Dogs eat poop for a variety of reasons including -
- Nutritional imbalance,
- Stress,
- Boredom,
- Enjoyment (they like the taste), or
- Any combination of the above.
The most effective method to stop our dog from eating poop, will depend on the reason for his poop eating, his temperament, as well as our own temperament.
Stop Dog Eating Poop 1
Feed our dog a healthy and balanced diet.
The easiest balanced food to give our dog is dry kibble. Dry kibble is nutritionally balanced, and results in less teeth tartar.
Make sure to get a high quality kibble, with good protein sources, and no unhealthy fillers.
Some good kibble brands that I have tried include Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and Orijen.
Stop Dog Eating Poop - Feed our dog a healthy and balanced diet.
Stop Dog Eating Poop 2
Fixed feeding schedule and on-leash supervision.
Keep our dog on a fixed eating schedule.
If we keep our dog on a fixed eating schedule, it will help keep his poop schedule regular and predictable as well.
A fixed poop schedule makes it easier for us to supervise our dog, and prevent him from eating his own poop, or poop from our other dogs.
During poop time –
- Put the problem dog on a leash, and walk him out on-leash to do his business first.
- If he tries to eat his own poop, no-mark him (Ack-ack) and lead him away from it. Get him to do some obedience commands, and then try again. If he does not try to pull towards the poop, then praise him and reward him well.
- Keep sessions short, and end on a positive note.
- Make sure to clean up after him.
- If we have other dogs, only let them out after cleaning up.
- Make sure to keep the problem dog on-leash, so that we may supervise and prevent poop eating when our other dogs are out.
Stop Dog Eating Poop 2 - Fixed feeding schedule and on-leash supervision.
Stop Dog Eating Poop 3
Keep our dogs busy and well-exercised.
Bored dogs will frequently develop behavioral issues, and cause significant property damage.
It is important to walk our dog regularly (preferably every day), and to provide interesting dog toys and activities to keep his mind sharp and engaged.
My dogs work for all of their food, either by performing dog obedience commands, or through interactive food toys. If we provide a lot of alternative activities for our dog, he will be less likely to find unacceptable entertainment on his own, including eating his own poop.
If we are busy in the short-term, and do not have the time to give our dog the attention that he needs, consider sending him to dog daycare or hiring a pet sitter.
Stop Dog Eating Poop - Keep our dogs busy and well-exercised.
Stop Dog Eating Poop 4
Keep our dog’s environment clean.
Scoop up after our dog, as soon as he is done with his business. If we keep things clean, there will be less chance for him to engage in opportunistic poop eating.
During retraining, it is also important to supervise our dog closely, so that he does not practice any poop eating behavior. We may have to go back to dog potty training basics, to fully stop him from eating his own poop.
Stop Dog Eating Poop - Keep our dog's environment clean.
Stop Dog Eating Poop 5
Help our dog reduce stress.
Identify situations that cause extreme stress in our dog, and try to reduce the number of stressful encounters. In the meantime, practice managed desensitization exercises, to help reduce his stress response.
To desensitize my dog-
- I make sure that I am in control of the training environment. Then, I start by exposing him to low levels of the stressful stimulus.
- I treat and praise him for staying calm.
- I do some simple obedience commands (e.g. Sit), so that he is focused on me, in the presence of the stressful stimulus.
- When my dog is comfortable with the low-level stimulus, I very slowly increase its intensity.
If our dog starts to react badly, then we have moved forward too quickly. Stop and restart the exercise, with a reduced stimulus level.
While conducting desensitization exercises, it is important to keep sessions short, fun, and rewarding for our dog. In this way, he will begin to re-associate the stressful stimulus with positive experiences.
Stop Dog Eating Poop - Help our dog reduce stress.
Stop Dog Eating Poop 6
Teach our dog the ‘Leave-it’ command.
Stop Dog Eating Poop - Teach our dog the 'Leave-it' command.
As soon as he stops nosing, mark the behavior (Yes), and treat him from our other hand.
Independent minded dogs may choose to eat the poop anyway if they decide that the poop is much better than our reward.
- First, I get some yummy treats that my dog likes.
- I put one treat in my hand, and make sure my dog knows it is there.
- I close my hand into a fist, and hold it still.
- My dog will naturally nose all over my hand, while trying to get to the treat. I say Leave-it, and wait for him to briefly stop nosing my hand.
- As soon as he stops, I mark the behavior (Yes), and treat him from my other hand.
As our dog learns the command, we can slowly lengthen the time he has to leave our hand alone, before we mark and treat him.
Once we are comfortable with this exercise, we can practice the Leave-it command with a treat on the floor. Make sure that we are fast, or have our dog on a lead. In this way, we may stop him if he decides to lunge for the treat. If necessary, we can also cover the treat with our hand.
As soon as our dog leaves the treat alone, mark and treat him from our other hand. It is important NOT to give him the treat that is on the floor. This may inadvertently teach him that he gets rewarded with whatever is on the ground, which is often not the case in real-world situations.
Keep practicing this until we have a really solid Leave-it command. Now, we can use it when our dog gets tempted by poop during walks.
Note that independent minded dogs may choose to eat the poop anyway, if they decide that our reward is of lesser value. If this happens, I try upgrading my rewards, and make sure that my dog does not get within striking distance of the poop. In addition, I quickly march my dog home and end the walk, if he manages to sneak in some poop eating. This teaches him that if he eats poop, the nice and interesting walk ends.
We can also teach our dog that if he eats poop, the nice and interesting walk ends.
Stop Dog Eating Poop 7
Make the dog poop taste bad.
