bit disgusting, sorry .....

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Vanner

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My German Shepherd bitch has recently started eating her own poo! If I don't pick it up quickly she will eat it all up and lick her lips afterwards!

It first started happening just in the garden, but now I have had to reprimand her because she has started to do it when out on walks and has moved on to eating my Labrador's poo too!!

disgusting ... opinions as to why she is doing it
 
I have been afflicted with a poo eating dog too - he eats his own, really only in the house as if he is trying to cover up the fact he has done it but occasionally he has been caught eating mystery poo on walks too. I had originally been told it was an issue with his food and he wasn't digesting it properly so like a rabbit he would eat it twice. I have since changed his food to a much higher quality food and he still does it. To be honest I am now just starting to think he's just a bit disgusting especially as every now and again he will leap in to your lap and lick your cheek (YUK!!!!!) He is however a VERY greedy little dog and will eat anything he can find so maybe for him poo is just another food source :mad:
 
Sometimes there is no reason, nice warm pooh is just lovely :p(what crap smiles humphhhhh) maybe try RAW as it equalsles tasty wase to consume (or try wate pistol when she is gulping it down as a negative associton) or pour chilli on it, is he/she a good eater, eat all their food?
 
I'm not entirely sure on this but I heard it's about nutrients? I could be totally wrong but I remember asking my aunt when i was little why her dog ate the sheep poo(she lives on a farm and it's quite common for the working dogs to eat sheep droppings) and she said something about the whole making up for lost vitamins although she does discourage the dog for doing it.
My labradoodle likes to munch on cat poo which smells so bad, it also gets stuck on her beard. :(
To be quite honest I think it's just because they think it's tasty and it tells them more about the animals in their territory.

Even though I'm justifying it, it is still gross.
 
What age is she and what do you feed her?

Reprimand/check/correct her BEFORE she eats the poo. If you scold her afterwards she has already rewarded herself and will just get sneaky and snaffle it before you can get to her. Keep a line on her where she is likely do to it (if she is off lead you have no way of correcting her) and when she comes away from the poo reward her.
 
she is nearly 7, and I don't reprimand her afterwards as the deed is always done. If I catch her at it, I "growl" at her and send her away to her bed to think about it and clear away whatever is left.

She is fed on a mix of Chappie wet food and Wagg complete. I don't play around with her diet at all as, typical GSD, it goes through her like a dose of salts!!
 
Please check Wagg ingredients, they contain BHA/BHT, known carcinogens. Think about a change which may stop her eating her own poo.
 
Pineapple definitely helps stop dogs eating their own pooh, so worth a try! My Lab has started eating other dogs pooh, so if I can't keep her focussed by throwing a ball, I now muzzle her on a walk...or keep her on a lead.
 
Our Spin used to eat our other dogs poo when we first had her, stopped when we changed her onto a raw diet, so I guess she was missing something in her diet, she had been on JWB.
 
Huge number of factors come into it. Has she been poorly recently? Some dogs start doing it if they lack nutrients.

How long has she been on her diet? Has it changed recently? I'm not a big fan of Wagg either and would consider changing it. Don't feel you need to give her meat either. If her diet is good quality she shouldn't need Chappie on top, unless she's a fussy eater!

Do you leave poo lying around? I would suggest cleaning it up straight away so there's no temptation. HOWEVER if you clear it up, make sure you do it without her seeing it. Some dogs see their owners do it and feel the need to clean up after themselves. Once she's done her business, call her away, put her in the house then clear it up.

Has there been any changes in routine? Any changes in the home? Bright breeds are sensitive and this could trigger it.

Otherwise have you socialised with anyone that has a dog that is copraphagic? Some argue it's a learnt behaviour.

We deal with poo eating at work. Apart from feeding pineapple you can also try low fat yoghurt.
 
Was once watching a programme on dogs on TV and they said that some dogs eat their own poo due to lack of potassium.Apparently this can be remedied by giving the dog banana, don't know if it works.But worth a try?
 
Echo24 said:
HOWEVER if you clear it up, make sure you do it without her seeing it. Some dogs see their owners do it and feel the need to clean up after themselves. Once she's done her business, call her away, put her in the house then clear it up.
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I'm not sure if it was you who said this on here a while ago, but I'll repeat, none of my dogs over many years of watching me clean up around them, have ever eaten their own poo, much less managed to pick a shovel and put it in a bucket :p
 
CaveCanem said:
I'm not sure if it was you who said this on here a while ago, but I'll repeat, none of my dogs over many years of watching me clean up around them, have ever eaten their own poo, much less managed to pick a shovel and put it in a bucket :p
Click to expand...

One of ours will come and whine to tell us if theres a mess needing picked up - we let them potter in and out as they choose in this weather. She brought us a plastic bag once, but that was sadly just her finding rubbish that had blown into the garden!

Red and white pup eats poo, so he gets watched like a hawk. He knows leave it now, for a while I had to use a basket muzzle on walks though. And of course, he always wants to lick you afterwards!
 
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