I swear I feed him...

[Cashs Mummy]

Our 3 month old boxer eats his own poop. If he goes out side and we pick it up right away, he licks the ground. (even rips out chunck of grass to get every last drop) Or if we turn our heads for too many seconds and he poops inside he quickly eats the evidence. We have treats on hand to give when he does his business outside and he anxiously awaits them after he relieves himself but he'd much rather eat his own business, rather then a treat when he does #2.

We went online and even asked the vet, who both mentioned that maybe he's hungry? We free feed our puppy and he has access to food all the time. This was the suggestion of the breeder so we just went with it. My husband can't handle it, although he had the same issues with our daughters diapers (she, of course, didn't EAT the poop but he still gagged even at the thought of diaper duty)

It's not making him sick, which was the vet's concern and we can't seem to get him to stop.

Hoping that someone here has experienced this and can reassure me it will pass or can offer a suggestion as to what to do to curb this behaviour. We will be starting obedience classes early December and I hope that helps. He's learning "leave it" since I say it every time he poops but he still devours down if we don't get to it in time...

 

[CoraBoxer]

I don't free feed and would never do that so I don't know.. but is there no way you could go out with him, maybe even leash him and make sure he doesn't eat the poop, and bag it right away? Set him up into a routine of NOT eating it.

My Cora had a very brief period of trying to do this during her first winter when they would freeze. She also had a period when she would eat rabbit poop (which vet said wouldn't harm her... except that it wasn't something I wanted.. the smell from her mouth). Both times she 'grew' out of it but we made sure to be outside with her so that she didn't regress.

 

[DebbieJen]

We bought a medicine online specifically used for dogs who eat their feces. Layla stopped after about a week of doing it. There is a specific name for it but I don't recall what it is.

You can call your local pet store and they should have the medicine to give your pup.

 

[Gilbert]

I think i read somewhere that pineapple was the remedy for this.

 

[sargboxerluv]

As someone else suggested, there is a pill that can be used. But beware, it can give your pup the squirts. My coworker used it and 2 of her 3 dogs stomachs were rolling with the worst gas ever and then started leaving even worse presents all over the house. (she has 3 puppy mill dogs)

Maybe there is something lacking in his diet? Not that he needs more food, but some kind of vitamin or supplement. Maybe you could try a different brand of food.

I have read that if owners make a big deal out of going in the house the dog learns that the sight of the poop is what makes you mad and they eat it so you don't see it. As opposed to learning that you want them to go outside. Even if you don't yell and scream or hit them, your body language speaks that you are angry to them, and some dogs are affected by your emotions than others. If you think this could be the case, you will really need to be careful when you find piles in the house.

You could try taking the piles in your house outside, show him the pile and have a praising party and then just take him back inside. So he will see it there, not be able to get it, and then be taken away with it still there. So maybe he would associate poop outside and not eaten is a good thing.

 

[brodieboxer]

What are you feeding your puppy?

 

[TyTysmom]

Tyson had a couple of weeks where he was eating his poop. We went the pineapple route and it worked great. Good Luck!

 

[LennoxBxrLvr]

This used to happen when your little guy was about 5 months old. I read about the pineapple in the dog food and it worked wonders. I also read that you could immediately spray the poop with bitter apple and it did the trick too. I prefer to not have to followafter him and spary bitter apple on poop so I went with the pineapple route. It worked immediately following his next poop! He hasn't really had an issue since. I did it for a week straight and haven't done it since.

 

[kcttiger]

For Bid

Just saw the vet with our 9 month old, STILL eating his poop. I have tried pineapple and pumpkin. Evidently they do not change the taste just the texture. It didnt work.

The vet gave us pakets of "For Bid", it is a powder of vegtable protein that a no taste when eating it, but makes the poop taste bad. We have been using it a few days now, too early to tell. You only have to use it about 5 days to break the habit, then reuse if needed.

 

[alishabarber]

could be your food....

What kind of food are you feeding him??? Sometimes you need to change his food cause he may not be getting the nutrition he needs from it which is why he is going for his poop....