Help :( Puppy eating it own faeces.

[Croatoan]

I need help with stopping this.

As soon as as poops she is turning and trying to eat her poop. It makes me feel physically sick

She's just ran in the kitchen and I was getting kids ready to go out the door. I smell it and go in and there's only a smear mark left

I want to vomit.

Can anyone please help me stop this behaviour

I would be going outside with her all the time so that I could remove the poo straight away to break the habit. Yes it would be inconvienient but as a puppy they tend to do stuff like this and then if you can avoid a habit forming you have more chance of then growing out of it.

Also have you looked at what you are feeding? Could she be hungry as poo will smell of food?

Of course I go out with her all the time but she still doesn't understand that outside is for pooping and even when outside she shits and turns to scoff it.

And it's not physically possible to be outside with her all the time especially when I'm getting the primary age kids ready for school.

You could put her on a lead so you could move her away straight afterwards and clean it up.

Has she been wormed? Are you feeding frequently and enough so she isn't hungry?

She only goes out on a lead to poop.

It's a fine line because she's already having trouble pooping outside so I don't want to run at her as soon as she's finished and scare her, leaving her worried to poo outside.

Yes she was worked weekly as pup and at her 8 week check up with vets. She nearlyb12 weeks now.

Should I try and up her food?

Some dogs just do this, mine did as a puppy and still occasionally does now. Someone told me it’s because puppy food is so high in nutrients that it’s still very appealing even when it’s been through the digestive system, I don’t how true that is though.

You can buy stuff in pet shops which you put on the food and apparently it makes the poo unappealing, also some people say pineapple has this effect too, although I’ve tried neither. You can also start to teach your puppy the “off” command to get them to leave it alone, using a treat as a reward, although I’ve never completely cracked this one with my dog as often the thing I’m telling her to leave (usually something like a discarded take away) is more appealing to to her than the treat.

Is she a terrier? Puppies do this to start with it’s an in built protection instinct to look after their little mates by masking the smell from predators, the first time my dog did it I was horrified (and heaving) they do grow out of it quickly. You need a treat or toy ready to distract straight away.

Mine did this. You need to take pup out very frequently on a lead. You can then keep the dog away from the poo whilst you pick it up. Toilet training needs you to give a lot of attention to the pup. Taking it out after food or drink or nap or play. And every half an hour or so.
Some people say to feed pineapple but never heard it actually works. Switched mine onto raw food from kibble which made the poo much less interesting to her.

Mine did this. We gave her pineapple juice (poured over her dried food) and she stopped doing it within a day or two. She now does a really dramatic “urgh!” Pose if she come across her own poo in the garden, even though she’s not had pineapple in about three years!!!

What, and how much are you feeding her?

She has this food here, she is about 3.8kg and has 3/4 to 1 pack a day

She also has a small handful of dry food as training treats

Another approach (alongside the others) is to teach her a solid "leave it" command and then you can start using it to tell her that you don't want her to eat the poo.

Ok. If they've not been worked in a while, I'd worm them and up the food intake. How many meals a day does she get?

Wormed, not worked...

Wet food is more palatable when it has passed through than dry food. It might be worth holding off on the wet food for a while and feeding kibble. I prefer to give my dog tinned food but I would try anything if I was in your position.

I've also heard that pumpkin works as does pineapple.

Mine grew out of it within a couple of months. As a pp said, it’s an instinctive behaviour to mask their scent from predators.

She really will not eat dry food. Have tried. And only just got her tummy settles after swapping from breeders food so don't want to start messing with her food again.

Some good ideas here.

Glad to read she will eventually grow out of it.

It makes me heave

One way to get in quickly when they poo is to already have the poo bag inverted over your hand as you wait for the dog to perform. As soon as it's done, swoop down and pick it up. My dog still sometimes eats her poo, but I have got so quick at this she sniffs behind herself, mystified, wondering where the tasty poo went.

It is nothing to do with her hunger levels or what you are feeding her.Her mother has been doing this since birth. Puppies will do a lot to keep their area clean - this can be a sign that as a puppy she had a dirty area to live in or may just be she is very clean!

Do not yell leave it at her. Just have her on the lead and walk her forward away from the poo and reward. Put her away and then go back to clean up the poo. Keep it calm and low key and she should stop the behaviour in a few weeks - if she is not given the chance to practise it.

This is most likely a learned behaviour from her mum who would have eaten her puppy's poo to clean up.

The best way to stop this is to remove the poo as soon as she's done it. If she's comfortable with you you shouldn't have to worry about disturbing her mid poo. Talk to her gently and praise her when she has pooed, then scoop it up quickly and maybe give her a treat as a reward.

I appreciate that it's tough to balance young kids and the needs of a Puppy, and so you may have to juggle and compromise for a while.

Wait till one of your kids puke and the dog eats it

When my puppy was on raw the birds used to fight over who would eat the poo, now she is on dry no-one is bothered.