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hazmat
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New pup decided he wants to eat poop
01/15/03 11:25 AM
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Well the worst has happened.
Both my Mom's labs are Obsessive Compulsive poop eaters. We left our boys with them over holiday vacation so I could paint the family room, kitchen, hall & stairway. The little guy came back with a newfound taste for eating poop.   
With 2' + of snow on the ground, scooping the poop is not an easy task, (we are trying our best)
Anything we can do short of keeping him on a leash at all times? Can he be broken of this habit? I plan on calling the vet, but like to be armed with options to discuss.
He's 10 months old & has never shown interest in it before, no changes in diet.
Please Help! 
Hazmat
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WVBill
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/15/03 11:39 AM
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Our Basset Hound did that when she was young. It's called "Coprophagia" and apparently it's pretty common. (over 7,000 hits on a Google search).
Our vet gave ("gave" - yeah sure) us something we put in her food that apparently made the poop not tasty to her. She pretty much got over it.
She is still very much a pica - EVERYTHING goes into the mouth: sticks, rocks, grass, rubber bands, twist ties... She doesn't seem to actually eat these things - just chews on them.
Bill
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RichZ
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/15/03 11:41 AM
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This only works if you only have one dog. There are pills that you can buy in most pet stores that change the flavor of poop, into something dogs won't eat. When I first heard of that, I cracked up thinking that they have to make poop taste bad!!
The trouble is, if you have more than one dog, you'd have to give the pills to all of them, so there isn't anymore tasty poop around.
Poop eating is VERY common in dogs. It seems that I always have at least one dog who likes to eat poop!
Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."
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wingnut
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: RichZ]
01/15/03 11:58 AM
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I've never had any problem with the "normal" stuff (by "I've", of course I mean my dogs) .... but both Samson and Delilah would decide cowpies were tasty when we wandered through the pasture. Since I'm not into letting dogs lick my face ... and I could only scold them if I was with them (they roamed the pastures at will), I just let it go.
it's a shame that common sense isn't
http://www.dahlhausminiatures.com
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Hank
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/15/03 12:28 PM
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Only one of our four eats poop, and has ever since she was a pup. We just "pass" on any dog kisses when she comes back inside licking her lips. 
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s1120
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/15/03 12:30 PM
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All three of mine do it, and have sence they were pups. We tryed the pills with no luck. Ask the vet, his ansor was to walk the dogs. HAH!. Three dog, with two people walking them? NOT!
Paul Bradway
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Stoneheartfarm
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/15/03 12:56 PM
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Our dog will only eat cat poop, and was always in the litter box. The Vet called it "sneaking out for a poopsicle"
Steve
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EJB
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/15/03 04:08 PM
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Well, I can't help you with your problem, but can anyone help me with mine?
My dog eats my donkeys poop, and my donkey likes to nibble on the goat droppings he comes across, my problem is, I can't get the goats to eat the dog poop, thus completing the cycle.
If I could just figure this out, I'd never need to buy another bag of feed  
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Stoneheartfarm
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: EJB]
01/15/03 04:27 PM
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Goats are fussy that way.
Steve
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Hank
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: EJB]
01/15/03 05:00 PM
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My dog eats my donkeys poop
Our hound who eats her own poop also loves fresh horse poop; scoops it up quick. I cannot attest to goat poop, as she's never encountered it, but I somehow suspect she is something of a poop gourmet. I used to think this was related to her breed being primitive (pure bred for over 5,000 years), but hearing all these stories seems to indicate it's just an individual dog thing.
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Boondox
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/15/03 06:44 PM
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If you catch them young, we've had success breaking pups of the habit by sprinkling a little Adolf's Meat Tenderizer on their food. Not much -- lots of salt in that stuff!
Works on the same principle as the pills, but much less expensive.
Pete
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Hayseed
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Stoneheartfarm]
01/15/03 07:32 PM
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We had a doberman pup several years ago that liked to eat cat poop out of the litter box. Then he would proceed to puke it on the floor a few minutes later. I had a saying back then, "the only thing that smells worse than cat poop is cat poop that the dog ate and then threw up on the floor!"
We did not keep the dog. Not only was he a poop eater, he seems like kind of a wus too. About a year later I visited the folks I had given the dog to. He was this monstrous, deep voiced dog that looked like he would prefer my leg for lunch over cat poop any day. It seemed that he had outgrown his wus stage... never did find out if his craving for poop went away.
I had a cocker spaniel once. He did not eat poop but... once on a six hour trip I let him out for a break. I saw him rolling on the ground and went to investigate. Right next to where he was rolling I saw some "used" toilet paper. Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he was rolling in! He spent the remainder of the trip on the floor of the car and was lucky he did not find what it was like to travel in the trunk!
Chris
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kokopelli
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/16/03 09:42 AM
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cayanne pepper...cover the poop in cayanne pepper. dogs hate spices so if you spread anything very spicy on somethig you dont want them to eat they wont. worked for me. plus dont scold her for eating poop unless you catch her in the act....otherwise she will think she got in trouble for you finding the poop and she will there fore eat more poop to make sure you dont find it!
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Fred
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: kokopelli]
01/16/03 04:46 PM
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Gotta keep your eyes on dogs who go for "feline fudge". It's not the poop so much as it is the litter (sprinkles?) that can wreak havoc with them.
My one girl only eats her poop in the winter after the snow gets here, and it doesn't need to be that fresh either. I think it has something to do with her not being able to "graze" on the dirt, grubs, grass... she doesn't eat my other dog's poop. The one year I gave her Deter pills plus Spirulina and Barley Grass vitamins. I 'm not sure if that stopped her or if it was the thaw. Now I just scoop after them twice a day. I'd rather do it this way than have a hundred land mines to clean up in the spring. Well, 50 anyway, like I said she only eats her own.
