Samson

Question
My 2 year old golden lab has been eating his own poop.  We have been putting about a teaspoon of meat tenderizer on his food in the morning and at night.  We have heard that this is a common trait of labs but it is rather disgusting.  I try to keep it picked up as often as possible but both my husband and I work and he is a large dog. He does seem to have alot of gas which the vet said is due to over feeding him.  We cut back on his food and that seems to be when he really started eating it more, which in turn seemed to increase the gas.  He eats Pedigree with a little bit of water.  About a cup in the morning and at night.  I did get the stuff from the pet store which I can't remember the name of right now, and that did work for a short time. Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks

Answer
Some problems I have good previously prepared answers.  Others it is the same old weak one.  The best solution to stool eating, coprophagy, is cleaning them up before the dog has a chance. You can try food additives, the home remedies pineapple juice or canned pumpkin or the commercial products Forbid or Deter.

Why dogs do it is poorly understood. It may be diet related, but changing the dog's diet might cause worse problems. Whatever problems it causes for the owner, it doesn't seem to hurt the dog unless you are trying to clear up a worm infestation.

For more information see http://home.gci.net/~divs/behavior/coprophagia.html

I have an 11 week old Golden Retriever I am fighting the problem with.  So far, I have been supervising him to stop it.  I was told to put alum on the stools,not the food, but haven't asked my wife where it is if we have any.  

Most of the solutions are either difficult to do or ineffective.