Adding meat tenderizer containing papain, in small quantities to our dog’s food, will sometimes prevent poop eating. Some people also suggest adding pumpkin, pineapple, or stool deterrent supplements as alternatives. Our vet can also give our dog medicine, that will make his stool taste extremely bitter.
Only use one additive at a time, so that our dog’s digestive system is not overly unbalanced.
Remember to consult with our vet, before using any of these additives. Adding too much, may give our dog digestive issues. Some dogs may also be allergic to the added ingredients.
Instead of adding to our dog’s food, we may also coat our dog’s poop with taste deterrents such as Bitter Apple.
Note that taste deterrents are added to the poop, and *not* to the food.
However, stool deterrents only work when our dog is eating his own poop, or poop from other dogs in the house. Results are usually much better and longer lasting, when we correct the source of the poop eating behavior, through the other methods listed above.
Does your dog eat poop?
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I have a major problem which I cannot supervise. My 10year old Japanese Akita has been pooping inside the house for about 10months. I have tried to train her out of this. Two weeks ago I told her off firmly but kindly. Now she has started to eat it to hide it I guess, very upsetting. The reason I cannot supervise it is because she waits until nighttime when everyone is in bed and poops in her sleep. I can’t keep an eye on her throughout the small hours and she does it every night. She has four walks a day but chooses to poop in the house. Her routine was changed about a year ago, when I moved house and this is when the problem started. She is never left alone (family home) so it’s not an attention problem. Any suggestions greatly appreciated, I just don’t know what to do next. Oh and it’s sticking to her fur so I have to wash her bum everyday…nice!
Hello Rosie,
What I have observed with my dogs is that they do not easily generalize what they learn. For example, I usually use my right-hand to give hand signals. When I give the same hand-signals using my left-hand, they do not initially understand that it is the same command. I have to retrain them with the left-hand.
It could be the same thing with potty training and houses. They may learn that they are not supposed to poop in a particular house, but not know that the same rule applies in a different house. Another possibility, is that moving is stressful, especially for an older dog. There could be changes in behavior as a result of stress. Finally, it could also be a health issue.
Coming up with the best solution would depend to some degree on the cause of the behavior. If it is only a training-generalization problem, then repeating potty training lessons could help, as you are doing. If she is crate-trained, re-introducing the crate temporarily could help with night-time pooping. Otherwise, a long-term enclosure could also be helpful.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-potty-training-facts-and-myths#long-term
Doug likes cat poop right out of the litter box…Is it that he just likes the smell of the litter? Does he like the “surprise” when he sniffs deep enough? The litter box is cleaned once a day and new litter is put in often…?
Hello Amy,
My Sibes like cat poop as well. There are some free roaming cats in my neighborhood, so when we go out on walks there is sometimes cat poop on the hiking trails. I think my dogs just like the smell of cat. There may also be something in a cat’s diet that dogs like.
It would be interesting to do some tests, e.g.
1. bring out some new litter and see if the dog shows any interest,
2. bring out some old litter with cat smell but no poop and see if the dog shows any interest.
My guess is that it is the cat poop itself that Doug likes.
My husband and I rescued a 3 year old Shiba mix. He’s definitely more Shiba than what ever he’s mixed with. I’ve been able to stop him from eating his own poo, however deer poo. Not so much. If he goes for another dog’s poo during walks I can tell him to drop it and he will. Again, when it comes to deer poo he won’t drop it. If I try to get it out of his mouth he gets a little aggressive. Any suggestions?
Hello B Hsu,
What has worked best with Sephy is to prevent him from getting the stuff in his mouth. When he was young, he would try eating pretty much everything. At first, I went into his mouth and removed the stuff but after doing this a while, I noticed that Sephy started protecting his resources from me (also called food aggression or resource guarding).
After this, I started watching him like a hawk and stopped him before he got anything bad in his mouth. If I miss a few things, I would only go into his mouth if it is something dangerous.
As for eating poop, Sephy was never really into that. Both my Sibes were big on eating deer, goat, and cat poop though. What seemed to work best with them was to end the walk. They would usually start by just sniffing the poop. When they do that I give them a warning not to eat it and watch them very very closely. If they try to eat the poop, I non-mark them (No or Ack-Ack) and then I march them home right away. I am very strict with this – so there are no second chances. I also withdraw all of my attention during the walk home, and they do not get to stop to smell the roses. I only needed to do this a few times with my new Sibe puppy and she quickly learned that trying to eat poop does not bring very good results.
“Like a packed lunch!”
LOL!
What worked well for my dogs is to train them that not eating poop gets them some great rewards but trying to eat poop gets them nothing – not even poop.
Here is what I tried -
1. Put my dogs on a fixed eating schedule. This also keeps their pooping schedule a lot more fixed.
2. During poop time, let all the dogs out but keep poop eater on a leash. Hold the leash.
3. When other dogs poop, the on-leash dog will likely want to move towards the poop. Non-mark that behavior – Ack, Ack! and use the lead to move the dog away in the opposite direction. Later on this can also be integrated with the Leave-It command.
4. As soon as the dog stops pulling towards the poop, mark the behavior – Yes!. Then reward the dog with a fun game.
5. Walk the dog around and repeat steps 3 and 4.
After a short session move everyone inside and clean up all the poop outside. Make sure to keep sessions short and fun so that everyone will see this as a positive experience.
In this way the on-leash dog will learn that
>> move towards poop = get nothing but
>> move away from poop = get a fun game/treat rewards, etc.
