Bit of a gross one sorry!!

[Lydiatamsin]

Morning, sorry for such a gross topic but we have noticed lately that we think our new boy is eating his own poo! 😩

we have had Timmy 3 months now, ex racer and he has settled in great - seems very happy with his new life! He has one main meal at tea and 2 small meals at breakfast and lunch and he goes on 2 good walks a day. Then he sleeps for the rest of the time - standard!!!

The night before last we let him out for his usual night time wee before bed and we noticed that he was sniffing at something and looked like he was eating it. It was dark so in the morning we looked and it was a rogue poo that we had missed picking up! Definitely looked like he had eaten some of it. He never does this when we are out on walks and this is the first time it’s happened!  
 

when I’ve googled it it says it can be attention seeking but he did it when he didn’t know we were watching so can’t see it being that! He seems perfectly fine and healthy so I’m a bit stumped. Any ideas?

 

thanks as always!

[BandM]

Probably not entirely helpful, but our Minx has her moments and will eat her own poo, or that of horses given half a chance. To my understanding, it is a sign they *may* be missing something in their diet, in the same way she will eat the long grass in the fields.

I have found being a step ahead of her and teaching / encouraging her to avoid or drop it has helped. She will sniff around when I'm out picking it up at the end of a day, but since her phase of eating it, has so far restrained herself. Bennie has never shown an interest, whereby Minx is not very fussy and will eat anything she can get her (remaining) teeth on, so could be an individual thing.

[MerseyGrey]

I don’t think anyone really knows why they eat their own poo, or other animals’ poo either. I have heard that it is because they are missing something in their diet, but I’ve also heard other theories from that it’s to keep their area tidy to they just like the taste of it!

We have some experience of this. Buddy would regularly eat his own poo from the garden (never on walks) if we weren’t quick enough, occasionally eating it as soon as he’d produced it (clearly prefers a freshly cooked meal, gourmand that he is ). But it made him sick a few times so the only sure solution is 1) distract him with a treat as soon as he has pooped in the garden and 2) pick it up as soon as possible. We have had to amend his walking schedule as the main problem became him pooping in the house overnight, which he would eat, leading to a cycle of illness and more pooping in the house and a few expensive vet bills. Since the last occasion just over a year ago we have introduced a couple of chunks of pineapple to his treats each day as this is supposed to stop them from eating their own poo (really ruins the taste apparently) and he hasn’t eaten his own poo at all - it could be a coincidence but for the sake of a couple of chunks of pineapple it’s something I’m happy to keep up with. He also hasn’t pooped in the house so hasn’t had an opportunity for midnight snacks .

We haven’t been as successful with other poop, particularly horse poo which he manages to snaffle even when he’s running. There are other GreyTalkers who have more experience with horses - as I understand it horse poop is pretty harmless unless they have been given some medication which potentially could have an effect on a dog, but again, my own experience of Buddy eating horse poo has been generally positive (it firms up his poo like no other substance but gives him stinky breath if he tries to come in for a kiss), so I don’t fret too much if he eats up, but I don’t encourage it either.

[MerseyGrey]

And I should add that teaching them the ‘leave it’ command, and crucially, being quick enough to use it (!) is useful because  some poop contains real nasties like parvovirus which can make them quite sick. Good luck!

[BatterseaBrindl]

Not too much grosses out long-time dog owners! 

I’ve had a couple of poo-eaters over the years with no harmful after effects. Other than the ‘eeeewwwww’ factor. 
Currently, our senior Mario has discovered the delight of poopsicles. 

 You just have to make sure you pick everything up and strongly discourage the behaviour by being in the yard at all times. 

 

[Remolacha]

There are a lot of theories out there but no one really knows why some dogs eat poop. I have had one poop eater, and he got giardia from eating feral cat poop (before I realized what was going on). It is a good idea to discourage it just because you never know what nasties they might pick up, plus, eeuuw! You can try some of the remedies, they work for some dogs, none of them discouraged Fletcher. I do love hearing people say “it makes it taste bad”  it makes the poop taste bad? 

[greysmom]

As mentioned, theories are numerous as to why dogs do this, but no one really knows why.  IMO, it's very individual to each dog, and not a one-answer-fits-all kind of behavior.  Sometimes it's seasonal, and comes and goes, sometimes it's a habit they form and continue every time they're outside.  The one thing you find out is once it begins you usually can't ever trust them not to eat poop anymore.

There are literally thousands (maybe more) of solutions to try.  Everything from commercial additives to natural remedies to raw fresh pineapple juice.  Sometimes one will work for a dog, sometimes nothing works.    

The only way to be sure they don't get into their own poop is to have them wear their basket muzzle with a stool guard fitted in/on every time they are out in the yard, and keep your yard meticulously picked up.  Yes, it's a hassle for the humans, but greyhounds are very used to wearing muzzles for turnouts, so it's not like they feel "punished" for anything.

You do really need to keep them from eating poop.  They can reinfect themselves with parasites, get extra medication that's excreted in stool, pick up foreign bodies again that manage to make their way out of the body, affect their mouths and teeth (and breath - gross!), and it's just not hygenic.  Some people are much more ... blase' about the habit, but there are good health reasons to not allow it to continue.

[Houndtime]

Get a muzzle with a poop guard and if you see your dog approaching a pile say, NO!  Shine was a poop eater when we first adopted her.  She was taught not to do it and she didn't after a while.  Be diligent.  Don't leave the poop.  Go out and pick it up immediately so there is no chance of dietary indiscretion.