Help! My puppy is eating his poop!

[Lil Missy]

Max had several loose stools yesterday and I gave him canned pumpkin and immodium for those episodes. Stool is more formed today. He's had a few accidents on the carpet and he starts eating it before I catch him. YUK!

I've considered that he's not getting enough to eat so I've given him a little more food each feeding. I feed him 3x per day the Science Diet for Puppies - Small Breed. He weighs about 8 pounds and he gets 1/3 cup of kibble 3x per day.

Now tonight he's not eating. Unusual because he normally is springing off the ceiling at feeding time and inhales the whole thing in 40 seconds. Without chewing!

Too late to call the vet. Should I switch to liquids for tonight? Or leave the solid food there for him? And what's the deal with his eating poop???

[rurallib]

1. I don't know much but I know pupies eat their own poop

as if that didn't make you barf by itself, they usually want to lick your face afterwards.
I will bow to the much more knowledgeable among us now.

[Lil Missy]

2. You saying it's a puppy thing? Like, they outgrow it?

[femmocrat]

4. Yes, they outgrow it.

You can get pills for it from the pet store or the vet. We didn't have any luck with the pills though.

The best thing is to catch them in the act and make a big deal about it. (NO NO!! BAD DOG!)

[elleng]

8. Not necessarily!

There is stuff you can feed them, to discourage such ickiness!!!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

3. It's a vitamin deficiency.

Maybe get them better food and maybe supplement treats.
Duckie

[quakerboy]

5. Breathmints

its the only answer.

[MiddleFingerMom]

6. !!!

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That's not a comment about the appropriateness of your answer -- it's another answer.
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[rrneck]

7. So there's an old fart sitting on his porch with his dog.

A young whippersnapper walks up and asks, "You reckon that dog's a poop eater?"

Old fart smiles and says, "I dunno, but I'll hold him till you get in your car."

[OffWithTheirHeads]

9. Dogs do that, I don't know why!

Bad dog! Bad dog! No, no, no! seems to help. But I still don't know why they do that. Gross!

Maybe they are just born Republican!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Maybe you could distract him with cat poo fresh from the litter box.

They love that.

[Lil Missy]

11. He does that too. That's what the new gate is for.

[PassingFair]

46. LOL...like a delicious candy bar!

[TorchTheWitch]

12. You should be crate training him

He shouldn't be going to the bathroom in the house, and he may be eating his poop to hide it because he knows he's not supposed to go to the bathroom in the house.

Crate training is the easiest and fastest way to train a dog to go to bathroom outside only. This doesn't mean he has to stay in the crate all the time. What I did is every single time I took him out of the crate he would go straight outside to do his business. Once done, he could come back inside and be out of the crate because he'd already gone to the bathroom. But soon after eating or drinking, he'd need to go to the bathroom again, so we went outside again. He was potty trained in about two weeks and only had one accident which was really my own fault for not bringing him straight outside once and stopping to answer the phone while he was out of the crate. Within a week he already knew how to tell me he needed to go to the bathroom. I crate trained both my dogs this way and it was the same with both of them.

Young puppies can't hold their poo and pee like older puppies or adult dogs can, so they need to go the the bathroom more frequently. They are also more likely to need to go to the bathroom about 15 or 20 minutes after eating or drinking just as it is with adult dogs. Excitement and change in environment means they will go more frequently also. Since you just adopted this dog he needs a bit of time to adjust to his new environment, but that will happen pretty quickly.

As for feeding him - since puppies tend to inhale their food like a Hoover, it's best to feed him two to three meals per day and in sections at feeding time so he learns to eat more slowly. Inhaling food can cause stomach upset and gas, so he needs to learn to slow down. He also needs to be taught to be calm before eating. Before you feed him, exercise him hard to drain off energy and make him sit calmly before giving his food so he learns that until he's calm he doesn't eat. Puppies are REALLY fast at learning how to behave in order to get food whether it's a meal or a treat.

Incidently, dogs don't ever really chew their food. The only time they do is when a piece of food is too big to fit down their throat. Since dog food is already in convenient bite sized pieces, he's never going to chew it. That's just how dogs eat. The harder a food is the smaller bits they'll break it up into before swalling since swallowing harder foods like hard biscuits can be uncomfortable to swallow with their jagged edges.

