Eating other dogs poo - help!

[Chocolate_Monty]

Hi guys, really need some advice!

My 2 year old Labrador has a hideous habit of eating other dogs poo when we're out on a walk! He's done this since we got him as a young pup, but when we moved house last summer stopped completely. I put this down to new smells and surroundings and thought we'd cracked it. But... about 6 months on and he's started up again!

He knows it's wrong, sometimes I think he does it out of sheer devilment (looks to see if you're watching while he goes to pick it up) and as soon as you say AH! DROP IT! he does instantly and runs about happy as larry. I dont know how to get a step ahead of the situation and stop him from searching it out in the first place!

He's fed in the morning (Pedigree complete dry food) so there's no reason he's hungry. He's walked minimum twice a day and let out regularly as i'm at home all day. He is a typical Lab in that he lives by the stomach so will eat anything, but poo??!!

I've resorted to walking him on a long line at the moment to control the situation and then i can intervene when I see him go for anything. Previously he would be walked off the lead (we live on the edge of the countryside so open fields/woodland) but the nose would go into overdrive while he sniffed out something to scoff. He has been known to eat his own as well if he's been caught short in the garden, but not every time so no pattern there...

Any ideas??? I read a lot about dogs eating their own, or other dog-mates in the house or garden but not complete strangers poo?!

Health wise its never made him too ill, sometimes the odd bout of diarrhoea but in general he's in tip top health. Cant be good though...

Thanks!

[tinytwo]

Well, I would suggest, for the time being, that you don't walk him off lead. Right now, I think it's more important to control what he's eating on his walks.

Second, Pedigree isn't the best of foods, maybe he's missing something in the nutrition department, and is trying to get it by eating poop.

Third, what did you do when he had indoor accidents? Were you upset when he pooped inside? If so, he may have gotten the idea that you get upset or angry when you see dog poop, so he's taking care of it for you by eating it.....

[emmabeth]

A lot of dogs produce poo that, due to the dog food they eat, still tastes pretty good (to a dog!) second time around, usually this is low quality foods like Pedigree.

I would put him on a MUCH better food to start off with, if you want a dry food I personally like Orijen and Taste of the Wild and they are well worth the price (though it doesnt work out quite as expensive as you may think as you will feed less of it than you would of something like Pedigree!).

The next thing is, of all the things he does or does not know, he DEFINITELY does not know it is 'wrong' to eat poop - he quite possibly does know that it will get your attention and result in a fantastic game of chase-the-labrador however so that is something to bear in mind, ie, prevent his access and if he DOES get poo, ignore him, walk the other way instead of rewarding him wtih your undivided attention and excitement.

[Chocolate_Monty]

Thank you for your replies!

No issues house training when he was a puppy, no scolding or anything that should make him think he needs to clean up. He was taken from the litter earlier than I think he should of (stupidly took the advice of the breeder that he was ready just because he was weaned, in retrospect he was too immature and didnt socialise long enough with litter-mates, but that's another story) so perhaps hadnt learnt enough from mum on eating/cleaning lessons, I dont know...

He's very random with this. Just had a great old romp in the field beside our house and he didnt do anything untoward. Picked up something once, took one look at me to see if I was looking and dropped it himself! Again, its not every poo he comes across, just certain ones which makes me agree that some are just undigested food and smell too much like the real thing.

Regards Pedigree Complete he had a pretty varied diet with vegetables and left over meat included... But I take on board it's maybe not the best food for him so will try something different and see what results we get.

Thanks again!

[daisie]

My pup Daisie (she is now 7months) used to eat her pooh and anything else she could find when we went for walks. I taught her the 'leave it' command and will now leave anything alone when I issue the command. Maybe you could incorporate that command along with the change of food.

[Chocolate_Monty]

Thanks Daisy, yeah he too was terrible when he was younger for picking up EVERYTHING (dead rabbits etc, yuck) and it was a complete game for him.

Now he completely understands 'leave it' and does so (whether it be toys, food or poo!) but sometimes I just dont see it quick enough to say the command. If I'm not watching him like a hawk he's munching!

Since putting this post out, I've had a brainwave and been giving him a couple of biscuits before going out. Seems to beat the need to snack on horrible things if he's not hungry! Time will tell...

[Stormpants]

Apart from changing his food to a better quality one. I'd also think he may be less inclined to eat poo if you fed him twice a day instead of just once. Twenty four hours is a long time to go without food each time, especially for a Lab.

I think the biscuit idea is good, but I still think most dogs do better having two meals a day instead of one.

[Beckyyy]

Just to add to what's already been said, don't forget to worm him regularly if he's eating anyone else's poo.

[hellogoodfriiend]

When Spencer had this problem of eating his own, we gave him a little bit of pineapple and he stopped! It has something to do with the acidity that turns him away. Actually learned this from Victoria on an early episode! Hope this could help somewhat (:

[Maz]

There really shouldn't be much around! Why do the owners not pick it up and bin it??? I'm quite disgusted at the amount of poos when I walk round our village - big dollups suggesting poor quality food left on the pavements - YUCK!

[hellogoodfriiend]

There really shouldn't be much around! Why do the owners not pick it up and bin it??? I'm quite disgusted at the amount of poos when I walk round our village - big dollups suggesting poor quality food left on the pavements - YUCK!

that is such a good point!!! i see that here all the time...people need to pick up after their dogs!