Female Dog Eating Other Dogs Feces

Question
We have a 2 yr old Female Great Dane and she has the very nasty habit of eating other dogs feces.  We have 6 Great Danes altogether and she only eats the other dogs feces and not her own.  Why does she do this and what, besides just keeping it cleaned up can we do to stop this bad behavorial problem?

Answer
Hi Roseanna,

Thank you for writing to me regarding your beautiful dog's unusual eating habits.  I know that this must be very frustrating for you and you would certainly not want to be kissed after seeing this.  I don't know how long this has been going on but after a period of time, whatever prompted this behavior may have become plain old habit at this point.

Worms or disease can be spread when dogs eat the poop of other dogs. Feces of other dogs or animals may also contain fly larvae, fungus, or intestinal parasites.

Dogs eat poop for a variety of reasons.

I have always had success by addressing the nutritional aspects of the problem. Your dog may have a vitamin or mineral deficiency and she is trying to access what her system is missing in the undigested droppings of other dogs.  My suggestion is to have a full blood panel done to see if there are any deficiencies or medical problems.   What are you feeding her?  Most commercial dog food is deficient in nutrition by it's very nature of being processed.  Perhaps upgrading to a human grade food like Orijen 6 Fish would be helpful.  You should also add a digestive enzyme to the food.  A product like Prozyme (J-B Wholesale Pet Supply) helps a dog to digest and assimilate their food.

Your dog's food may be too high in calories or too low in fiber, affecting digestion. Try adding sweet potato or canned pumpkin (no spices, just plain) to her diet.

Adding pineapple can be helpful as well because of the digestive enzyme that is naturally contained in this food.

If your other dogs aren't totally digesting their food, it may smell and taste like it does in the food bowl and your dog may appreciate eating it. It might be helpful to give the entire furry family a digestive enzyme.

In order to break this habit you will not only have to address the medical and nutritional, but also the behavioral.  Go out with your dog and prevent her from eating poop.  You may have to take her out by herself for awhile and keep a sharp eye on her, rewarding good behavior and preventing unwanted behavior.

Do your best to keep the dog's living area clean of poop.

I wish you the very best of luck.

Regards,
Shelley Davis