# 11 week old puppy eating poo



## Vicky Bailey (Jun 12, 2019)

Hi there, 

I’m looking for some advice as I’m at a bit of a loss. My 11 week old puppy won’t stop eating his poo. We feed him Royal Canin, the same as the breeder and since having him he always try’s to eat his poo! When he was 9 weeks, one night he was up all night eating it and we would only wake when it was too late, the next morning he had gastro so took him to the vet but there wasn’t much they could suggest. He had diarrhoea since then but we’ve recently been feeding chicken and rice and his poos have been normal but he’s now just doing one a day. During the day generally we can watch him and get to it first but it’s got to the point where he quickly spins round and swallows it in one gulp! 

Anyone else experienced this? I’ve read so much online about Coprophagia but can’t seem to find any answers. We don’t scold him when he poos inside, he doesn’t seem bored and has so much to stimulate him. The only thing I can think of is that he’s just hungry. We are feeding the recommended amount of 1 cup in the morning, 1/2 cup at lunch and 1 cup at dinner but he still always wants more. 

Any help would be amazing!!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bumping up


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

My puppy ate his poop too, this was around 9-10 weeks when he was on antibiotics for coccidia, I read that the antibiotics make poop especially attractive??

Do you give your puppy treats right after potty? 

Tomo's still rushing for it, but I'm working on timing to avoid it. I open a poop bag when he's pooping (and praising him for pooping along with the command word) and scoop several treats in my hand. As soon as he poops he rushes over to eat the treats (I'm a few feet away), and the palmful of treats ensure that he's still busy munching while I rush over and bag the poop. So the treats are both reward for pooping outside and as a distraction


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

Feed him pineapple. When he poops out the pineapple it will deter him from eating his own poop. Not sure the reasoning...but it does work.


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## Vicky Bailey (Jun 12, 2019)

Thanks! Yes I’ve been doing the same as you, always praising him once he’s been to the toilet outside. I think I’ll try what you do with leaving a few treats on the ground to distract him! 



jomiel said:


> My puppy ate his poop too, this was around 9-10 weeks when he was on antibiotics for coccidia, I read that the antibiotics make poop especially attractive??
> 
> Do you give your puppy treats right after potty?
> 
> Tomo's still rushing for it, but I'm working on timing to avoid it. I open a poop bag when he's pooping (and praising him for pooping along with the command word) and scoop several treats in my hand. As soon as he poops he rushes over to eat the treats (I'm a few feet away), and the palmful of treats ensure that he's still busy munching while I rush over and bag the poop. So the treats are both reward for pooping outside and as a distraction <img src="http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" />


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Take him out on leash - pick it up as soon as he goes.


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## Brinkleythegolden (Jun 18, 2012)

Our last guy did this his whole life. If we didn't pick it up, he nabbed it. Sweet Girl is right. You have to pick it up as soon as he goes. Some of them just have this disgusting habit and don't lose it. We tried everything!!


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## Lincgold (May 11, 2018)

I know there are some products that you can buy to put in their food but I had a female that I caught doing this and she stopped when I put tenderizer in her food. It makes their poop taste terrible. To quote an article from the American Kennel Club:

“The theory is that certain tastes and smells are as disgusting to dogs as the idea of stool eating is to us and that spraying certain substances on poop will make it less appealing. Many of these products contain monosodium glutamate, camomile, pepper-plant derivatives, yucca, garlic, and parsley.“

Good luck


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Lincgold said:


> I know there are some products that you can buy to put in their food but I had a female that I caught doing this and she stopped when I put tenderizer in her food. It makes their poop taste terrible. To quote an article from the American Kennel Club:
> 
> “The theory is that certain tastes and smells are as disgusting to dogs as the idea of stool eating is to us and that spraying certain substances on poop will make it less appealing. Many of these products contain monosodium glutamate, camomile, pepper-plant derivatives, yucca, garlic, and parsley.“
> 
> Good luck