He may be having upset stomach issues because of the change in his water. Every area has different water, and believe it or not, there is sometimes an adjustment period until the dog gets accustomed to the different water in your house from where he used to live. Putting about a capful of lemon juice in his water bowl can help to not have potty problems due to the change in water, or just giving him a chewable tab of Pepto Bismal every day for about a week or so until he adjusts to the different water should clear that up. I did the Pepto tabs when my dog was a pup and his system got used to the different water here in about a week and a half and he never got any kind of stomach issues.

As for his current diarrhea problem, stay away from liquids except water when he wants it. It's nothing for a dog to go for a day without eating, so don't worry about it if he doesn't want to eat. You can still give him his regular food, but if he doesn't want to eat it, don't worry about it. You'll find that throughout his life every once in awhile your dog won't be feeling up to snuff and just not want to eat for a day. They get "just not feeling well" type days just like we do sometimes.

[Lil Missy]

14. Thank you very much! Very informative!

Good description of how he eats. He sucks it up like a Hoover. Tonight he's not eating and has slept all evening. I just woke him up to go outside - he did pee and ran back to the house. (finished)

A question about the crate training - when did you put the pup back IN the crate? I could bring one up to the living room if necessary. He sleeps with me, so in the morning if we go straight outside when he wakes up he's okay. This morning I stopped to do something and he pooped in the house. Don't think he could hold it.

Thank you so much for the very thorough summary!

[bluedigger]

16. What Torchthewitch said!

Great concise summary. As for crate training, I suppose everybody does it differently. My pup had house priviledges whenever I was able to watch her. She was a chewer. She was crated when I went to work or out in the evening, etc... (She slept on the bed with me.) No problems because her foster mom had crated her already. She pooped in her crate the first two days I went to work and never again. You have to establish a regular schedule and they will quickly adapt. I stopped crating her at about one year old when she stopped chewing the house. Great looking pup, btw!

Also, remember crating isn't punishment. Don't put them in there for that. As long as they think of it as their den, they won't fight you to go in.:)

[TorchTheWitch]

17. gads, you should have seen my dog when he was a pup

He acted like the food was going to escape if he didn't vacuum it up in one gulp. He even did that "ready to charge" stance in case he had to run after it. It was ridiculous. The only thing that made him slow down was hand feeding him out of his bowl in sections so he wouldn't choke or get stomach upset. Nothing is worse than the after dinner puppy projectile surprise vomit because of eating too fast. But he did learn pretty quickly to slow down when eating.

If he hasn't changed for the better tomorrow call the vet even if it's just to put your mind at ease. One day of not eating and being lethargic and just sleeping all day is no big deal, but beyond that may be a concern.

Is he drinking water? If he isn't drinking any water, that would be a lot more of a concern than not eating for a day. Though dogs can go just fine without food for a day or two, no water will have him dehydrating pretty quickly, and that's not good.

He should probably be let out to go to the bathroom every 4 to 6 hours or so depending on how old he is. I got my pups at 8 weeks old, so they needed to go out every 4 hours, which kind of sucked during the night since I'd have to get up to let him out once during the night for about a week. At 10 weeks he could sleep through the night without needing to go, but by the time I woke up he was really fussing to want to go out. After that, he was fine. Your dog seems old enough by looking at his pictures to be able to sleep through the night without needing to go, so at least you wouldn't have to deal with that.

With the crate training, I kept him in the crate at my sleeping time so he couldn't sneak a pee or poo while I was asleep. Dogs do their worst mischief when you're asleep, out of the house, in the bathroom or otherwise not paying attention. My first dog loved to wait for when i went into the shower to attack the toilet paper. I had to take the toilet paper off the roll and hide it before every shower for most of his life until he finally got old and cranky enough that toilet paper lost it's appeal.

I actually had two crates with the current dog since it's best to have the crate near an outside door so he can go directly from the crate to the outside fast, so I had one in my bedroom that he used at night while I slept because he fussed like crazy if he couldn't see me, and there's nothing worse than trying to sleep upstairs with the dog downstairs crying his brains out because I left him alone. As it turned out though, he stopped all the fussing after a few days, so I sold that crate that I used in the bedroom and just used the one downstairs.