I recently rescued a 9 year old long haired dachshund bitch. I love her to bits already but the major problem is she insists eating poop. Not just her own either anyone elses will do. I keep her environment clean but even when I have bagged and binned poop she will raid the bin, it’s like she think it’s been specially packed for her. Like a packed lunch! There have also been a couple of occassions where when one of my other Dachshunds is having a poop she is eating it as it comes out. Also she is not fussy if it’s fresh or old poop we pass on the street. She is on a well balanced diet (previous owner fed her rubbish though), and I have tried numerous shop remedys and contacted many people to try and find out something new but the poop eating continues. I have 3 other dachshunds and none of them do it, and I am home 24/7, seriously I am at a loss as to what to do Has anyone got any suggestions!!!!
She eats her own poop! She turns around and IMMEDIATELY eats her poop. I have tried pineapple juice…have to give ALOT then she gets gas that is terrible.
I give her tablets now but my fiance forgets and so she starts again. If I miss 1 freaking tablet she goes for it.
We live on 5acres so it is freaking hard. We don’t have poop laying around because she literally eats it the moment it hits the ground. We yell..we try startling her.
Does NO dog food company make just the food to avoid this????? UGHHHHHHHHH…disgusting.
We are starting a family and I don’t want her doing this.
Ugh…isn’t there some dog food that you can give the dog? I am at wits end.
Hello Terri,
It may be easiest to go back to some potty training rules. I just got a new puppy so I am going through a potty training refresher course.
We were doing well the first couple of days then as soon as I loosened up on the supervision, we got a whole bunch of mistakes. Having a very fixed eating, sleeping, and activity schedule helps a lot. I also set up an enclosure with a blanket, some toys, and puppy pads and puppy goes in there whenever I cannot supervise.
Let us know how it goes with your Maltese.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-potty-training-facts
Thanks aep_upnorth. Let us know how it goes with your labs.
our 3 yr ol Maltese we think pooped in the house and then ate it. we think he was trying to eat it so we didn’t see he had an accident. we saw a bit left on rug. One time my husband saw it went to get napkin and it was gone when he got back…
He never eats it when he poos outside. we are there and won’t let him but he doesn’t really try outside.
What a great article! I have two labs and one is a poop eater. Not good when he wants to give kisses! Thanks for the ideas to make the poop taste bad, I am going to try that. I think I need to be better about cleaning the yard too-which will get easier now that winter is over. Cute pictures by the way.
Hi: I have a ten month old Yorkie who occasionally eats her poop. Her groomer told me that if I buy a can of chunk pineapple and give her just one piece a day, she will not eat the poop any more as they won’t like the acid in the pineapple. It made sense to me so I will give it a try. Good luck to anyone else with this problem.
Jill
Hello Karen,
I am so glad to hear that Baxta is responding well to the colitis treatment. It is good that they have identified the issue, and hopefully, it will clear up soon.
He is lucky to have such a caring owner.
Thanks for the reply. Good news is that baxta doesn’t have cancer. He does have severe colitis and is in hospital on cortisone and antibiotics. he is responding and should come home tomorrow for a life of a very strict diet! I will supervise him as best I can but seeing he has such an urgency to go, I just can’t leave him inside overnight as last time we ended up with big messes
I woke to him trying to clean it up!!!
Hello Karen,
Big HUGS to your Lab. Health problems like this can be very stressful for everyone.
It sounds like you are already doing all the right things to help him through this. The only other thing I can think of is to perhaps get a second opinion from another vet.
When my Sibe had issues with her leg, our vet recommended that we go to a specialist who was able to accurately diagnose the issue.
Hope your Lab feels better soon.
@karen Goad -
What worked best for my dog’s poop eating habit is supervision. In the short term I had to limit my dog’s freedom and only let her out in poop areas during walks where I am right there with her. In this way I can consistently correct her every time she tries to eat poop. I non-mark her when it looks like she is going to eat the stuff, and if she actually eats it, I end the walk and she has to come home where it is a lot more boring.
In this way she learns that eat poop = don’t get to be outside.
During training you can also fence off a smaller portion of your yard and make sure it is poop free. In this way, she can play around in there in addition to the supervised walks.
HELP! I have a 5 year old lab. He hasn’t been right in the poo department for about 1 year. He struggles to get it out and walks and walks in circles doing little bits all the time. The vet has tried everything. 1st they said it was his bottom glands and they got the ick out and put him on antibiotics. They they said his prostrate was swollen and they castrated him. They say it’s not swollen (the prostrate) now and has just had a colonoscopy. We get the results tomorrow and are of course they are thinking bowel cancer. They also say he definitely has inflammatory bowel but now in the last week he has taken to eating his poo – within seconds of it coming out! He had his diet changed to a vet brand called advance by the vets request and now have been told to give him rice, veg and chicken with bran flakes on top. Any ideas? I feel so sad for him, I just want him to do a poo and not eat it. Thx
wE HAVE A BIG YARD in a rural area…but the neighbor feeds wild cats AND racoons.
Our Springer (1-1/2 yr. old) runs free in our BIG yard..and into the woods and all…(also watching the deer poop!)..
but she runs to the neighbors and eats cat poop!
Euuuu ! Help!!! What can I do?
As I understand it, it is vitamin B1. Your vet can probably provide the best advice on how to supplement Frankie’s diet with B1 goodness.
OMG……my dog Frankie (roti-lab cross and 8 months old) came home last week (we live in the country…farms etc.) and within 2 hours, he tried to stand but couldn’t, his back legs would not hold him….became very lathargic so rushed him to the vet…….long story short, the Vet induced vomiting and he threw up at least 5 lbs of horse poop! By the next day, he was better………vet gave him an antibiotic shot and pills for a week….now, how do I stop him from eating horse poop (I think he eats our other dog’s poop too!)???????? The vet said something like he lacks vitamin B (or is it vitamin B1?)………….
