Gross Topic

[Guest BassoonMo]

Our new girl Sadie, has some extremely gross habits when it comes to the excrement of other dogs. I've had dogs that eat poop, but she takes it to a whole new level. She will come running and stand waiting while one of the other dogs is doing their business so that she can eat it right away. I have to be ready with the pooper scooper to pick it up, and then she will actually lick the cement to get anything that was left behind.

 

Not only does she love poop, but she drinks urine too. The other day our yorkie left a puddle in the middle of the kitchen floor. I turned around to get paper towels and disinfecting wipes, and when I turned back around, Sadie was licking up the urine. I just couldn't believe that a dog would do that...

 

Maybe it's because she was found starving and abandoned in a rural area, and so she feels like she needs to eat whatever she can, but we give her lots of food, snacks, and clean water, so it's not like she actually NEEDS to eat nasty stuff. I guess there's not much I can do about it except keep the poo picked up so she can't get it.

 

She is a super sweet girl though.

 

[GreyTzu]

She's a recycler!! :rofl :rofl No kisses from her though.

[Sambuca]

Has she had puppies? That may explain drinking the urine.

[Yamaha_gurl]

Has she had puppies? That may explain drinking the urine.

 

 

I'm no expert, but her nipples are much bigger than my Bella's, and did not have puppies.

[OwnedBySummer]

I adopted a senior non-grey a bunch of years ago. He, too, had been starved and homeless. He, too, would eat poop -- including his own. Ew. After about a year, he stopped, although I never fully trusted him after that. Like you, I also figured it may have been linked to the starving thing. Possibly their bodies are craving something that's in the poop?

Edited November 28, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[sweetdogs]

She's exquisite! What a beauty!

 

I don't know why she's doing what she's doing, but it sounds logically related to her life before she found you. How long since she's been off the streets? Is everything alright in her belly? No worms or diarrhea problems? I might try her on some probiotics to make sure she has plenty of good bugs. And hope that time will stop it.

[greysmom]

My Toni had a similar starvation incident to your girl and she is much the same. When she first came home (at about 50 lbs) she would eat anything that was remotely food-like, including poop right out of the dog. She never licked up urine, but she might have if given the opportunity. This behavior has gotten better in the three years we've had her. She is not so frantic to eat her normal food, and thepoop eating - while still present - is much less dramatic.

 

I agree with giving her a check over for worms and any metabolic problems. If she's fine, then I'm afraid this is something you just need to work through.

[Remolacha]

She is stunning

 

I've never dealt with urine drinking, but sadly, some dogs eat poop because they can Fletcher was never a stray, has never starved, and he was a bad poop eater. He rarely does it now, but the only real preventative is to pick it up before she gets to it!

 

worming wouldn't, given her history.

[celbee]

She needs a muzzle with a "poop cup" so that she can't get at the poop. Janet liked to eat poop and dead birds when we first got her. The muzzle with the poop cup made it too much work. She doesn't seem to be into it any more (I honestly cannot remember at what point she stopped being interested.) (She had not been on the street or a stray.)We muzzle all of our greys when they go out in the fenced yard, so it's not as if we are muzzling just one of them. Since they can still drink with the muzzles on, I'm not sure about the urine thing, but it would make it considerably more difficult to lick the concrete.

Good luck-- she looks very sweet!

 

Carol

[silverfish]

Our first grey was picked up starving and mangy in November one year, and we took him on the following March. When he first came home from the animal shelter he would eat horse droppings, cow pats, rabbit pellets, anything. Dead, slimy half-decomposing rabbits he dragged out of the ditch .. just anything.

 

Within six months to a year, he'd stopped and never did it again. I always figured that once he realised he was being fed (good stuff!) on a regular basis and his body had caught up with all the vitamins and minerals he'd been missing, he simply didn't feel the need to do it anymore. Hopefully, your new girl will be the same and this is just a settling in period.

 

She is gorgeous!!

[Guest BassoonMo]

She's a recycler!! :rofl :rofl No kisses from her though.

 

I'm all about recycling and saving the planet, but not like that! :-)

 

Has she had puppies? That may explain drinking the urine.

 

She has had a litter of puppies. She was pregnant when they found her (although they didn't know it at the time) and she ended up having a littler of 8 greyhound puppies. That was about 3 years ago. What does having puppies have to do with drinking urine?

 

I adopted a senior non-grey a bunch of years ago. He, too, had been starved and homeless. He, too, would eat poop -- including his own. Ew. After about a year, he stopped, although I never fully trusted him after that. Like you, I also figured it may have been linked to the starving thing. Possibly their bodies are craving something that's in the poop?

 

She has been well fed since she was found about 3 years ago. I guess if it hasn't stopped by now, it probably never will. I've heard that they are craving something too, but what? I've switched her to a much healthier, higher quality food so maybe that will help.

 

 

She's exquisite! What a beauty!

 

I don't know why she's doing what she's doing, but it sounds logically related to her life before she found you. How long since she's been off the streets? Is everything alright in her belly? No worms or diarrhea problems? I might try her on some probiotics to make sure she has plenty of good bugs. And hope that time will stop it.

 

I took her to the vet after we got her and they did a full checkup and fecal exam. She's free of worms but she is heartworm positive. Its in the early stages and we've started her treatment.

