puppy eating own waste!

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Archived Message

puppy eating own waste!
by Renee Lyles
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
puppy eating own waste! If anyone has any ideas, please help...I purchased Maisy at 3 months. At five months, she still eats her own waste. She is housebroken to papers in the bathroom & I try to keep her papers cleaned up. We have tried the vet's pills, scolding her, shaming her, meat tenderizer on her food...Nothing helps. The vet seems to think she will outgrow it...but after all our efforts & two months later...she still dines inappropriately. She has plenty of food & plays with lots of toys and with my other maltese: Gracie. Thanks, Renee

DISCUSSION:

I wouldn't worry. Pochacco ate his too until about a month ago. I would just try to keep him away from it. I started feeding him a VERY SMALL amount of Pedigree canned food about the same time he quit. If that doesn't work, I would try to just wait it out. Pochacco is almost six months old and he isn't very interested anymore.
Jayme and Pochacco

Renee, They all do that..eating sticks, dirt, grass, rocks etc. I clean up after my Buster (6 mos old) as soon as he goes so he doesn't have a chance.
Libby & Buster

Renee: Sorry to inform you that Shayna is 15 months old and likes to eat her droppings. I have her on Distaste from Foster Smith and that has helped. I also am feeding her a small amount of dry dog food at night so she doesn't go to bed hungry. Also, I want KoKo to eat before bed time as she is having trouble in the AM. Throwing up bile. Funny isn't it Shayna eats S__T and KoKo throws up. Anyway, I thought if KoKo didn't have an empty Tummy all night maybe it would help in the AM. She didn't throw up this morning, so far so good. Last time Shayna tried to eat her stool, she just moved it from the Puppy John and left it.
Shelley

I agree, as nasty as this habit is, it really isn't all that harmful. I mean if she was eating other dog's waste I'd be a lot more concerned, or if she has parasites and is reinfecting herself. But if she's otherwise healthy, just do your best to pick up after her as soon as possible, and give a stern no if you catch her in the act. Otherwise, don't pay too much attention to it, you could end up reinforcing the behavior by giving her too much attention when she does it. Is she confined in the bathroom when you aren't home? It could be just that she is trying to keep her area clean.
Aimee

Hi Renee, I know just how you feel. Bailey also eats her own and is 8 1/2 months old. As encouragement, I have to tell you though its not nearly as often as it once was. It seems when she "goes" outside, she doesn't go near it but when she goes in the PuppyJohn and I'm home most of the time she will run to me first so that I'll give her a treat otherwise, when I'm at work all day she now has a new trick. Once she dirties the weewee pads, now she pulls them out of the PuppyJohn to the middle of the floor or sometimes will shred them. Well, last night topped them all - she had pulled out the pads and went back into the PuppyJohn to pee with no pads! When I got home from work all I could do was laugh - although its not the behaviour ideally - at least she absolutely uses the PuppyJohn when I'm not home - no matter what! I'm going to try the Foster&Smith Distaste also, but have tried everything else including Deter with no luck. I'm still hoping she'll outgrow this and honestly, it has gotten so much better as she's gotten older.
Robin D.

Thanks for soothing my fears about being the only one facing this "indelicate" dining habit. Someone told me about "capsicum" to put in their food...I'll see if I can find it...Has anyone ever heard of this? Also, What is a PuppyJohn? My girls just go on plastic covered with newspapers in the bathroom. And no my girls are not confined while I am working. I won't worry so much now & hopefully she will outgrow this behavior. Thanks again,
Renee

Renee: A Puppy John is a large molded piece of plastic the size of an open Newspaper. I found it on this Web site in the advertiser section. It is also in Dog Fancy. $19.95 + $5.95 Shipping. I'm having trouble with Shayna again not using it. Last night she had to sleep in her crate until 2:00 AM when she woke me crying. I took her out to pee and let her sleep the rest of the night with me. This morning she used the dining room floor to poop. Shayna is having a bad day with Mom and Dad. Its back to the crate everytime we go out until she learns where she can do her business. The good news is she has stopped eating it. She has been on Disteast about one month so be patient.
Shelley

Capsicum is hot pepper. I don't think you would want to put it on the food. May be effective if put on the waste.

Starr

It has been four years since our little Cesar was a puppy, but I distinctly remember having the same problem with him eating his own poop. Our vet recommended that we put a little bit of tomatoe paste in their food. Apparently they don't like to taste it in their poop. It seems to work rather well. At least it is worth a try!
A.Stiffel