Other than sleeping time, I only had him in the crate when I was either out of the house or so occupied by something at home that I couldn't keep a good enough eye on him. Then I just made sure that he was going outside to go to the bathroom every 4 hours or so and after meals or lapping up a lot of water. It was easier to time when he ate and when he'd likely want to drink a lot from the beginning of the day after waking up so I could more easily time when he'd need to go to the bathroom throughout the day. I also always took him out the same door when it was bathroom time, so very quickly he learned to go to that door and act excited and then look back at me hopefully to let me know he wanted to go out and go to the bathroom. This was the back door that leads to our little fenced yard. At the front door, I attached a decorative hook to the wall right next to the door where I hang his leash and my keys (so I don't make the dumb mistake again of taking him out for a walk and locking us out by accident). If he wants to go for a walk just for fun or exercise, he knows to go to the front door and poke at the leash and then look at me hopefully to go for a walk.

The back door that leads to the yard is in a small kitchen, so there was nowhere to put the crate, but I put it in the living room right near the kitchen door so it was really only a few steps from the crate to the backdoor, and that worked just fine.

You might find that your dog loves his crate. Most dogs do when it's not used as a punishment chamber (which it shouldn't be). It's like their own little room that sort of mimics a den where they feel safe. My dog is 5 years old now and won't let me get rid of the crate, so it's still in the living room by the kitchen doorway. I just leave the door open all the time so he can go in and out whenever he wants. It's also convenient if a stranger is coming to the house, like the time the washing machine was delivered and they hooked it up in the basement for me. Since he's a big dog, I don't want him scaring people, so I shut him in the crate while the delivery guys were there. He can tell from what I'm doing when getting ready to go to work that I'd be leaving the house soon, and he'll just get up and go into his crate on his own. He still does that. I think he stays in there the whole time while I'm at work or most of the time even though I don't close the door so he can leave it if he wants to because many times I've put my hand on the floor of his crate when I get home and it feels warm from his body. He probably stays in the there the whole time I'm gone and just comes out to go to the door to great me when he hears me at the door with the keys undoing the lock.

The best kind of crate to get is one of the steel wire crates that the dog can see out of easily and gets plenty of air flow, and they easily fold up and have a carrying handle so you can travel with it and easily pack it in a car. Most of them come with a wire separator so you can adjust the interior size of the crate as he grows, which is really cool, and it's just as sturdy as the rest of the crate. The interior size should be big enough for him to lie down, stand up, sit and turn around comfortably but no more than that... if he has too much room, it won't serve as a way to keep him from going to the bathroom in there (he'll just go to the bathroom in one corner and lie down in another). My dog grew so big so fast I felt like I was adjusting the interior size of the crate every few days.

He should have a couple of toys in the crate for something to do while he's in there and a nice soft blankie to curl up on. My dog has a really thick double coat so he wants to lie down on tile because it's cooler even in the winter. He kicked the blankie out the door in the first week, so after that it became the sofa blankie. As long as the dog isn't shut into the crate for a long period, he shouldn't have a water bottle because they may drink out of boredom rather than thirst, and therefore, need to go to the bathroom too soon. I don't like the idea of having them shut up in a crate for a long time anyway except for sleeping at night.

Just like people, diarrhea isn't easy to hold and may be impossible. No surprise that he pooped in the house if he's been having tummy troubles. A couple of times when my dog had the trots he couldn't help having an accident. He did it right by the back door in the kitchen so at least he was trying to go out to do it even though I wasn't home to let him out. Though it would have been a whole lot easier to clean up if he hadn't tried to hide it by dragging some of his toys and some magazines from the living room to cover it up with.... eeeewwwwwwwww. Dogs will try to hide their accidents by either eating it or covering it up with something.

Exercise, exercise exercise. Puppies that are really young tend to sleep most of the time, but they get to a point really soon where they become such wild little monsters of energy you get the urge to start slipping them valium. They'll always have tons more energy than you, so invent games that will drain off their energy while you get to be fairly lazy. Making them play fetch up and down the stairs is a really good one that drains them out pretty fast (and all you have to do is stand there and toss the toy while they do all the work... heh heh). I still do this game with my dog when he gets rammy... he poops out in about 5 or 10 minutes and then sleeps for hours.

