My dog will not stop eating other dogs' feces. Any ideas on how to re-direct her dietary choices?

MRS.BREAK2008-01-24T17:17:27Z

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When adult dogs begin to eat stools, it may also be due to malabsorption of nutrients or nutritional deficiencies. In addition, any condition that might cause an increase in appetite or an unusual appetite, such as diabetes, Cushing’s disease, thyroid disease, or treatment with certain drugs such as steroids, may lead to an increase in stool eating. Some dogs that have been placed on a highly restrictive or poorly balanced diet may also begin to eat their stools. It should also be noted that if a dog develops a taste for a particular dog’s stool, that dog should be tested for any type of condition that might lead to poor digestion of the food (and therefore excessive food elements remaining in the stool).

Anonymous2008-01-24T17:17:24Z

My dogs do this and it is a rather gross habit. There are over the counter pills that you can buy at pet stores that will help control this. Also, and I swear I'm not jesting you, Lawry's meat tenderizer will help this. Sprinkle about a tablespoon over the dogs food and I promise you it will help. Another theory I have heard is that when dogs do this they are lacking something in their diet but I'd have to research that again. Good luck with this. It is a VILE habit.

zawni20042008-01-24T17:15:34Z

You have to ask yourself WHY is your dog eating other dogs feces. What type of food are you feeding?

There is obviously something in the other dogs feces that is attracting the dog and most likely it is due to diet.

?2008-01-24T17:29:19Z

Drs Foster and Smith have a product called DisTaste that gives the dogs feces a nasty taste and will help prevent the dog from munching! Yuck. We have a dog that does that and we started giving her DisTaste and it really works. Its in a large pill form and both of my dogs love the taste of them. Once you get them used to the idea of the poo tasting bad, you don't have to feed it to them everyday, once or twice a week takes care of it.

Maris2008-01-24T17:18:14Z

Do you get the Dr Fosters and Smith dog catalog? I know they make something specifically for this. Check their online catalog, and if you can't find it online, give their customer service number a call. They're great there, I order often, and my order typically arrives the day after I place it.

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