Good dog, bad dog…Stella
Posted: June 29, 2009 Filed under: FFT Lhasa Apsos, Lotsa Lhasa Info 4 CommentsFollowing in sync with our current Good Dog, Bad Dog discussion, last week I received a Good Stella Dog note.
Followed a week later with this:
Hi, Debby – I need some advice from you. Our lovely little dog has developed a nasty habit and I cannot figure out why, nor can I figure out what to do about it! She is eating her own poop as fast as it leaves her little body! Have you ever encountered this, and if so, do you have any suggestions as to what to do about it?
My response: Well, that is a perplexing problem! I see this behavior now and again with mother dogs, which is surely related to the ‘keep the den clean’ instinct. Wonder if she’s going through some hormonal change…. ??? I’m going to post this on the blog, along with the update you sent last week. There’s a fount of knowledge among the people. There’s a fount of knowledge and experience. Maybe we’ll all learn something, especially a solution to this unpleasant habit!
Okay, Apso Bloggers! Any ideas? Personal experiences? Solutions?
Kunza at FleetFire Timbers 
Switch foods! I don’t know the reason behind this disgusting habit, but in my opion eith the poop smells to good or they are lacking something in their diet.
I have worked in kennels and tried tobasco sauce and the boughten product “d-ter” neither seems to work well. So, try a new food and stand by Stella and pick up the poop as fast as you can so it can’t become a bad habit.
I agree with Julie. I have had this experience with two dogs so far. One, long ago, came from a “dirty” kennel environment, and she ate poop until she was about 9 months old. I think she had just learned the habit from the unclean environment she was born into. I tried all the commercial “fixes”, and stuff like tabasco and meat tenderizer; none worked. Then, she just quit.
When Wyatt first came to us, after about two weeks, one day I looked out the window, watched him poop, and immediately turn around and eat it up! Couldn’t believe my eyes! I read everything I could find, and finally came to the conclusion that since I had changed his diet that he was just enjoying his food for the second time around! (I feed a raw diet including chicken necks and green tripe.) I watched him closely for a time, distracting him as soon as he pooped and picking up his poop immediately. He didn’t bother with dry poop.) Didn’t take long before he stopped the behaviour. I tried not to make a “big deal” about it, nor scold him for it, fearing I’d inadvertently create a “secret” desire, or that he’d learn to fear pooping, or start pooping in strange places.
He’s perfectly fine now.
Thanks for the ideas! My husband had already begun taking a paper towel out with him when he took her out … he hung a plastic bag from a hook on the deck rail and has been filling it. So, I did likewise. So far, so good.
I feed cooked chicken with brown rice and vegetables (peas and carrots) and read a suggestion someplace on this site for adding green beans to the food. I think I’ll also give that a try. I supplement the homemade food with dry food for their teeth. I’ve been feeding Wellness, but was afraid it didn’t contain all the ingredients she might be needing, so have been gradually switching her to Turducken by Merrick, which was suggested by our local feed store. ??? Don’t know if there is any difference at this point.
Nancy
Nancy
lots of folks say raw food clears it up…