Hello Gizmo,
One thing that really helped a lot with my dogs is to put them on a very fixed eating schedule. If they eat at fixed times, we can better predict when they need to go poop.
During poop time, only let the dogs out one at a time. Then we can clean up the poop before letting the next one out.
OH MY GOD I HAVE 2 6 MONTH OLD DOGS THAT EAT THEIR OWN POOP AND MY OTHER DOG’S POOP. IT’S SOOOO DISGUSTING AND MY MOM WANTS TO TAKE THEM TO THE POUND BECAUSE SHE’S TIRED OF SEEING THEM EAT POOP ALL THE TIME. I’VE SEEN THEM DO IT AND IT’S NASTY BECAUSE THEY SEE MY OTHER DOGS POOPING AND THEY JUST GO UP TO THEM AND EAT IT RIGHT THEN AND THERE WHEN IT’S NOT EVEN COMPLETELY OUT YET. IT HASN’T EVEN TOUCHED THE GROUND YET AND THEY HAVE ALREADY FINISHED EATING IT. THEY PRACTICALLY TAKE OT OUT OF THEIR BUTTS. IT’S SOO GROSS. THIS IS A SERIOUS CASE. I SERIOUSLY NEED HELP. IDON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. HELP!!!!!!!!
What worked best for my Siberian is very close supervision. I would keep her inside the house and whenever she is outside I would be right there with her to supervise. In this way, she never gets any free poop. If she manages to get one before I can stop her, she loses her pass to be outside and has to come in.
During her poop eating phase, I also put her on a very fixed feeding schedule – so she had a very consistent poop routine. This helps a lot because I can scoop it up as soon as it is produced.
On a side note, many well-known kibble brands contain a lot of grains including corn and wheat that are not very digestible by dogs. In addition, some dogs may also be allergic to them. My Shiba is allergic to wheat and my Siberian is allergic to oats. I now use Innova EVO which is a grain-free kibble.
This article has more on finding the right kibble -
http://shibashake.com/dog/feeding-your-dog-a-healt
My dog, Hank, is almost 5 1/2. He never ate poop, just rolled in it- I live in a somewhat rural area, lots of woodland, so who knows what kind of poop it is. Right around the time he was to turn 5, he began eating his own poop. I won’t let him lick me or come close to me with that ucky mouth. I feel bad. I asked the vet what to do, and they recommended the meat tenderizer. I did that for about three weeks, there were lots of landmines out there that did not have the tenderizer in it, so I could not tell if it was working. I thought for a hot minute that it did work, he would sniff the stool then pass it up. But, he is back to eating it- more hard core than before. He’s a machine! Hank has even reared up and growled at my husband over poop. This is not like him to behave that way. He eats IAMS, so I do not know why he is doing it. I am at a loss. The vet is talking about doing some bloodwork on him… I’m concerned that this is going to get expensive. What can I do?
My dog eats my cat’s poop. I have two dogs and a cat, he leaves his own and the other dog’s poop alone and eats my cat’s poop. It’s horrible, my cat is only 8 weeks old and whenever I come downstairs I only see the mark where the poop was before it was eaten. I don’t know what to do about it, I tryed swapping his food for a better quality one.
hi, can someone please help? my dog is now 1 and a half she has been eating poop since she was eight months ive always try to train her not to but nothing works shes an outside dog now ( i really dont think that helps ) and cant come inside until she stops please help!
Hello Patricia,
Yeah definitely let us know how things go with your puppy. Each dog is different so it is always great to share dog experiences and learn from each other.
Big hugs to your new puppy.
MY PUPPY IS 4 MNTHS OLD AND HAS EATEN HER OWN POO SINCE WE GOT HER AT 9 WKS I FOLLOW HER AS SOON SHE LEAVES THE ROOM AS SHE IS NOT COMPLETELY HOUSE TRAINED YET BUT MOST OF THE TIME SHE IS TO QUICK FOR ME, I AM GOING TO TRY ALL THESE IDEAS AND IF ANY WORK I WILL LET YOU KNOW.
I got a boxer pup about a month ago, and he is now 3 months old. In the past week, I believe he has eaten his poop 3 times now. He does it while I am at work during the day and he is in his crate. Awesome hub shibashake. Not only did I read the hub, but also comments and your responses. I definitely learned a couple new techniques. The meat tenderizer is one I wasnt aware of, so is the canned pumpkin. I will give them a shot. I make sure he poos everynight before bed, and every morning before I go to work. I really dont know what hes pooping out. Thanks for all the great info!
I wrote before telling you how I used a spray to spray on the poop and our dog left it alone because she didn’t like the taste. You can also use Vinegar mixed with water for the bitter taste. Another thing we found was that we give a lot of praises when we find poop on her pads (she is an indoor dog). She loves the praises. That will inforced her to leave it there. Hope this helps.
Thanks very much for your answere. I think I will try other training methods first. I am giving him positive reinforcemnt for leaving his poop alone. He will wait and go back for it later….and lick the ground where it was.Thanks again, Karen
Hello Karen,
I found out that they are more commonly called scat pads. When stepped on, these pads either emit a sound or some can deliver an electric shock to the dog.
I would only use it on sound mode because shock aversion training is risky and studies show that they can result in increased aggression.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-shock-collar-good-ba
Scat pads are used to keep dogs away from certain areas – e.g. kitchen counters, trash, etc. With poop eating, you can set them up around a test poop area, and when dog steps on the pad to get to the poop, the sound will startle him. This will hopefully discourage him from going back for more.
Of course while doing this you must also make sure that there are no other piles of poop around. Also, some dogs may not be affected by sound aversion.
