Eating feces

Question
I have a 1yr old boston terrier that eats feces. I don't know if she is eating hers or my older, 3yr old Bostons, or both. How do I get her to stop?

Answer
This is called coprophagia.  It's assumed that such behavior is acquired when dogs are neonates, either because their environment is very dirty or because they have observed their dam (mother) cleaning up after the pups.  It can also be a reaction to poor nutritional value of the food being offered, a result of hunger (dogs fed only once a day), a reaction to boredom or isolation (dogs left outside and isolated from human cohabitants), an attention getting behavior, or a reaction to poor housetraining techniques (if poop is present, the dog becomes anxious and does anything to eliminate it, including eating it.)  First, you want to bring this behavior to the veterinarian to rule out gastrointestinal problems (such as malabsorption.)  If the dog's stool checks out and her health is good, reevaluate your feeding schedule.  Dogs should not be fed once a day; twice daily feedings are required.  You can also add vegetables to the dog's diet, increasing fiber consumption and nutritional benefit.  A high fat, high protein, low carbohydrate diet (obtained from high quality canned food) over the course of a month or two often extinguishes this behavior.  Most importantly, the dog needs to be accompanied (ON LEASH) outdoors.  Stool needs to be picked up immediately (not in sight of the dog, as the dog may be attempting to "clean up" much as she sees you doing).  Within a month or two of introducing a new diet, twice daily, and preventing the dog from repeating this behavior, you might successfully eliminate it (no pun intended.)