Preventing my Dog from eating his feces

Question
I have a 75 lb. 7 month old Lab who eats his feces.  He just started about a month ago.  I just read your answer to a question someone else had and I seen that you mentioned pineapple and spinach (is that canned or fresh)? and also meat tenderizer which my vet recommended that. But my question it will any of these things give him diarrhea?  We have been having problems with that also.  We have been adding rice to his food and that is helping but just a couple of days ago he started with the diarrhea again.  It is always in the middle of the night a couple of times a night and it usually lasts one to two nights.  Also do you have any advise about him bitting.  I know he is still a puppy but he is a handful.  Could you please help us with the feces eating it is nasty. Everytime he goes out we are out there right away checking to see if he pooped and we are picking it up.  We have to leave a leach on him at all time outside because he is afraid to come in the house do to the fact we have tile floor that are slippery and he whipped out one day and ever since then he is afraid.  If you have any advise for that we would be greatly appreciative.  Thank you for your time I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you so much
Cheryl


Answer

Hi Cheryl,

The only 100% guaranteed way of stopping a dog from eating it's feces, is to pick up the waste so the dog can't have access to it. There are things you can buy to put in the dog's food (such as Forbid and Deter), and additives you can mix into your dog's food (such as pineapple) but none of these additives work on every dog, though they are worth trying.

Because your puppy has had on going diarrhea problem you should have your vet test him for parasites.

While you're hanging out with your puppy to supervise, you can hurry the process of fading out the feces-eating habit with a simple and pleasant training technique. The tools you'll need are a collar or head halter for the dog, a leash, and small treats your puppy values highly.

If your puppy is easily handled, the collar will do. If your puppy is extremely determined to eat the poop, extremely fast or strong, have a behavior specialist fit your puppy with the correct size head halter, introduce your puppy to it gently, and give you one or more lessons on how to use the head halter safely and effectively. It gives you more control over your puppy's mouth than a collar, and if your particular dog needs it for this training you'll be glad to have the skill for other training situations, too.

Take your puppy out to potty on leash. As soon as the poop hits the ground and your puppy shows interest in it, call your puppy to you. Use the leash not to jerk your puppy, but simply to keep him from being able to reach the feces. Keep the treats out of sight.

The instant the dog reaches you, praise your puppy, whip out a treat and give it. Then back away from your puppy, praise and give another treat for coming to you, and repeat that for a total of three to five times. At this point you have really taken your puppy mind off the feces.

Go on indoors with your puppy and come back out without the dog to clean up. Once you have good control of your puppy, you can go ahead and clean up while your puppy is still outside. As you set this habit more strongly through repetition, you will be able to do the bait-and-switch with your puppy on a long line, coming to you at the back door for a treat. Eventually you'll be able to do bait-and-switch without a leash or line on your puppy. Keep up the same energy and level of reward, if you want your puppy to keep responding!

After your puppy has been prevented from eating feces for a considerable length of time, the habit tends to fade. That makes supervising your puppy and working on this in the positive, bait-and-switch way very worth your while. Ideally, you should start this intervention as soon as you notice the dog eating feces, because the less time a habit has been going on, the more easily it will fade. You must enforce your strategy every time in order to stop dogs eating dog poop. The longer you let this habit establish itself, the harder it will be to break.

The easiest most direct way to train a dog or puppy not to bite, after the biting has become a habit, is with the help of a professional dog trainer. You can read about how to train your puppy from biting, but if it doesn't seem to help, then you'll know you need more help than an article can offer. Read about training your puppy here:

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/bite3.html

http://www.pet-supplies-review.com/dog-biting.html

http://www.collargirl.com/not-to-bite.html

Best of luck,
Patti