What are sound aversion pads & where do you buy them?
Hello Stephanie,
The two things that worked well for my Siberian -
1. Clean up poop often. In the beginning when I was starting to train her not to eat poop, I made sure to do more poop picking runs so that there is no temptation for her. Nowadays, I don’t need to do it as often because she has learned that she is not supposed to eat the stuff.
2. Consequences to eating poop. This is tougher because you must catch them in the act, and Mocha has figured out that he can do it as long as you are not watching. There are several possibilities. With my Sibe puppy, she usually was more interested in cat poop or outside poop, and I was always around to supervise, so after I ended the walk a few times, she stopped eating the stuff.
You just need to catch them red handed a few times, then they realize they can’t get away with it – and you are watching even when they think you are not
Another possibility is to use sound aversion methods in the form of pressure pads that emit sound when stepped on.
I have a 9 month old puppy (Mocha) who started eating my other dog Bella’s poop. Mocha has been doing this off and on for about 3 months. I thought it was because I was feeding Bella a different type of food. I started feeding them the same food but it didn’t work. Mocha won’t eat poop in front of me, she’ll look back to see if I’m watching and then walk away. Then last night I discovered she started night snacking. She gets walked everyday, she has toys, I play with her, I’ve done leave it with the poo, I switched her food, I brush her teeth right after she eats it, nothing is working. To top it off, she is a huge face licker. Please help.
I, too, have been struggling with this for a full year but recently found a solution by changing the diet of my dog, adding canned food to her regular dinner. It makes the poop too soft. She can no longer pick it up and has lost interest in this activity. I plan to keep her on this diet for months and phase it out slowly to see if she is really cured. If not, we’ll just keep with the canned food.
My dog Bella is a dog that is paper trained and I could occasionally find that she ate her own poop. I tried meat tenderizer and the products you can buy to put on their food to stop it. Nothing seems to work. Then I decided to leave the poop on the paper and spray it with Bitter Apple, the same product you spray on shoes or furniture so a dog doesn’t chew. It Worked! When she went to eat her poop she found out she didn’t like it and we never had a problem again. Hope it works for you too.
My dog never eats her poop outdoors. She only eats it when she is unsupervised or inside our home. I have given her tablets that help for a while and then, she goes right back to it. HELP ME! This is a disgusting habit!
my dog is eating her own poop she dosnt want to eat her proper meal but i dont have a problem with her eatin treats.how d i learn her to eat he meal from her bowl without me feeding her with a fork. please help
how do i stop it
Hello cheryle,
A vet can probably give you the best answer.
As far as I know, only a cat with worms can pass them on in his stool. One thing you can do is take your cat’s stool to your vet and have it examined, and if it is clear, then you have medical proof that the dog got it from somewhere else.
This article explains the different types of worms and how dogs can get infected -
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/396750/ho
my neighbor claims his dog eats my cat’s poop and has gotten worms from it – i know my cats do not have worms – is it possible for the dog to get worms from a clean cat? somebody please answer as this neighbor has had 3 of my 5 cats taken to the pound
wow…. i just looked up poo and this i find… i never knew dogs would eat poo. i’ve never seen it (thank god) i don’t really want to either.
My Jack Russell does it too!!!! Good Hub!
Hello Caron,
Poop from any animal may cause digestive and other issues in dogs depending on the health of the animal that pooped. That is why it is generally best to break a dog of the habit of poop eating.
It is probably best to consult with your vet if you dog is vomiting and not feeling well. Hugs to Yorkie and hope he feels better soon.
Can eating bird poop make a small yorkie vomit and become generally unwell
I was just in the garden when a friend walked in with his two dogs. One of them just ate dog poo and cat poo in the garden. It made me feel sick aha. I’ll have to send him to this page for tips. Thank you in particular for the how to on the ‘leave-it’ command.
Hello Hopps,
Eating poop is natural behavior for dogs, so it is necessary for us to teach them that not eating poop is a more rewarding behavior.
For my Siberian Husky – supervision and consistency were key to breaking her poop eating habit. I was always there to supervise and made sure she didn’t eat the stuff. She would get rewarded for not eating poop, and if she did eat poop she would be marched straight home or brought right into the house. She likes being outside – especially for walks – so that is a big downer for her and is very effective at stopping the poop eating habit.
If you cannot supervise, consider only letting one dog out at a time, and picking up the poop before letting the other dog out. In this way, the puppy will not be practicing the behavior and it will not become a habit.
OK anyone ever heard of a dog eating another dogs poop as the other dog is pooping. Caught the puppy on more then one occasion trying to eat our other female adult dogs poop as it comes out. If we are out there the puppy knows the leave it command and is obedient but the problem is we are not always out there with them when we let them out. They are not outside dogs and are usually only out for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. I realized though that this has to be the reason the puppy comes in smelling like poop in her face. It is really gross, not to mention unhealthy for the dogs! Any suggestions?!
Has anyone tried the suggestions of feeding some pumpkin or a little MSG which is supposed to make the poop UN attractive smelling?
I have 2 English Cockers. One is on chemo drugs (doing well) but, the other has started to eat the chemo-dog poop.
I got the pills from the pet store and am feeding them to the chemo dog – hoping his poop will no longer be attractive. No real change yet.
Also…the dog that is eating the poop THEN goes and eats a pinecone. Since it’s winter, and no grass, I think he’s doing that to make himself throw up – - which he does. It’s a real cycle…eat brother’s poop, eat pinecone, throw up.
“So the older daughter will now be taking him out each day”
That sounds like a really good plan. Walking and playing are also great ways to bond with the dog.
