Puppy eating poo

[WarmSound]

DPup is 11 weeks. Completely gorgeous we love him to bits and he's settled in really well. Had few probs with runny tummy but has now settled down. But if we're not quick enough when he has a poo he eats it.

[laurenwiltxx]

Some dogs like the taste and sadly probably won't grow put of it. I have to be vigilante mine will eat his own the cats and random street ones if I'm not careful. Its disgustingly hilarious

[Catzpyjamas]

Might be worth a vet check. Some dogs do this to clean up, some as a disgusting habit but often it is because they are missing nutrients in their diet that they need. This article from the American Kennel Club has some useful suggestions.

[TrionicLettuce]

I've had two of those and oddly enough it seems to run in families. DWhippet1 did it, his sire did, his litter sister did and DWhippet3 (son of DWhippet1's sister) also did it

It's actually a relatively normal thing for puppies to do. As long as he's happy, healthy and is up to date on worming then chances are he's doing it "just because".

The best thing you can do is remove the opportunity as much as you can, so cleaning it up as soon as he goes. If necessary you can call him over and offer a treat to distract him if he's trying to get to it immediately. With mine once they've not had the opportunity for a while they tend to forget and stop doing it.

I make no promises regarding him snacking on horse/cow/rabbit poo though........

[user1466610292]

They get it from copying their mum I think. Mum dogs often eat the pups poo when they are little, sometimes the little ones copy. You can buy stuff to put in their diet to make it taste bad (you would think it already did - it is poop after all!)

My male dog grew out of the habit, unfortunately my female dog still does it - she is 8 :-(

[GeorgeAmberson]

Mine doesn't eat her own poo or other dogs', but she is partial to cat poo and horse poo. The latter gave her mighty fine diarrhoea for 2 days. We taught her the Leave it command pretty sharpish.

[LilCamper]

Perfectly normal behaviour for some dogs. Just pick it up straight away.

[babyblackbird]

Mine does it and always has and he is now 2. He now doesn't eat his own but prefers other dogs ! I have moved him into a good with higher protein which I think, although can't be sure, has stopped him eating his own as it really is just waste but he still enjoys other dog's.

I have tried a leave command which works if I am right by him but when he is off lead with his head stuck in a bush it is more difficult to police. ! He does occasionally get an upset stomach as a result but generally I now ignore unless he does it right under my nose !

[MadameCholetsDirtySecret]

My dog did this when she had to have a wet food diet due to a short term medical problem. Once she was back on kibble she stopped. That said she can't resist fresh horse dung.