by Sharon
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:Does anyone know of a holistic approach to stop stool eating? I've tried Deter and Forbid. My Buster seems to be sensitive to it and just stops eating. Thank you.
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stool eating
by Sharon
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Does anyone know of a holistic approach to stop stool eating? I've tried Deter and Forbid. My Buster seems to be sensitive to it and just stops eating. Thank you.
DISCUSSION:
My Boo used to do this when she was about 6months old. What did I do? Well, I'd catch her in the act and let her know how wrong it was by loudly saying NO! Did this work? I don't truly know if it was that or she finally just figured that her food taste much better than her stool !.
Doris
I read that dogs are turned off by hot spices. They say to inject some cayenne pepper in the waste and the dog should soon get the message that it's a no-no to feast on feces.
Janine
Sharon: As it turns out, there is no short answer to your question about a "holistic" approach. The holistic way is not to consider just one symptom, but to deal with the underlying problem and the dogs "whole" system with an emphasis on diet. I don't know if there is any one reason for a dog eating his/her own stool. Some believe that there is some type of deficiency the dog is attempting to supplement. In any case, there are many excellent books on the subject of natural nutrition. My first recommendation is "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats" because it is so easy to read and explains the basics. Another one I often refer to is Dr. Ian Billinghurst's "Give Your Dog a Bone". What you need to remember that a holistic approach is not a quick fix. It takes research, patience and flexibility to adjust your dog's diet so meet his/her needs. Just as a footnote, I have fed my Lucca raw, fresh foods based on the guidance of his holistic vet since he was about 5 months old. I have never had a problem with stool eating (by the way, there IS a technical term for this problem, but it escapes me). Good luck!
JoanG
Thank you all for taking the time to try to help me. I will get those books and read them. He's presently on Eukanuba and I thought that was one of the best foods.
Sharon
Sharon, I've tried for 3 years to break Gracie Girl of this nasty habit. NOTHING has worked except to be right there when she potties and clean it up. I've tried Adolph's, Deter, Forbid, Tobasco Sauce, cayenne pepper, and I don't know what else. I've kept her from doing it by crating her for as long as 3 weeks, and she still goes right back if I don't stay on top of this. She knows she is not supposed to do it, but it's like a compulsion. She seems like she can't stop. She is on Hill's CD special diet to keep her PH level correct so she won't make bladder stones, so maybe she does not get what she needs nutritionally. It has been very frustrating. She was crated for her first 11 months before I rescued her, and the vet told me she may have started doing that out of boredom or being neglected and not fed properly. Truly, I have given up and just clean it up or when she beats me to it, wash her beard and brush her teeth. If anyone knows how to deal with this coprophasia,(sp?)problem, PLEASE HELP.
Melinda & Gracie Girl
Layla does the same thing but I associated it with being overly clean about her herself. After she has made a #1 on the wee wee pad she tries to bury it with her nose, usually ending up folding one end of the pad over it. When she is done going #2 she looks for me to clean it up and if I happen to be busy at the time she will start to eat it. If I am not home she will leave it there for me to clean up but if I am in the house she expects me to clean it up "now"! There were times when she would take it off the wee wee pad and move it to another area of the house.I have tried using Bitter Apple on it and this worked. I thought the problem was solved so I stopped using it but I guess she is smarter than I thought as now she cleans it up herself again. I really think she would have been perfect for litter box training. Then she could bury it and be happy. I just try to keep up with my "clean freak" little Layla and keep her area spotless. I just wish I could teach her how to dust and run the sweeper. I think she would do a great job.
Lorie
I found a solution that worked for me. I take a handful of kibbles, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for a few minutes. Then I feed him before he goes outside in the morning. He stopped eating stools the first day, but reverted back to this disgusting behaviour unless I kept it up for about one month. (He would always vomit a little while later after eating stools)He didn't do it for about a year and then we had to repeat the treatment, eventually going back to dry kibbles. I only had to keep it up for about 1 month. I tried tabasco sauce but that didn't work as well as feeding him did. Hope this works for you too.--KathyD
KathyD
If by chance you are ever driving down the street and see this crazy lady running around the yard trying to clean up after TWO dogs at the same time...you guessed it, it's me!! They both go at the same moment and then try to eat it before I can clean it up. Bear never thought of doing this until little Dolly came along and showed him how neat it is to eat her own stool and get a real dirty face. I've tried everything, too. Now I just chase them around and try to beat them to it.
Katy & Bear & Dolly
Joan the technical word for it is a Greek word : coprophagia (dung eating). Some veterinarians maintain that boredom or lack of nutrients in the diet is what causes a dog to lunch on the feces. Sorry I cannot help you more. Alex has never done that. As one of the lady said, the easy thing to do is clean up right after they did their poo poo.
Janine
Remember to not let your baby see you cleaning it up. They then like to get in the act and think its the thing to do. Sometimes its the alpha female pretending to mother the others too. It is difficult to break this habit. The first time I used tabasco sauce, my daughter came running almost in tears, "Come quick, something is wrong with our baby girl!" LOL
BeeGee
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Please bear in mind when reading topics pertaining to health issues, that most of these questions were answered by helpful Maltese owners with no formal education in veterinary medicine. When in doubt seek a professionals advice.