Interactive food toys are also very helpful in keeping my dogs engaged. I don’t give them any food in a bowl, instead, I put all their food in toys so they have to work for it
And a big Kudos to you for helping Bexx out and supporting our troops at the same time! Woof! Woof!
Our purebred German Shepherd Bexx has started to be a poo eater. He gets a very nutritious kibble made for large breed adult dogs, so my feelings are it’s stress-related. He recently became our boy when his previous owner was shipped out to Afghanistan & wanted to place him with a good home (that’s us!) We love him to death, but the poop thing is definitely gross. And it isn’t just his own…he chooses one out of the catbox if he gets there before I can scoop it as if he’s selecting a sausage (ugh). We think it is probably likely a combination of seperation anxiety and need for more stimulation. My husband and I take care of his walkies to do his business (and police the eating!) but we have recently told our 18 year old daughter that she wanted him too and has to step up. Our 11 year old goes down after dinner (he sleeps downstairs with my husband & I) faithfully to play with him. But he’s a big boy and he only just turned 2….he has a LOT of energy, and I think he needs more stimulation and exercise. So the older daughter will now be taking him out each day (Unless it’s really horrible weather) for 30 minutes to an hour….not to toilet him but to PLAY with him. We’ll keep you posted on how it turns out!
Hi okdb,
“I was told the other day by another dog owner that one shouldn’t clean up poo or pee in front of the dog”
That is indeed very good advice. When accidents happened during potty training, I would lead my dog out to the backyard, and then come back inside to clean up the stuff.
One very important thing during potty training is to reward the dog for doing the right thing. When they make mistakes in the house, I would calmly non-mark them (ack-ack) then take them outside.
When they go outside, I praise them very well and reward them with treats and a fun game. In this way they learn that it is going *inside the house* that is undesirable and that pooping outside is fine and a very good and rewarding thing.
http://www.shibashake.com/dog-obedience/puppy-pott
Thanks for dropping by. Your dog sounds adorable and I am sure she will quickly learn what to do
My English Cocker Spaniel puppy (now 3 1/2 months old) tends to be a pooper scooper herself ;-((
It has happened that I scold her (not too much to traumatize her forever..!) so may be she’s cleaning up the evidence. I was told the other day by another dog owner that one shouldn’t clean up poo or pee in front of the dog, as they may consider this luxury to be able to do their thing and then have it cleaned up after them; or because they think they need to do the same if you’re not around.
I have 2 kids, but having a puppy defintely has its challenges as well! We love our little Rusty girl and we persevere so that she won’t be a pooper and a poop eater her whole life!!
Good luck to all and have fun with your dog!
“I am just always amazed at how people who claim to be avid dog lovers do not have any respect for other people, their property and their dogs…I mean…really…isn’t this really what the bottom line is”
Agree with you 100%. People are just lazy and will try to get away with whatever they can get away with. I know there are some people who will only pick-up if they see other people around. One time someone told me that they usually take their dogs behind cars and such to poop so that they don’t have to pick up afterwards.
“I walk him 3-5 times a day so they see us a LOT and some think “Well it has to be him, I see him all the time.”"
You know, I bet many of my neighbors think the same thing about me – lol. One time I just moved off the sidewalk to make way for this lady who was coming at me with 2 small kids, and a baby in a stroller. She started shouting at me for moving into her lawn. Jeez. I calmly explained to her that I was making way for her and she apologized to me afterwards.
It is really too bad with these poop fiends. They give everyone with dogs a bad name.
Yeah, I mean when I saw (well when Wally found) that poop near the playground equipment, that was like “WTF?” Why would anyone even let their dog GO there? I call Wally off places I don’t want him to poop even off-leash. Goodness.
And the trash can was, literally, a foot away from where it was left.
I found some trash (also by the playground *sigh*) to pick up the poop with. Wally was sniffing it like he knew it was about to be thrown out. It was like “let me at least sniff what it could have tasted like”. So I let him get a good sniff and then threw it out.
Of course, as much I can understand the angst over left-behind poop, it’s causing Wally and I problems because they assume it was Wally. I walk him 3-5 times a day so they see us a LOT and some think “Well it has to be him, I see him all the time.” I almost made a sign to put around him saying “I don’t know what poop you’re talking about, but it wasn’t me! My master picks up my poop!)
Wally even got injured once because I was training him to jump over a log and some guy basically assaulted me with “evidence” of my dog pooping and leaving it behind. It was some big nasty pile that a 10 lb dog can’t possibly make. I was so mad I picked Wally up, show the guy his butt and said “You tell me. Could something that big and huge come out of a butt this little?” The guy slinked off in shame.
So yeah, the cameras would be great.
I love the camera idea. Most of the people in my neighborhood are avid bag carriers. Makes me proud. We don’t have a lot of rule breakers here. It is just in the places where my girls can stretch their legs and run free. I guess every good things comes with a price. Maybe I should just start snapping people’s pics at the park and posting, there. Caption: “Step in something?? Let this person know how you feel about that!” or maybe “Things piling up around here? Thank this person!” Perhaps I have become just a little too obsessed with this issue. What can I say…I guess I am just always amazed at how people who claim to be avid dog lovers do not have any respect for other people, their property and their dogs…I mean…really…isn’t this really what the bottom line is.
“I was toying with the idea of placing some wireless cameras outside my house to detect who these people are. Then I will just post their pictures up in the neighborhood – lol. A few posters and I think people will shape up really quickly
”
Especially if you put POOP FIEND as the title on the top, their picture and the “evidence” in the middle and on the bottom say:
Beware, if you see this POOP FIEND approach with his (or her as the case may be) dog or dogs, watch where you step or better yet, shoo them along to the next neighborhood.