Hope all this has been helpful. Puppyhood can be a trying time, but dogs learn a million times faster than human kids, and they're always eager to please.

[Lil Missy]

20. Thank you again!

Max is back to eating again and is more energetic this morning. Stools are still too soft but better. He's getting plenty of water. Incidently, he is 16 weeks old and approx. 8 pounds. I may swing by the vet to get a weight on him and ask about the probiotics mentioned in another post.

He goes through a lot of chew sticks and rawhide pieces. Chew chew chew!

Thank you very much. :hi: :pals:

[TorchTheWitch]

26. Eeeeek! NO rawhide! BAD stuff!

Wow, I just finished a post in the pets forum about rawhide being dangerous. Check it out...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x43407#43420

God almighty I don't know why the hell it's legal to sell that stuff as something a dog should eat.

If you really need to give him some kind of natural chew thingie, stick with raw pig feet or raw beef or ox knuckle bones but only if the feet or bone is too big to fit all of it in his mouth so he doesn't try to swallow it whole.

Glad to hear Max is better and you'll be visiting the vet. Always a good idea for a new pet to have a once-over at the vet to make sure everything is ok anyway and so they have a file on him so they can send you reminders in the mail when it's time for check-ups or various shots.

You're very welcome... always happy to help. :pals:

[HEyHEY]

13. Stop feeding him food so good he wants to eat it twice.

[XemaSab]

15. The dog whisperer suggests feeding banana

Can't hurt.

[UTUSN]

30. Heck, the Dog Whisperer will blame and castigate her!1 n/t

[old mark]

18. Maybe it's good...have you tried it? nt

[yankeepants]

19. I work for a professional trainer

We used to have a real problem with loose stools in the kennel to the point where we would have to take some of them to the vet. The vet said that it was bacterial. We did the whole regime of fasting, hamburger and rice, yogurt, and pumpkin.

We put in a new water filtration system. Had the water tested. It was clean but the incidents of diarrhea persisted.

I did further research and found an article that said that all dogs have tons of bacteria in their systems from their day-to-day habits but when they are stressed: new environment, new routine, etc. the bacteria becomes problematic.

We started giving every dog a scoop (1/2 tsp.)of probiotics daily (more for dogs who seem more stressed). It was like turning off a faucet. We have NO more diarrhea

It is also supposed to curb the poop eating.

I think the product is called Probiotic Miracle for dogs and cats we buy it on-line.

Good luck with your pup.

[Lil Missy]

21. I will see if the vet has probiotics when I swing by today. Thank you.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

43. Probiotics sound good.

It's been a long time since I have dealt with a dog in their younger years, but I always thought they ate their poop so as to get the bacteria back in their system. I thought it was some kind of instinctual thing. Don't other kinds of animals out there feed their young regurgitated food and in some cases their own poop so as to give them the bacteria they need to help in their digestion?


Of course I'm not a vet so I could be totally wrong.

[Demoiselle]

22. They make stuff that makes poop taste hideous...even to its owner...

May not be right for puppies...and he may have something else going on too (Of course, how hungry would any of us be if we'd just eaten our own poop.)
Of course you'll check in with the vet in the morning...in the meantime, lots of water can't hurt him, I don't think, and he will survive without solid food for a night,but I'd leave a little out anyway.

[Kaleva]

27. To the owner of the dog or to the dog itself?

I would say that dog shit would taste hideous even without additives.

[Demoiselle]

44. To the dog, or so they say. Then again,

..as Dorothy Parker said when told that Calvin Coolidge was dead:" How can they tell?"
(I know, I know, it's an old one.

[flvegan]

23. Immodium *can* be bad for some dogs, especially young pups.

Have your vet do a fecal. He may have worms. If he's gotten at any standing water, he may have giardia. He may just have an upset tummy.

Many dogs just eat poop. They sell tablets (or liquid) at Petsmart, etc that you add to the food that will keep him from doing so. I've not had this problem, so I don't have any personal experience.

Hope the little guy is okay.

[Lil Missy]

25. I was hoping you'd chime in!

First - he has an appointment with the vet in about 45 minutes. I posted this last night when I wasn't sure if I should feed him anymore. The foster mom gave me copies of his records that I faxed to the vet when I got him last Thursday. He had a fecal last Thursday before she turned him over and it was okay. He did have worms that were treated in September. Also had coccidiosis a month ago and was treated for that.