I'm curious about the cow patty eating dogs. Aren't they more succeptible to getting tapeworms doing this?
Fred
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kokopelli
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Fred]
01/16/03 06:28 PM
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my baths in cow dung...before she goes hunting! covers up the sent. she has never gotton worms from eating any though.
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Boondox
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Fred]
01/16/03 08:27 PM
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I'd rather do it this way than have a hundred land mines to clean up in the spring
With four goldens of our own and usually a few rescues, we finally gave up and go for the spring cleanup. Use the backhoe to dig a shallow trench downhill. Use the leaf blower to blow massive qtys of poop downhill into the trench. Use the FEL to backfill the trench. Plant flowers on top for aesthetics. Problem gone.
Pete
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RichZ
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Boondox]
01/17/03 07:07 AM
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Boy, Pete, that's one of the most creative ways I've heard of to get more tractor seat time! Using your tractor to bury dog poop!!!
Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."
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Boondox
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: RichZ]
01/17/03 07:56 AM
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I used to come home and go on poop patrol with shovel and bucket, tossing the daily contribution into the dirt road so the town plow would take it away. But all too often the daily land mines would be covered with fresh snow by the time I got home, or it would be dark by the time I got home. Hence, a lot of cleanup in the springtime. Not fun!
Can't fault me for getting creative, though. The wife calls it the "Annual Blowing of the Poop!"
Pete
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Mosey
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/17/03 08:16 AM
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hazmat - Too bad we aren't neighbors. Your dogs could come and eat my cat's poop anytime and I'd be happy! I feel your pain though, my son and daughter always come back with a new bad habit after a stay at their grandparents!
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Fred
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Mosey]
01/17/03 01:33 PM
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I like your solution, Pete! Very creative indeed. I just opened a boarding kennel a few months ago, so I guess I have scoopin' in my blood. I have been thinking of digging a hole and burying in the busy season, though. I just wasn't sure because dog poop doesn't break down like farm animal poop. Leave it to me to be putting in more fencing and hit an "unexplained" pocket of methane with the auger bit
Fred
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hazmat
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Mosey]
01/21/03 07:25 AM
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Thanks everybody for the advice. I'll have to talk to the vet about the pills / food additive.
Mosey, I'm sure you & I could work out an agreement, but the wife will have none of it.
The wife is getting really upset about this. I think she is taking it too personally. Somehow she is a bad "parent" because the dog eats poop. We are going outside with them when we let him out to do his business. Can't leave him unattended because he is digging under the 2 feet of snow & finding old poop now! Very frustrating considering the cold temps!
Hazmat
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Mike_M
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
01/22/03 12:27 PM
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I feel the wife pain! My wife can't believe we have another potential nasty. After several generations of non poop eaters our youngest has decided at 18 months to "Go to the dark side" (as we call poop eating in our house). The second after touch down we are running outside in our white tyvek suit for the pickup. We would have preferred she waited until spring to start her new habit but...
We joke that she really doesn't like the poop as much as she likes it served as a Poopcicle due to the winter freeze effect.
The only method we found that works is a immediate pick up. With four dogs we can't treat them with any pills or addatives.
We were always able to call off our prior poop eaters so that we didn't have to rush but left on their own, forget it, it was a snack in minutes.
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rabbitrae90
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
02/23/03 02:49 PM
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My Lab also eats poop. I have always wondered about this. Thanks for all the good info.
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schwartz
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: rabbitrae90]
02/23/03 07:20 PM
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I was told at the pet store to sprinkle Garlic powder
(NOT Garlic Salt) on thier food and after a while they should stop.
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Illiniwek
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Mike_M]
04/10/03 02:35 PM
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Just to confirm -- the word Poopsicle is absolutely, positively brilliant and is one that our household has fully embraced. While getting it "fresh out of the oven" seems to be wonderful, there's nothing quite like digging through 2ft of snow to get the good stuff. Or so I hear.
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Whiskey
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: froggy]
04/15/03 01:27 PM
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Humm....
OK, so I just finnished reading all this poop talk and laughing my a-- off, but I just ate lunch and I'm feeling queasy now 
Whiskey
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Hank
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: schwartz]
04/16/03 07:30 PM
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I was told at the pet store to sprinkle Garlic powder (NOT Garlic Salt) on thier food and after a while they should stop.
Sure, but be prepared for some extra flatulence 
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hazmat
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Hank]
04/23/03 01:21 PM
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Since there has been some recent activity on this thread, I figure it is time for an update. For the last month or so we have been religiously walking the pup on the leash, untill the two of them do their business. Now that the snow has melted, he's been in the fenced yard a couple times un - supervised, and hasn't gone after any of the old poop (pre-snow).
I talked to the Vet when I took the other dog in for a checkup. She said not much we can do except to limit his opportunities. Also said that some dogs grow out of it, and suggested trying a new dog food.
So right now we are hoping he has grown out of it, or has forgotten that he likes to eat it. We are now leary of leaving him alone with my parent's dogs (who, despite a diet change, are still connosuires of the poopsicle). Also don't plan on leaving him outside for long periods unsupervised. In addition to the poop eating concern, he also enjoy's digging
Hazmat
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Stoneheartfarm
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: hazmat]
04/23/03 01:42 PM
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Hazmat,
I too would be cautious about leaving him with known poop eaters. They learn by watching each other, and if the others are eating something, yours would probably want a share.
(Do poopsicles come apart in the middle so you can share with your friends?)
Steve
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Inspector507
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Re: New pup decided he wants to eat poop
[re: Stoneheartfarm]
04/23/03 05:47 PM
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If you tug hard enough both directions, I'd imagine they will......
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