Heck, create a website. There’s a “registry” for everything else – you could create a poop fiend registry. Could turn into a nationwide database of poop leaving fiends.
Could call it “shibahatespoop.com” or “shibapoopfiends.com”
And since you’ll have a camera – you could even post vids of the fiends caught in the act.
@QSuz -
“I did put my comments about people cleaning up after their dogs at the park in the paper.”
I think that is a great positive step!
People are just bad about pickup – even in my neighborhood, people leave it all over the place. Sometimes there is a whole trail on the sidewalk – UGH!
I was toying with the idea of placing some wireless cameras outside my house to detect who these people are. Then I will just post their pictures up in the neighborhood – lol. A few posters and I think people will shape up really quickly
“Ellie will not win this poop war!!”
LOL – I’m putting my money on you
@kb -
Can I search “shibashake” on the automagical googling device”
“Since I can’t dig holes – I make crazy comments. ” LOL! Yeah I am not much into digging holes either.
“Anyway, I’d like to see your site when it’s spruced
LOL you are too funny! Actually I am doing mostly backend functionality stuff so there won’t be much visible interface changes.
Things I am working on – (1) Comment areas for my articles (just finished YAY!) (2) Transfer my HubPages comments over when I move my articles – (starting work), and (3) Some polling capabilities. It is a fun programming project and will give me lots of new things to write about as well as keep me away from digging holes
Sorry I took offense. Your comment was something my sister would post late at night when she cannot sleep, and wants to mess with someone!! I spent a lot of money on training for my cocker..obedience and agility. She minds pretty well…when she wants to. Ellie is just playful. If she grabs a “jewel”, it becomes a game of keep away. I am determined…I will perservere!! Ellie will not win this poop war!! I did put my comments about people cleaning up after their dogs at the park in the paper. We will see what happens. I am sure that most will take the “take what you want and leave the rest” approach, and turn on their selective listening skills. What can I say….we are flawed, at best. Have a blessed day!!
LOL well I’m like a dog who’s bored. I’ve gotta get into something!
Since I can’t dig holes – I make crazy comments.
Can I search “shibashake” on the automagical googling device, or will that just show me 1000 pictures of Shiba Inus? 
I was laughing (thank goodness no one was around) earlier because Wally stopped in his tracks, sniffed around, and found some poop that was buried under some wood chips (they are brand new so it’s probably a beacon for every dog to claim the “new territory” that just appeared.) Thing is, it’s under playground equipment. I praised him for finding it, then told him leave it – praised him for running like 8 feet from it (dramatic dog, I tell you he’s a diva LOL) and picked it up.
I gave it one more try with the latest EADT – but I think I just got my confirmation. Pretty much a token pat on the head and be on your way now doggie!
Fewest visits yet – just now in double digits so…yeah. I read that hub you wrote on the hub challenge.
Anyway, I’d like to see your site when it’s spruced
Speaking of which, there was a stray one a few days ago. Took everything in my power not to pick her up and take her. So adorable
lol KB – you are such a trouble maker
Actually I like that poop training. I have been thinking of teaching that to my Shiba. He is a very clean dog and never shows any interest in eating dog poop, but sometimes he will sniff out my other dog’s poop in the backyard which helps me significantly in the collection department. He is very lazy though, so he will only do it very occasionally.
This also reminds me of the training they do with drug sniffing dogs. Would be a fun training exercise!
Glad to see you are back KB. I am actually going to reduce my HP time in the coming weeks. Going to spruce up my home website and start moving my articles over. I am more than a bit peeved over the whole second Hub Challenge thing :-/ But it has taught me some really important lessons.
Hello QSuz -
If you have some time, check out some of his dog articles – they contain a lot of good information, are funny, and really shows a lot of heart 
“I guess most do not appreciate what a gift a nice off leash park is.”
Yeah I agree. Most won’t realize it until it is gone. Sadly it is human nature to be need driven and to ignore all the rest. That is why most of the time the only training that most dog owners are willing to do is potty training
Btw. KB was just kidding. He is a silly fellow but he knows a lot about dogs
Heh – well if you mean my comment – I hardly think I’m NOT a serious dog lover.
In fact – if I had the poop in a box, I’d lay it around, then train Wally to “leave it!” about 100 times – like I did with food off the kitchen floor.
It was a joke on how I could get consistency with training the leave it behavior with poop.
And he actually does find it. He’ll be sniffing around and come up on it. Of course, I don’t let him eat it, but I’d like him to not even TRY to eat it. Just bark at it or something.
Shiba..Ignorning the last comment. That is really disgusting. Sure this person is just not a serious dog lover! I know I have talked to other dog owners about holding people accountable for their clean up and it seems to be catching on. I do intend to put an editorial in the paper…we are a very small town and have 3 off-leash dog parks that are county owned in close proximity. People do not realize what a gift it is to have access to these. All they ask is that 1.) Your dogs shots are current 2.) You pay the $20 annual membership fee (for bags and such) and 3.) You clean up after your dog. I worry that the owners that do not follow #3 are surely not following 1&2. It is on the honor system, so it becomes the members responsibility to be the police. It is hard, because the park is all about the dogs…but have to reinforce their dogs are NOT safe with ill-maintained pets. I guess most do not appreciate what a gift a nice off leash park is.
I found an advantage to Wally’s poop fetish.
He finds it so I can avoid stepping on it. So at least I don’t have a “surprise” stuck to my shoe. Last time that happened, he kept sniffing my shoes the whole time.
Maybe I can make this his “job” – some dogs hunt game or flush out birds. Mine gets to be a poop stalker. Er…yeah.
Suppose it would be possible, but again, it’s the every-once-in-a-while that really hurts.
