My dog eats poop

[Deleted]

... and I need it to stop. My apartment complex is riddled with other dogs' shit. I usually pick up mine and another near by poop at the same time. During the day it isn't so bad but at night when I can't see the poop, he nabs it. At least once a day I'm telling him to drop the shit. I clap or stomp my foot with a verbal command of "drop it/leave it"

I've made multiple complaints to the office (we have gardeners so our garden beds are free of leaves but full of shit). I'm pissed because I live in a "luxury" apartment complex. And they have three dog poop stations throughout the complex. i'm in month 5 of my 16 month lease. 

FWIW, he's six and he has done this on taste of the wild, Earth Born (bound?), and now Canidae Pure. Vet says he's worm free. Should I do other parasite testing they don't normally do? He started doing this 4 years ago. He was on the thinner side after I got him back from my mom who was watching him for two years while I lived abroad but he's gained 3 pounds since. (beagle lab mix is our guess. 20ish pounds). They are on heartguard.

My mom got him a muzzle she used in her backyard when she let him out. And taped the front end to prevent any eating. I was LIVID when I found that out. Plus he's a big sniffer. That's his fun. he doesn't fetch or chew much. I try and give them 1o1 attention at night by play. We do night time snack in a treat ball. They are left home alone for 9 hours a day while I work. Doggie daycare isn't possible. He's not nice with other dogs. 

Help.

[spa]

Can he eat wet food too or does that give him the runs? One of my dogs can't handle wet food. But the only reasons I can think of off the top of my head is that

1. He was bored when at your moms and poop became a toy
2. After 4 years of eating poop he likes the taste of it
3. Trying to get nutrients. But you had him on some higher end foods.

Maybe if he gets some canned food, or you mix in something tasty (chicken, rice, broth, eggs) into his kibble it might help. But I mean right now you are doing well by telling him to drop it as soon as you can see it. Sorry, people are so rude in not picking up after their dogs

[cmeon]

I've had a lot of dogs (that sounds bad- but, I've had multiple dogs in my adult life and fostered for several years) and have had several poop eaters. I call bullshit on there having to be a reason- I really do. We have always fed great, varied food, dog boredom isn't a thing in our family, and there wasn't history that would have caused the issue with any of them- and it's always just been a weirdo, not the whole pack.

So, I think some dogs like eating poop or are obeying an instinct to do so. Gross, but, hardly the only gross thing about dogs.

I have found that there are easy ways to make their own poop (or poop supplied by other dogs in the house) unattractive- adding pineapple juice and canned pumpkin to meals (taste good going in, apparently horrid on the other side). But, in your situation- that's not an option.

Keep taking the issue to management, one of the dog friendly apartments I lived in had a service that dealt with "cleaning the grounds". Keep working on "leave/drop it"- make sure you go out with good treats- make obeying worth his time! And if it comes down to it? A well fitted basket muzzle is not a bad tool to have in the bag- it's a good thing for dogs to be used to, anyway. Dogs can still sniff, pant and do other doggie things with them on.

ETA: Giardia, Coccidia and whipworms are some of the things he may be vulnerable to by continuing his... snack habit... so really do your best to prevent it, even if you need to resort to a muzzle sometimes.

[Deleted]

Mar 10, 2016 16:29:41 GMT -5 cmeon said:

So, I think some dogs like eating poop or are obeying an instinct to do so. Gross, but, hardly the only gross thing about dogs.

Thank you. This makes me feel better because I can't "fix" whatever issue is causing the poop eating. The apartment management actually sent out another email today talking about leashing and picking up your pets. 

My least fav thing is leashless dogs that start running at my dogs and the owner just shouts "He's friendly!".... yeah mine aren't.... 

[mich1]

Mar 10, 2016 18:10:50 GMT -5 @lemonlover said:

Mar 10, 2016 16:29:41 GMT -5 cmeon said:

So, I think some dogs like eating poop or are obeying an instinct to do so. Gross, but, hardly the only gross thing about dogs.

Thank you. This makes me feel better because I can't "fix" whatever issue is causing the poop eating. The apartment management actually sent out another email today talking about leashing and picking up your pets. 

My least fav thing is leashless dogs that start running at my dogs and the owner just shouts "He's friendly!".... yeah mine aren't.... 

I'm here.  The mutt doesn't have too much opportunity to eat other dog's poop but he is an equal opportunity nibbler and goes after cat poop too.  

The mutt digs in the cat's litter box for his kitty hors d'oeuvres.  While we can control him outside while on the leash, trying to keep him out of the litter box is difficult.

[TBM]

Mar 12, 2016 17:37:06 GMT -5 mich1 said:

Mar 10, 2016 18:10:50 GMT -5 @lemonlover said:

Thank you. This makes me feel better because I can't "fix" whatever issue is causing the poop eating. The apartment management actually sent out another email today talking about leashing and picking up your pets. 

My least fav thing is leashless dogs that start running at my dogs and the owner just shouts "He's friendly!".... yeah mine aren't.... 

I'm here.  The mutt doesn't have too much opportunity to eat other dog's poop but he is an equal opportunity nibbler and goes after cat poop too.  

The mutt digs in the cat's litter box for his kitty hors d'oeuvres.  While we can control him outside while on the leash, trying to keep him out of the litter box is difficult.

We bought my daughter a top entry litter box so that my pups wouldn't hunt for treats when we were at her apt.

We have one poop eater.  She will go for a very long time without us having to redirect her, then one day she will be obsessed with poop eating again.   We redirect her and eventually she stops again....it is so weird.  


My H tells her 'no scooby snacks' and she stops. lol    That is pretty much the only thing that he says to her that she pays attention to, but it's a pretty good one.

[kelley182]

Our dog is healthy and is on raw food that costs us almost $100 month and he still eats poop. I agree that some dogs just like to eat it.

[dr.girlfriend]

Do you give him a reward after you say "drop it" and he looks up?

[Steisy]

My dog did this when he was younger. What helped? Training! We worked hard on the commands "leave it" and "come." You need to teach your dog to come to you for a food treat. That way, the dog will develop a habit to run to you for a tasty snack, instead of reaching for shit on the the ground. For me it tooks few months of hard work with dog.

[thecatinthehat]

May 31, 2016 12:52:06 GMT -5 kelley182 said:

Our dog is healthy and is on raw food that costs us almost $100 month and he still eats poop. I agree that some dogs just like to eat it.

Ugh my dog is about the same. Between the two dogs we spend ~120/month on grain free dog food. And he eats poop. I might try the pumpkin and pineapple.

[gamechanger22]

I have heard it can be because of stress, or the pup is just seeking attention knowing he/she is doing something wrong. Of course I'm not saying its the end all be all reason, but I have heard more often than not that this can be the reason. I had a friend who had a small dog who would be boarded for weeks at a time and he would save his bowel movements for the kennel, because he knew if he made a mess and "painted" the kennel that he would get a bath and interaction with the kennel attendants.

[Pebbles]

a lot of dogs do this
a lot of people say they do it because they are missing vitamins or whatever and they seek it in that stuff
i don't know if thats true
maybe dogs are just nasty and like the smell of it?