Dog eating ....

Have you tried working on a good 'leave it' command??

Well, following them around and snagging it before they get a chance always works.

 Don't give them the option. Scoop immediately and dispose. Eating poop is self-rewarding for a dog. Good luck!

Cone of shame? 

I had the same problem with Pan, but he outgrew it around 8 months.  Scooping it right away is sometimes easier said than done.  Not to be TMI but sometimes he would literally eat it as it was coming out.  Also with several dogs and a large yard, chasing one high energy puppy around trying to literally catch the poop can be pretty futile.  I think Pan had some weird digestive issue when he was younger because he used to poop 5-6 times a day.  They weren't loose poops or anything like that, he just pooped a LOT compared to how much he was actually eating (never overfed, up until recently you could see most of his ribs).  Then all the sudden he started pooping twice a day and quit eating poop.  Luckily he only ever ate his own, never any other dog's.

There is stuff out there called "coprophagia deterrent" that helps. Look it up on amazon but most big pet supply stores sell it.  It is in a treat form that you give your dog once a day.  It makes the poop taste horrible so the dog doesn't want to eat it. Coprophagous is the name for the act of eating stool.  Another natural deterrent is pineapple, something about the way the body digest it makes the poop less desirable to eat. If you have one poop eater in the household then all dogs in the household have to be on it for it to work.

Rummy went from a stage of eating poo to now, if I don't pick it up, he finds it he will play with it like a toy.  Very nasty habit and just have to stay on top of it.  I have to say, the deterrent did seem to help a lot but training from the other end is needed as well.

Dogs eat poop for various reasons, based on their age, their training, their living conditions and their diet.Puppies learn things by putting nearly everything that comes in front of them in their mouth. Most puppies will develop a distaste for poop in fairly short order. So, if your dog is a puppy, you can relax… chances are that they will change their behavior in due time. Just make sure you keep an eye on things and try to remove waste whenever possible so that your dog doesn’t develop bad habits.

 I wouldn't count on him growing out of the behavior, and parasites can be spread through eating *** of other dogs. I would try to keep it cleaned up as best you can, and maybe check out some of the things you can give your dogs to try to make it taste bad. A good leave it command will absolutely never hurt, and could help you in the future with lots of other things.

Here's a video on how to teach leave it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNAOe1djDyc

Liesje

Scooping it right away is sometimes easier said than done

 

 I agree if I lived in a house. I live in an apt. so scooping immediately is my only option.

In our many decades in dogs we have found that when this happens it is most often because they are not properly digesting their food in the first place. Leaving many of the nutrients in their ***. Thankfully it does not happen in our line but we see it often enough in other lines and breeds that we know how it is handled easily.  It's gross but it happens. Scooping and removing is the obvious answer, but that only controls access leaving the desire to absorb the missed nutrients there. One easy fix is Pineapple. It works like the chemical treatment that has been recommended, by making the fecal matter taste incrediably bad.  You can add crushed pineapple mixed with shredded cheese to his diet and he will happily eat all he can get. If he is one of the rare dogs who will not eat the pineapple, try adding just the juice initially.  It can be mixed with beef broth if need be.  I have never seen a dog continue this nasty habit when pineapple has been added to their diet. When possible you may want to have the vet do some bloodwork to assure he is fine in all other aspects.  I have 5 adults Ridgebacks and 2 puppies in our home. Scooping daily is not an option it is a biblical commandment.  This is how my grandsons earn money for vacation spending. They keep the yard clean and I happily pay them!

Just as a side note, the one word that is astericked out was a legitimate medical word for excrement beginning with an F and 5 letters long. This kind of moderator obsessiveness is the reason I rarely post to Dog anymore. Had it been a course slang word changing it would have been appropriate, yet to alter a medical term has no valid reason that comes to mind , except the needy desire to micro manage every post that comes though. 

Bonita of Bwana

In our many decades in dogs we have found that when this happens it is most often because they are not properly digesting their food in the first place. Leaving many of the nutrients in their ***.

 

This is rarely the case with coprophagia, although it might be true in some cases.  Dogs are natural scavengers and eating dog *** and the *** of other animals is not abnormal.  In some cases, it becomes compulsive behavior or attention seeking behavior.  Some dogs never eat *** and others do.  Pineapple is often recommended and it may work for some and not for others.  

 

Bonita of Bwana

Just as a side note, the one word that is astericked out was a legitimate medical word for excrement beginning with an F and 5 letters long. This kind of moderator obsessiveness is the reason I rarely post to Dog anymore

 

I used the same word with the same results.  I would think it's a software issue rather than a moderator being obsessive but that's just my guess.

The censorship is the application not a person moderating the conversation.

We used to have issues with poop eating when Buddy was alive.  He had to be on a food that was corn based.  Although the food had other benefits for his special needs....the nutrient value was less than desired.  So...the poop smelled good to the Hooligans and *shivers* tasted good.  They only ate Buddy's poop, never their own.  We haven't had the problem since Buddy died.

OP might want to consider the type of food that is offerred.  Maybe, if the food is of higher quality and  the nutrients stay in the body as opposed to being "flushed out" the poop will be less desireable.  Just a thought.

A sound "leave it" command will also help them to understand.

While I'm sure some dogs have nutritional deficiencies or eat a poor diet which contribute to eating other non-food items (including more than just dog poop!), I'm pretty sure the majority of dogs do it simply because they like it.  Dogs are opportunists and scavengers, even MORE than they are predators, and will eat all kinds of poop - bird, cow, sheep, cat, fox, dog - it's all just "stuff" to them.  Many dogs live with the "if it smells good, it must be food" ideal, and while we think it's gross, it's not always abnormal.

Heck it starts right from birth, when the dam will eat all of the excrement of her young to keep the area clean.

I wouldn't count on the dog growing out of it, either. I'd work on a solid "Leave It", clean up as best you can (maybe it even means taking your poop-eater out on leash for a while to prevent him from eating it?), give your dog BETTER things to do while outside (Kongs, hiding toys, playing games, etc - not leaving the dogs out till they get bored), and keep your dog's parasite control up to date, then I wouldn't worry too much about the odd sneaking of excrement.

Lies - I have this image of a never-ending cycle of Pan and poop-eat-poop-eat-poop-eat.  No wonder he pooped 5-6 times per day, he went as normal PLUS was redigesting what he was pooping out from the meal before! If he keeps eating it, it keeps having to come on back out.