Dog eats poop

My 1 year old Golden retriever has started something new she eats poop
She is spoiled rotten and is like or kid.
I do not know if she eats her own or our other dogs but it is nasty.We have gotten on to her and she is a real smart dog.
Any thoughts on what is going on?Is she missing something in her diet?
She might be upset because we keep them inside because it is very cold and she likes to run and chase the ball when it is warm.

 

Dogs do disgusting things. This is one of them. I suggest a pooper scooper.

So long as she eats a diet of major brand dog food, her diet should be complete.

By the way, take her out to play. The cold weather won't hurt her. If it is icy where you live, watch her feet for lacerations. She will need plenty of water in the cold.

Inactivity causes boredom in dogs. Boredom, in turn, causes behavior problems.

Hope this helps.

 

Ok thanks yes she gets good food and I will have the wife go out in the cold with a pooper scooper.
I am thinking it might be a temporary thing.Our other dog a Beagle hates going outside in the cold I guess because she has short hair.
Thanks for your input and I sure wish this cold snap would go away.

 

My Australian Shepherds love to play in the cold weather. They normally spend the day outdoors, so they are used to the weather. Even if yours is a housedog, vigourous exercise is good. A young dog benefits greatly from exercise. I was told once that a tired dog is a good dog. I believe it.

 

I've witnessed dogs all throughout my life eating the big #2. Almost all mother dogs eat their babies #2. Our dog as healthy as can be and very happy, if we let her in the basement without 1st scooping out any #2's from the litter box that's the 1st place she goes and will eat them. She's a Lemon Beagle and I know just what you mean about them not wanting to go out in the cold. I have to push her out with my foot, but once she's out the blood curdling bark of a beagle begins at anything that's not supposed to be there.
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Dogs will eat their own as well as other animals' feces. Puppies are known to eat their own during paper training and housebreaking, and it is believed to be due to a combination of factors.

One thought is, since the digestion of food is not always complete, they still see nutrient value in their feces and view it as a snack. Often dogs are attracted to undigested food in their stool. Maximizing digestion can help solve this problem. To do so, add enzyme supplements to their food, such as meat tenderizer (from the supermarket), papaya extract (a natural enzyme available at health food stores) or products from pet supply stores especially designed to help dogs digest. Mix the enzyme powder in each meal, and let it sit for 15 minutes prior to feeding it to your pet. This should eliminate the presence of anything they view as "good" in their stool. It will not help with the peanuts or corn, but these foods should not be fed to your pet in any event.

Another way to discourage coprophagy (the medical term for eating poop) is to coat the stools with hot sauce or vinegar, thereby making the experience of eating it unpleasant (as if it seemed great thus far!). Sometimes owners have to go to the extreme measure of injecting the stool with hot sauce so the pet gets the full extent of the bad flavor. Yet another method is through products which taste good when mixed in the pet's food and eaten, but turn bitter when excreted in the pet's feces (isn't science great?). Doing this or the hot sauce method for one to two weeks is usually enough to convince a dog that their food bowl is a safer spot for snacks.

On the behavioral side, many pets eat their stool during the training stages because they become confused about whether to go to the bathroom on or off the paper or outdoors. Just as potty training for kids is tough, telling a dog when and where to eliminate is emotionally stressful. They will feel bad about going in the wrong place and destroy the evidence by eating it. Owners often call me because they are concerned that their puppy has not had a bowel movement in a few days, but it usually turns out to be a case of recycling.

FYI
Ever wonder why children's sandboxes come with covers? If you have neighbors with outdoor cats, they may view your child's sandbox as a great big litter box, and unfortunately your young child may choose to ingest a deposited turd. This condition, called Pica, is common in toddlers and is best avoided by keeping your child's sandbox covered when not in use.

Credit for above ,
Dr. Peter Kross, DVM, has had his own veterinary practice, the Rivergate Veterinary Clinic in New York City, since 1989. He lives in Manhattan with his three white boxers, Buchanan, Wilhelmina and Laila.

Hope this helps.

 

I read all info a few times and found it very educational. I do believe the hot sauce works because I have used it on the beagle when she was young and thought the end of the garden was good to eat. It was quite funny because I could see her sneak over to it and the next thing I saw was her coming around the corner with her tongue flapping in the breeze.
(problem solved)
The good news is it is going to be warm today and the rest of the week so both of them can get out and run around and play.
The beagle is the drama queen when she goes out in the cold she will sit at the glass door looking in and shake like a leaf.(she is lazy anyway) so in she comes. And then of course the golden retriver wants in also.
I guess for now I will just keep poop picked up since it is just as much work to put hot sauce on it and besides I need it for my tacos
If this nasty habit continues I will look into the enzyme as the next step.

 

My 10 month old pug just started doing this exact same thing. In fact I was going to post this very question today. It's gross. Do you know if it's harmful? I can see the sticks in his stool, that of course he has previously eated and I thought he might want to eat them again. I never thought of the digestive thing. What is the name of the product that can help? Not the meat tenderizer or papaya extract, but you mentioned there was another available at pet stores. Thanks.

 

My 5 year old Maltese will do this on occasion, but only if the poo is frozen. It annoys the hell out of me, but she's made it this far without killing herself with disgusting habits, so...

 

Hi-
Yes, poop-eating is very common. Lots of dogs like it frozen (poopsicles). Other than being disgusting to us, it doesn't seem to cause any health problems to the dog. You just don't want them to lick your face afterwards!

The best remedy is simply to pick up after your dog on a daily basis. If you are going to go running around your yard sprinkling hot sauce on the poop, you might just as well be picking it up instead and save yourself the hot sauce bill.

 

You are right it is better to pick it up but when it is cold outside with ice you get kinda lazy
I went to petmart today and found the enzimes pretty high dollar so I passed on it.