This poop eating is most annoying. Then he barfs up the poop too. Yuk, what a mess.

[LiberalEsto]

24. Canned crushed pineapple

Use the "packed in juice" kind and mix about a teaspoonful in the pup's food every day. It makes the poop taste nasty to them. Worked like a charm for my last poop-eating dog.

[Kaleva]

28. The anti-dog poop eaters are coming out of the woodwork in this thread.

[Mojambo]

31. Best.Post.Ever. n/t

[Lil Missy]

33. Bunch of party poopers.

[Lil Missy]

29. UPDATE. JUST BACK FROM THE VET.

Max has multiple issues - coccidia, giardia, and roundworms. I have meds for all 3 and she wants the Science Diet switched to iVet. She gave me a free bag of the iVet.

He can't be left unsupervised when he goes potty, so he can't eat his poop. We've been picking it up each day but missed a few when we turned our back or left him alone.

Poor little fella has a nasty bloated tummy. He barfs every time he rides in the car, and the ride to the vet was no exception.

Thank you all for the responses. I'll update some pics as soon as he's feeling better.

BTW, Max gained 1/2 pound in a week!

[InvisibleTouch]

35. Poor little guy...

...Here's hoping for a quick recovery!

The poop-eating may be totally unrelated. I've had puppies who did it, back when I was feeding mostly commercial kibble. I had to be really vigilant about cleaning up the yard before I let the pups out, otherwise they'd go right for the "goodies" left behind by the older dogs. I suspect there's so many elements in kibble that are just not absorbed and just pass on through, that the leftovers still seemed food-like to an inexperienced pup. I have had zero, zero problems with this issue since I switched to a raw diet. The nutrients are fully absorbed, and what's left, really is not appealing in any way - except perhaps to the person who does the clean-up, because there's vastly less to clean up.

Get your little guy's health issues sorted out, and then if you're up for it, I highly recommend looking into a more natural nutrition. The best starter book I know of is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929242093?ie=UTF8&tag=plumedserpentpro&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1929242093 Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for You and Your Dog

Meanwhile, adding some canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) and some yogurt to his meals will help settle his digestive system.

[TorchTheWitch]

39. not really uncommon when the dog comes from a kennel

Even in really clean well kept kennels it's still way too easy for animals to pass these kind of things along to each other, and pups are really susceptible. Puppies are really susceptible to all kinds of bacteria and worms because their immune systems aren't yet revving on all cylinders and they probably aren't old enough to have all their shots yet that help to protect them from these kinds of things.

Does he take his pills ok? Some dogs are fine with eating pills and others aren't. The best way to give him pills is take hold of his muzzle and tilt his head up so his nose is pointing almost straight in the air. Open his mouth and stick the pills WAY back on the tongue right where the opening of the throat is. Close his mouth and hold it closed while keeping his nose pointed up. He'll swallow immediately whether he wants to or not because of the gag reflex... when something touches the back of his tongue it's an automatic reflex to swallow. I still take MY pills like this (except nobody has to open my mouth and hold it closed for me... LOL!). I always had trouble swallowing pills, and I finally got this down by doing the same thing to myself as I did to the dog to take his pills. I can even take smaller coated pills without a chaser now, too. Considering that when I was still in my late 20's I had to mash pills into a powder on a spoon and mix it up with jelly and eat it like my mom did when I was kid, this is pretty big deal.

Picking up the poop in the yard immediately is REALLY important. I learned that the hard way. As soon as it lands on the ground various bugs go after it that are the carriers of all sorts of wormy and bacteria nasties, and all it takes is for the dog to sniff at or step on a poop that's been dropped previously for something to transfer to him. Poopy patrol is no fun, and it's ever so tempting to put it off, but make sure you always pick up his doo-doos right after he drops them.

Ya know, if you have a regular bathroom scale it's really easy to weigh the dog at home by weighing yourself first (no cheating!) then picking him up and weighing both of you at the same time, and then just subtract the difference. I learned that little trick from my dad when I was a kid. It's amazing that people don't tend to think of it though. It's a hell of a lot easier than trying to put a squirmy puppy on a scale and make them be still enough to read it.