You ever find a poop-laden field? Maybe I should ask for people to leave their poop in a box so I can collect it. I imagine THAT would get some strange looks LOL
“Maybe Ellie is just trying to assist with the clean up.”
When mother wolves are nursing their young in the den they will often eat up feces and such from their young to keep their den clean. Mother dogs will do that too if they need to.
Actually there may be a lot of truth in that
You should recruit other dog owners to help do poop patrol. If you can get official like looking t-shirts, you can probably scare people into picking up after their dogs.
There was this one park that I went to that had a team of volunteers doing this and it was an extremely clean park. Whenever people saw their bright-yellow shirts around, they would get a lot more diligent about picking up dog poop – lol.
Thanks, Shibashake. I have 2 dogs…Ellie and Sadie…They are great! Ellie is the only one with this issue. And they LOVE the off leash parks because they get to “play” with other friends. It’s a win-win…except for the poop thing. It is sad, too, because the county parks here supply all the clean up bags. People just don’t get it. Maybe Ellie is just trying to assist with the clean up. BLEH!
Hello QSuz,
Fingers crossed.
“Too bad people don’t just follow the rules and clean up after their dog!!”
I really agree with you there. I used to take my dogs to enclosed parks as well, and many people there were the same way. They would also get angry at me when I tried to tell them that their dog just pooped :-/
Nowadays I just go to the larger hiking parks. There is still poop there but it is easier to avoid because there is a lower density of dogs.
When I walk Shania in the neighborhood – she will sometimes try to sneak a few poops in when she thinks I am not looking – so I started watching her like a hawk and every time she did, I just walked her quickly home, while ignoring her. She has been poop free for a couple of months now
Hugs and kisses to Ellie.
Ellie ( 2yr old rat terrier (terror) loves other dogs poop!! It is her most disgusting habit. I have tried the rx meds, given to both my dogs, but it didn’t turn her off at all. Have tried pineapple, pumpkin, meat tenderizer, hot sauce….nothing helps. Just have to be meticulous about the yard. I love to take them to dog parks, but hate that other people do not pick up after their dogs. I spend most of my time there chasing Ellie. I have been dubbed “the poop police”. Too bad people don’t just follow the rules and clean up after their dog!!
lol kb – that is a good point.
I just go early in the morning so that there aren’t too many other dogs around.
You could take him to some hiking dog parks. There is usually a lot of poop around, in the ones that I go to
My dogs don’t really like dog poop – cat poop on the other hand they love. Also goat, horse, and of course bird.
lol – so many bad habits, and yet we love them
Wally is wierd. He won’t eat his own poop. He hardly gives it another sniff (he kinda “points” at it like he’s saying – Here it is!)
But another dog’s poop? Just tonight I had to get him off another dogs poop. The “fresher” it is, the more attracting it is to him, and it smelled…”fresh”.
I almost wish I could walk through a poop-laden field and then I’d have opportunities to really train him off it. But when we stumble across it once in a while – it’s hard to get consistency. It would be MUCH easier if it were his own poop that interested him.
Hi Diann, Poop eating can easily become a habit if a dog gets to do it without any human supervision. That may have been the case at her breeder’s place. It is however, always possible to break a dog of a habit, but that will take more time and repetition. Because it is now an ingrained habit, it is very important to supervise her at all times, similar to potty training time. Consider leaving a drag-lead on her (using only a flat collar) so that you can more easily control her and stop her from eating her own poop. Alternatively, you can just attach a lead when you take her out for potty runs.
Just like potty training, I would take her out when she needs to do her business, wait until she does it, praise her for doing it, and then praise and treat her for doing successful leave-it commands. Make sure you are holding the lead so that you can stop her from eating the poop if need be. When you cannot supervise, then crate her.
You can also do leave-it command training sessions by carefully setting up the environment. Put a lead on her and walk her to some poop which you have placed as bait. When you get close, give her the leave-it command. Treat and praise as soon as she leaves it on her own (i.e. she turns away from the poop on her own). This is important because if you pull her away, she will not understand what she is getting treated for and what behavior you want from her. As she gets better at this you can let her get closer and closer to the poop. Use very high priority treats, especially initially. Only give her those special treats doing leave-it training sessions.
During the training period, it is important to prevent her from eating any poop so that she does not continue practicing the habit. If you are consistent, she will learn that poop eating is an undesirable behavior, and not doing it gets her better stuff.
my coco oh how I love her’ but”’ I don’t know how to make her stop eating poo”’ I have two other yorkie’s females, and one boxer, female,,, then came my coco’, from the breeders home is were I feel she picked up this yuk habbit”’ my other sweetie pies do not do this’ I have tryed all the obove way’s, but nothing has helped. does any one have any tip’s?,,,
lol – my pups love cat and grass flavored poop. I am trying to break them of that habit. I usually let them smell, but when it looks like the are a bit too interested, I tell them to “leave it”. Most of the time they are pretty good; but sometimes they will try to sneak one in. I end the walk and march them home when they do that.
Thanks for dropping by Rochelle.
We live in a rural area. Lots of people walk their dogs along the country roads. My pup is interested in sampling cat– or other critter poop. She pees on other dog’s poop, and ignores her own.
That is really interesting. Was the margarine used to enhance the taste of her food? or did it contain something to help with stress and digestion? I briefly looked up margarine and it seems that the fatty acids may help to carry certain vitamins. Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing.
My dog did this as a puppy (her own poop) – the vet said that it was stress-related as she adapted to her new home. He prescribed a small dollop of margerine with her meals for a coule of weeks. Somehow that worked. She’s never eaten it since and she’s now 12.
Good advice here.