 

My Toni had a similar starvation incident to your girl and she is much the same. When she first came home (at about 50 lbs) she would eat anything that was remotely food-like, including poop right out of the dog. She never licked up urine, but she might have if given the opportunity. This behavior has gotten better in the three years we've had her. She is not so frantic to eat her normal food, and thepoop eating - while still present - is much less dramatic.

 

I agree with giving her a check over for worms and any metabolic problems. If she's fine, then I'm afraid this is something you just need to work through.

 

If this is the only problem I ever have with her, I guess I'm lucky. She really is the sweetest dog ever!

 

She needs a muzzle with a "poop cup" so that she can't get at the poop. Janet liked to eat poop and dead birds when we first got her. The muzzle with the poop cup made it too much work. She doesn't seem to be into it any more (I honestly cannot remember at what point she stopped being interested.) (She had not been on the street or a stray.)We muzzle all of our greys when they go out in the fenced yard, so it's not as if we are muzzling just one of them. Since they can still drink with the muzzles on, I'm not sure about the urine thing, but it would make it considerably more difficult to lick the concrete.

Good luck-- she looks very sweet!

 

Carol

 

I've never used muzzles on my dogs, and I doubt it would work well with her. She's not a racer, so it's unlikely that she's ever worn a muzzle. It will probably just be easiest to follow them around with the pooper scooper so that she doesn't get the chance to eat anything nasty.

[Guest KennelMom]

She has had a litter of puppies. She was pregnant when they found her (although they didn't know it at the time) and she ended up having a littler of 8 greyhound puppies. That was about 3 years ago. What does having puppies have to do with drinking urine?

 

Momma dogs consume the pee and poop of the puppies for the first several weeks of life. At a certain point, they stop though...We've had several broodies and none have drank urine. I have to say...that's pretty odd! Sometimes dogs will clean up the feces/urine of other dogs to keep the "den" clean (ie, in a crate or small room).

 

We have some poo eaters that will hang out to try to catch the poop before it hits the ground! Sarah will run over as soon as a dog assumes the position Some dogs just like to eat sh*t.

[Greydawg]

I always learn new stuff on Greytalk!

[Guest june]

She is a beautiful girl! I currently have one who is a poop-eater and she never goes out without her muzzle with the poop guard. You might try her with a muzzle to see how she does. They really acclimate to them quickly although they are great at giving you looks that will have you believing they are going to die With my work schedule I just do not have the time to walk behind mine to pick up as they poop. I'm lucky to scoop once daily.

Edited December 2, 2011 by june

[Maddiesmom]

Maddie is a poop eater too (gross I know) I have to watch her when I let her outside in the fenced in backyard. if she decides to turn around and eat her poo I squirt her with a squirt gun to deter him. She hates getting wet and if she see me with it coming near her she runs and I go and pick it up before she has another chance. Sometimes I am not always out there (like a 2am potty break) but it seems to work for us.

[Guest gurehaundo]

My Tenn has been known to eat a piece of poo here and there. She always goes outside with a muzzle (plus stool guard) on. Tenn was never a racer, but was a coyote hunting Greyhound. She had never worn a muzzle until we adopted her. Hey, our Coonhound Mutt from the animal shelter also wears a muzzle, but it's because she's destructive when unsupervised. Don't be afraid of the muzzle! Your girl is gorgeous!

[Guest verthib]

Mine wear muzzles because they like to eat poop, and rocks! lol

[Guest mirthlesstroll]

3 of my 5 are poop eaters, so they wear poop guards everytime they go out. I have 2 non Greys, and both have learned to wear a muzzle. They don't love it, but little treats helped with the introduction. Sadie may act like you're killing her with the evil muzzle at first, but she will adjust, and you won't have to worry about her getting diseases from cat/rabbit/whatever vermin get into your yard poop.

[TheFullHouse]

I had two develop HGE from eating poop so poop guards went in everyone's muzzles so they could eat it. Saint is the only one that will go out and roll until he gets his muzzle off and snack in the yard if I don't catch him first.

[Guest StarsMama]

I have a Springer who likes poop, and we got her a poop cup muzzle. She hated it at first but now doesn't have a problem.

[Guest Energy11]

You have described our Godie to a T! She is a champion poop eater, with Curfew, a close second!

 

They are fed top of the line dog food, given top of the line treats, and vitamins daily. I've tried all the remedies, too! Once we put hot sauce on the poop, and Goldie thought it was a Mexican creation! Lol!!!

 

We are lucky in that, someone is ALYWAYS home with them, so the poop gets scooped as soon as it comes out of the dog. Sometimes, we just arent' fast enough, though. Curfew gets diarrhea from eating poop, so we try VERY hard, even in the middle of the night, in freezing temps, to get the poop. Forget the muzzles. Mine go CRAZY when they see a muzzle. They think it means a ride in their van!

 

I guess I will never know why two of my five do this. The vets don't know either. Everyone thinks it is a vitamin, or some other type of deficiency, but it can't be. They all have good bloodwork, as well. Staggerlee loves to eat rocks (*ones made from hard red clay)! We obviously are on top of that one!

 

Poop eating ... one of the GREAT mysteries of the world! Good Luck!