Hmm, there is a tiny bit of garlic powder in the Charlee Bear training treats that Tomo likes, but I guess it's not enough to repeal him, haha.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

I've had three poop eaters. The first grew out of it (stopped when he was an older puppy). The second and third still do it. I tried all the standard remedies without success. I have a huge fenced yard and at least one dog likes to just hang out there, so I'm not willing to go out with her every time she asks on the off chance she might poop. Thankfully, most of the time the only consequence is that they come in with poop breath! :-(

All that said, I would think along with all the other suggestions it wouldn't hurt to try switching his food. One of the many theories is that, especially with kibble, if the food goes through them largely undigested it comes out still smelling like food which then encourages them to view it as food. A different food might be digested more completely (or if it smells different, AND you do something to make it taste bad) maybe he'll lose interest?

Personally though, I think there are just some dogs who like the taste of poop, and once they try it, it's hard to get them to leave it alone... especially if you aren't right there to use a "leave it" command...

If you find that you can't stop this AND your pup is getting diarrhea from eating it (or eating OTHER dogs' poop, which would worry me more since you don't know their health status) they do make special muzzles to deter poop eating...


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Agh, we slipped up last night and he got to eat poop again  Tomo was in his pen, my husband was playing computer games next to him, and I was upstairs in the kitchen. I hear shouts of NO NO NOOOO~~ I ran down, my husband just got to Tomo, and reportedly all the poop was eaten.... :yuck: :no: :yuck: While they were in the yard, I mopped the floor twice with Nature's Miracle and once with bleach. 

...Maybe I'll pick up some pineapple at the store tonight.


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## Vicky Bailey (Jun 12, 2019)

Thanks I’ll give the tenderiser a go! 



Lincgold said:


> I know there are some products that you can buy to put in their food but I had a female that I caught doing this and she stopped when I put tenderizer in her food. It makes their poop taste terrible. To quote an article from the American Kennel Club:
> 
> “The theory is that certain tastes and smells are as disgusting to dogs as the idea of stool eating is to us and that spraying certain substances on poop will make it less appealing. Many of these products contain monosodium glutamate, camomile, pepper-plant derivatives, yucca, garlic, and parsley.“
> 
> Good luck


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## Vicky Bailey (Jun 12, 2019)

The same thing happened to us last night! We had been doing so well watching him in the yard and picking it up immediately then last night at 4am when we were sleeping he pooped and ate it. This morning he vomited. I’m just getting concerned it’s going to make him sick again! 



jomiel said:


> Agh, we slipped up last night and he got to eat poop again <img src="http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/images/smilies/frown.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Frown" class="inlineimg" /> Tomo was in his pen, my husband was playing computer games next to him, and I was upstairs in the kitchen. I hear shouts of NO NO NOOOO~~ I ran down, my husband just got to Tomo, and reportedly all the poop was eaten.... <img src="http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/images/smilies/yuck.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Yuck" class="inlineimg" /> <img src="http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/images/smilies/no.gif" border="0" alt="" title="No" class="inlineimg" /> <img src="http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/images/smilies/yuck.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Yuck" class="inlineimg" /> While they were in the yard, I mopped the floor twice with Nature's Miracle and once with bleach.
> 
> ...Maybe I'll pick up some pineapple at the store tonight.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Haha, what are we going to do with our poop-eating puppies?! They are similar age too, hopefully they will grow out of it...


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## Brinkleythegolden (Jun 18, 2012)

Vicky Bailey said:


> Thanks I’ll give the tenderiser a go!


Be careful with that-MSG really isn't good for dogs-it's a preservative.


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## jomiel (Feb 15, 2019)

Brinkleythegolden said:


> Be careful with that-MSG really isn't good for dogs-it's a preservative.


Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally occurring non-essential amino acids. It is found naturally in tomatoes, grapes, cheese, mushrooms, and other foods. Glutamic acid and its salts may be present in a variety of other additives listed on food labels, including hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, and protein isolate. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate

e: cleaning up my grammar


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