I'm not really sure if I'm putting this in the right section..but here goes So recently Ive noticed if Scarlet poops in the house as I'm going to get paper towels to clean up she goes and eats her poo ! She's done this like 3 times already, and now I'm worried that she's gone in the crate but I'd never know because she's eaten it ! She gets fed 1 cup twice a day { as per my vets instructions } and she gets little veggies here and there while I'm cooking ..I'm worried she's going to give herself a parasite or make herself sick ..anyone else have this problem..We have a vet appointment for her last shot on Monday so I really don't want to make an earlier appointment if I dont have to

WOW! Well....my PUG has been eating her poo since she was a puppy. We have tried everything! Nothing has worked! I started crating her and she started holding her poo. She was the same way if she had an accident in the house it would be gone before you could pick it up! Here is one of the suggestions i had. Meat tenderizer on her food! It is suppose to make her poo smell funny and not be tempted to eat it. There is a prescription powder the vet will try to give you and it works the same way. you sprinkle it on her food and it suppose to make poo un appealing. Well nuthing has worked w/ my pug. Sniper has never eaten poo....tried to eat her own puke a few times but never poo. Good luck w/ whatever the vet recommends and i hope she will grow out of it. My pug is 5 and still hasnt. Vet said nuthin to be worried about.

What food are you feeding and how old is Scarlet? Puppies eat a lot more than adults and need to be fed more frequently so I am concerned when you say you feed 1 cup twice a day when that's how much food a lot of adult sibes are fed. There are a number of reasons dogs will eat their own stool and one of them is that they are not getting enough to eat or are lacking in nutrients.

My Glory is a poo eater too, it's always a challenge for me to run over the pick up the poo in the yard before she gets to it. If she catches Faith in the middle of a BM she runs over and waits in anticipation. If she has a BM herself she will turn around after she's done eliminating and try to eat it. I have to watch her like a hawk and be right there to correct her each time. She's gotten better since she knows she will get a correction if she does it but she still waits for an opportunity where she thinks she will not get caught. What's really weird is that sometimes she finds old poo in the yard and she brings it too me and then eats it in front of me as I make a mad dash to get it out of her mouth.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about stool eating and it certainly doesn't warrant a vet visit. Parasites would not be a concern to me either unless she's eating other dogs' stool. If she's only eating her own stool then it's more of a gross factor, less a parasite concern. The only way she'd get parasites from eating her own stool is if she already has parasites. You might want to take a stool sample with you when you go to the vet to rule out parasites just for peace of mind. Parasites absorb the nutrients in the dogs food leaving less for the dog and therefore can drive them to eat stool in an effort to regain those lost nutrients.

There are a number of OTC products on the market to discourage stool eating that you sprinkle on the dogs food to make their stool taste unpleasant. Personally I wouldn't waste my money on that stuff and would just give her some meat tenderizer or pineapple with her food which will make her stool taste yucky.

Thank you, Val Don't think I have anything else to add other than I agree!

Kody eats his poo too! Mya used to eat her poo when she was a puppy and the meat tenderizer worked, but it doesn't seem to work with Kody. Hmmm, he'll be 4months Christmas day and I also feed him a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening. The dog food bag says 4 cups a day! Isn't that too much? Maybe i'll start giving him 3 cups total throughout.

The poo eating is gross and very annoying! Then when he tries to lick me it's like AHHHHHHHH!

No need to switch too quickly, but I would increase. As a puppy, it's better to overfeed than underfeed because they need the nutrients to grow.

MelissaI wrote:

The poo eating is gross and very annoying! Then when he tries to lick me it's like AHHHHHHHH!

I know ! Scarlet loves to give kisses and all I can think of is you just ate your own poop ! lol ...Our first vet told us 2 cups a day..but I'll definatley ask the new vet if we should up her dosage.. you're right overfeeding her right now when she's got this insane amount of energy is better than not giving her enough.

you guys are so helpful thank goodness for this forum

tdanielle wrote:

MelissaI wrote:

The poo eating is gross and very annoying! Then when he tries to lick me it's like AHHHHHHHH!

I know ! Scarlet loves to give kisses and all I can think of is you just ate your own poop ! lol ...Our first vet told us 2 cups a day..but I'll definatley ask the new vet if we should up her dosage.. you're right overfeeding her right now when she's got this insane amount of energy is better than not giving her enough.

you guys are so helpful thank goodness for this forum

Yep, but gross as it might be, I still let him give me kisses. Not right after he's eaten the poo, but a while later i do. I can't tell him no...I would feel horrible.

I love this forum!!! Everybody has helped me so much!

For growing pups, especially as young as 4 months I would be feeding 3 cups per day minimum split into three feedings of 1 cup each. And that's on a premium food, a lower quality food would require even larger amounts. It may not be the solution to Scarlet's stool eating but I would really be concerned about feeding only 2 cups to a pup.

Keep in mind certain foods dont require you to feed as much as others.

BONFIRE HUSKIES wrote:

Keep in mind certain foods dont require you to feed as much as others.

Yeah, that's why I specified...

Huskyluv wrote:

For growing pups, especially as young as 4 months I would be feeding 3 cups per day minimum split into three feedings of 1 cup each. And that's on a premium food, a lower quality food would require even larger amounts.

