it to them?

One did. She stopped doing it after being on raw for awhile. I haven't had any of the others do it since I've been feeding a raw diet.

The BARF diet is as close as we can get to what wolves eat. It stands for Bones And Raw Food. Kibble is not fed at all. I wean my pups off on it and they eat it all their lives. They are so much healthier than on kibble. The three books written by DR. Ian Billingurst are good to read tho there are several others that people like. They can bloat on a raw diet but are less likely to do so. I have not had any dog bloat in the five years that I have been feeding it. I do nothing extra to prevent bloat either.