Now that he has his meds, he should be right as rain soon. Don't be shy about calling the vet if you have any questions or are the least unsure about anything. Vets are always so helpful even with the dumbest of questions. What a shame that people doctors aren't like that most of the time.

A 1/2 a pound in a week? Heh heh... just wait... very soon he'll be growing half a pound every two hours! LOL!

[Divameow77]

32. I heard once

that dogs don't completely digest their food so the poop doesn't taste all that much different then the first time. Not sure if it's true...

[TorchTheWitch]

40. I think it's commercial food

There's so much filler junk in it to make it weigh more (so they can charge you more) that just comes right back out. So much commercial dog food is terrible these days. The ones that used to be good went the way of the big commercial junk stuff, so you really need to do some looking around to get a decent commercial food. Anymore I think it's best to go Raw if you can afford it or a couple of the good organic ones like Newman's Own or Natural Balance. Costs a wee bit more than something like Iams, but the bags are a bit bigger, so it works out about even. Iams is yet another one that used to be good but turned into junk.

[LibertyLover]

34. I wish I could help, but my 10 year old greyhound bitch still eats

her poop. Clearly I know nothing about how to get her to stop. Good luck.

[Taverner]

36. Dogs love eating shit

No idea why

[akbacchus_BC]

38. Is that true? Gosh we had a terrier mix and she would not leave the

rabbit pooh alone!

[TorchTheWitch]

42. none of mine ever did

I don't know why but both of mine and even the mutt I had as a kid were terribly offended by poop whether it was their own or that of another dog's that they came across. They'd try to eat their barf but not their poop. Both my dogs if they were sick and had an accident in the house would try to hide it by covering it up with something they found around the house.

Just tonight while out walking the dog we stopped at one of his regular set of bushes for sniffing when he suddenly noticed that some other dog had left a poop there, and he suddenly jumped back wrinkling his nose and trotted off to another set of bushes. It was almost like he was saying "Eeeeewwww, Mommy! Someone left a POOOOOOP here! YUCK!"

Dammed strangest poop I ever saw, too... it was almost WHITE! Ok, like a very very light beige or "antique white". What in the world is someone feeding their dog to make poop that odd color? Wedding cake and onions with mayo on Wonder bread?

[geardaddy]

45. So do Teabaggers.

[akbacchus_BC]

37. You might want to try a puppy pad. I do not like caging as you might be away for work and the caging

would be too restrictive, not to mention, the puppy might poo and pee in the cage and you will have to dump the liner.

I have another question relating to the cat I inherited but do not want to steal your show. I will post my own.

Hope you are able to cope with your puppy issues!

[TorchTheWitch]

41. bad idea

That just teaches the dog that he can go to the bathroom in the house if he does it on something, and it's a tough habit to break. It also makes potty training a looooong ordeal that shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. They will also miss the pad even if they manage to get it all on the pad every time, there's still going to be tiny little droplets that miss that you won't even notice. And the problem with those tiny droplets is that the dog can smell them even if you scrub the floor and will continue to go back to that place to go to the bathroom whether there's a pad there or not. The only way to eliminate the scent is to use an enzyme cleaner specifically for the purpose, which is expensive and time consuming especially if you have to keep doing it over and over again. The only good purpose for these pads is for dogs who are ill and can't hold it or an older dog that has incontinence issues.

Crate training is the best way. Dogs will not go to the bathroom where they sleep just like they don't shit where they eat. The trick is to time when he comes out of the crate to go to the bathroom so that he can stay in it while you're at work or asleep provided you don't do really long days outside the house. The right crates have a hard plastic bottom that easily slides out for thorough cleaning should the need arise. Crates aren't restrictive as long as they're the right interior size for the dog. They mimic the same size they would make for their own den if they lived in the wild, and a dog certainly wouldn't make a den that was too restrictive. The idea is NOT to have the dog in the crate all the time. With crate training, potty training can easily be done in a week or two. In that time they will learn to not go to the bathroom in the house as long as they're old enough to hold it until they can be let outside. Even an 8 week old pup (which is the youngest age to be taken away from it's dog mommy) can hold it just fine for roughly 5 hours and just a couple of scant weeks later longer.