Even ultra premium puppy kibbles like Orijen, Acana, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Evo, etc I would be feeding 3 cups a day to a 4 month old pup.

you guys definatley helped alot..I haven't noticed Scarlet eating her poo anymore, but I did up her to 3 cups a day and she seems more than elated She has her last puppy shots today so hopefully the extra meal makes up for all the throwing up she'll be doing in the car

Eeeewww! It turns out Frankie is eating his poop. So of course this forum is the first place I turn. It’s old poop that he finds in the yard. Our dog run area of the yard is mostly dirt and Frankie hides his poop by covering it up with dirt and sticks so sometimes I may miss a pile to clean up (maybe he’s hiding it for later, lol). I am pretty sure it’s his and not Bruiser’s. When you have been on poop patrol/inspection as long as I have, you get to know your dog’s poop. I have read through this and I am definitely going to try the tenderizer in his food.

My bigger concern is why? I am pretty confident that it’s not parasites. I am more concerned about him getting enough nutrients. He also seems to be starving, especially after dinner he is scrounging around for any crumb he can find.

Here is his current feeding schedule. Mind you, I have to choose my battles and my dad does not hold the same beliefs I do when it comes to the dogs. However he respects mine, so I allow him to get away with some things.
-Between 8-8:30- 1 cup of BB wilderness (duck or salmon) and one capsule of Efa’s
-During the day sometimes I give him a baby carrot or two or some training treats (natural/grain free) during training sessions.
-Around 6pm- Sometimes my dad sneaks him some veggies or meat from the table(grrr) 1 cup BB as above with nupro silver and ACV (3-4xweek)- When he is done this is the time when he seems to be scrounging for more the most. If I notice my dad give him more than a nibble from his plate, I may cut his BB to 3/4cup to compensate.
-@ 8/8:30 pm- my dad gives both dogs a handful of treats. It’s usually crappy ones, but if it affects Frankie’s tummy my dad will change treats. This is my dad’s one true pleasure with the dogs and every night at 8 pm sharp both dogs start staring him down and Frankie starts “talking” to him to let him know it’s time.

When I first got Frankie, we had the tummy/food issues. In addition to that, he was very underweight. I had to feed him up to 5 cups a day because he was so active too. Once I changed to a better quality food the amount decreased and he was steadily gaining weight. But of course, before I knew it he was gaining too much. His highest was 65lbs about 3 months ago, but I think that was mostly due to the prednisone he was on. He is now at a steady 60lbs, which is where I would like him to stay. But he seems sooooo hungry.

Should I add more healthy fillers? Do you think that could help satisfy him enough to stop eating every darn thing in sight including his poop? What nutrients could he be lacking that he would eat poop?
Oh, and he is hooked on cardboard so I was wondering if it was maybe that he needs more fiber?
All of your thoughts are always appreciated. Sorry for long post.

Dee, I highly doubt Frankie is lacking nutrients or fiber. Sounds like he just isn't getting full from his normal food but then again these dogs tend to act that way regardless of how much they are fed. Case in point, my sibe normally eats a pound of food a day. Well one day he had a 3 lb dinner and was still eating anything he could get his mouth on (i.e. cardboard!) and acting like he was starving. Sometimes you just have to ignore them as hard as it may be.

Adding fillers like carrots, rice, green beans, sweet potatoes, etc are fine and will probably help make his tummy feel fuller. Check the following thread out for some good filler ideas:
Healthy fillers

My boy went through a period when we lived in FL in the middle of summer when it was too hot to do any serious exercise and eating his normal portions caused him to gain weight. I cut his portions back to the point that he wasn't gaining weight but the poor boy was so hungry 24/7 and it just wasn't working to have such a hungry dog. Our solution was to put him on a reduced fat/reduced calorie food and it worked. He was able to eat his normal portion sizes so he didn't feel as hungry AND he lost weight.

You rock Val

Storm is on Wellness Core Grain Free Reduced Fat kibble and he gets just shy of 3 cups of food a day and he seems very satisfied and is losing weight even with a couple of treats a day and a bone once a week (his favorite treat of all).

My vet also did a worksheet to calculate the amount of calories Storm should have to maintain his weight and then what he should have to lose weight at a healthy rate.

Hello!

So i was searching the forum for this topic, but only found issues mostly pertaining to dogs that eat their own stool. my problem is that Gus thinks the dog park is a buffet!!! I have major issue with this because he's had giardia twice from doing this!

When i'm walking him on leash, if he sniffs another dog's poo, i will tell him to leave it, and he does 90% of the time. But it's the times when he's off leash at the park, and he KNOWS i cannot get to him in time. His recall is pretty good too, but not when he has found some goodies. Anybody ever dealt with this? I am really worried that he's going to make himself sick again. Our dogwalker has mentioned that he does this with him too. They suggested a wire basket muzzle to help prevent this, but it's not really solving the issue. Also, i'm not crazy about him wearing a muzzle all the time because it doesn't allow him to play fetch or mouth his friends when they're wrestling.

I'm open to trying anything at this point! Oh, and he gets fed 2/3c x 4 daily. Is he just not full enough? He is still pretty underweight, but is slowly gaining weight again.

I was told that its because they don't digest their food all the way so their poop smells and tastes just like their food and now that i know that I've noticed it more and her poo looks like her food as gross as that sounds!! she still has a habit of eating it every once in awhile or even playing with it but the vet said that it wouldn't be harmful.