Horrid Habit Any Advice

[janet yates]

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Hi can anyone out there help,i have a two year old italian greyhound x whippet boy who has started to eat his own poo and drink his wee.He is always hungry and even the food he normaly hates he will eat within seconds,he drinks alot of water and wees very often .He has also started to have frantic moments hitting with his front legs and will not settle even after a good run.I have spoken to the vet about this and they say all dogs have this habbit and put pinapple in his food ,i have done this and it does not work he tries to eat poo and wee every time he goes out to toilet.I am at my wits end and do think there is something wrong with him can anyone help?

 

[k4tie-d]

what are you feeding him?

ruby and star did this as pups, as they were on a bad diet (butchers puppy food)

food like butchers and pedigree doesnt seem to digest well and there will be alot of food left over in their poo, which is why they like to eat it.

now they are on naturediet and they wouldnt dream of touching the poop.

i have heard of people using pineapple but never done it myself,

good luck hope you can get him sorted :luck:

 

[nicky12]

Hi can anyone out there help,i have a two year old italian greyhound x whippet boy who has started to eat his own poo and drink his wee.He is always hungry and even the food he normaly hates he will eat within seconds,he drinks alot of water and wees very often .He has also started to have frantic moments hitting with his front legs and will not settle even after a good run.I have spoken to the vet about this and they say all dogs have this habbit and put pinapple in his food ,i have done this and it does not work he tries to eat poo and wee every time he goes out to toilet.I am at my wits end and do think there is something wrong with him can anyone help?

hello there my lily does this if im not quick enough to pick it up , iv ignored her doing it and just pick up as soon as she does it, shes eating it less and less now ,is he up on his worming maybe worms ?sorry im not much help am i katie my lily is on arden grange and now slowly changing to raw one of the top feeds and she still done it i think its a puppy thing with her but as your dog is a bit older could be another cause :unsure:

 

[rls22]

Copraphagia is not "Normal" behaviour. Unfortunately it is a habit that some dogs have and it does tend to be linked to diet, however one of ours occasionally does it even though they all are fed the same raw diet.

What worries me is that you say he drinks a lot, this does tend to suggest that there is something lacking in his diet - what are you feeding him on at the moment?

There are tablets available called Deter, which are specifically for copraphagic dogs, garlic tablets are also supposed to work - when I worked at Guide Dogs this was the method used with most success with the poo eaters!!

 

[nicky12]

some info here for you ...

http://www.pet-comfort-products.com/why-dogs-eat-poop.html

 

[bertha]

Some of mine do it, the only answer is to pick up as soon as the dog has been. I use a water pistol to stop the greyhound, she's the worst! It's a hard habit to break.

As to the drinking, dried food can have that effect, or there is another problem, kidneys maybe. Iggies can be very hyper-active too.

 

[bertha]

Some of mine do it, the only answer is to pick up as soon as the dog has been. I use a water pistol to stop the greyhound, she's the worst! It's a hard habit to break.

As to the drinking, dried food can have that effect, or there is another problem, kidneys maybe. Iggies can be very hyper-active too.

 

[janet yates]

Thanks for the advice he eats dried food small bites pedigree chum twice a day and drinks out of two small water bowls that are topped up at least four times a day each and when he goes for a run we take a bottle of water for him.I noticed that he drinks out of the pond in the garden which has larve in it could these be parasites because he is up to date with the worming, i do shout at him to stop when i catch him doing this.I am always behind him to pick up the mess but the little devil runs out so quick and gets into the bushes to do the deed that by the time i get to it half has been eaten.I will keep you all informed of any progrss and thanks again .

 

[nicky12]

any pics of your little one ,we do love pics on here

 

[rls22]

Thanks for the advice he eats dried food small bites pedigree chum twice a day and drinks out of two small water bowls that are topped up at least four times a day each and when he goes for a run we take a bottle of water for him.I noticed that he drinks out of the pond in the garden which has larve in it could these be parasites because he is up to date with the worming, i do shout at him to stop when i catch him doing this.I am always behind him to pick up the mess but the little devil runs out so quick and gets into the bushes to do the deed that by the time i get to it half has been eaten.I will keep you all informed of any progrss and thanks again .

I would seriously consider changing his diet - I would say it is a good bet that is what is causing the problems.

If you do not want to feed raw meat (tripe, mince, chicken wings, sardines etc) with a wholemeal mixer then a really good quality complete food would be best - Arden Grange, Orijo, James Wellbeloved, Burns are the ones that I personally would use.

 

[Whippets Rule]

I would not only alter his diet but personally I would get him vet checked, certain health problems can cause this including pancreatic insufficiency.

 

[Dar Khan]

Mine was eating cows poo and I just kept telling him NO!!!!but like all have stated on here change the diet or get yourself a SUPERSOAKER!!

 

[AnnSa]

Mine was eating cows poo and I just kept telling him NO!!!!but like all have stated on here change the diet or get yourself a SUPERSOAKER!!

When i saw your name as last poster.....i hardly

dare look and see what you'd written pmsl :lol:

 

[Dar Khan]

Thanks for the advice he eats dried food small bites pedigree chum twice a day and drinks out of two small water bowls that are topped up at least four times a day each and when he goes for a run we take a bottle of water for him.I noticed that he drinks out of the pond in the garden which has larve in it could these be parasites because he is up to date with the worming, i do shout at him to stop when i catch him doing this.I am always behind him to pick up the mess but the little devil runs out so quick and gets into the bushes to do the deed that by the time i get to it half has been eaten.I will keep you all informed of any progrss and thanks again .

No probs with them drinking old water (this will build antibodies ,whatever they are ?)

 

[nicky12]

Thanks for the advice he eats dried food small bites pedigree chum twice a day and drinks out of two small water bowls that are topped up at least four times a day each and when he goes for a run we take a bottle of water for him.I noticed that he drinks out of the pond in the garden which has larve in it could these be parasites because he is up to date with the worming, i do shout at him to stop when i catch him doing this.I am always behind him to pick up the mess but the little devil runs out so quick and gets into the bushes to do the deed that by the time i get to it half has been eaten.I will keep you all informed of any progrss and thanks again .

No probs with them drinking old water (this will build antibodies ,whatever they are ?)

:blink: ............ :lol: :lol: :lol:



just for you dar khan ....

Antibodies are a class of proteins that are generated by the immune system to neutralize foreign pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and viruses.

 

[Dar Khan]

Thanks for the advice he eats dried food small bites pedigree chum twice a day and drinks out of two small water bowls that are topped up at least four times a day each and when he goes for a run we take a bottle of water for him.I noticed that he drinks out of the pond in the garden which has larve in it could these be parasites because he is up to date with the worming, i do shout at him to stop when i catch him doing this.I am always behind him to pick up the mess but the little devil runs out so quick and gets into the bushes to do the deed that by the time i get to it half has been eaten.I will keep you all informed of any progrss and thanks again .

No probs with them drinking old water (this will build antibodies ,whatever they are ?)

:blink: ............ :lol: :lol: :lol:



just for you dar khan ....

Antibodies are a class of proteins that are generated by the immune system to neutralize foreign pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and viruses.

So was I anywhere near ?

 

[nicky12]

Thanks for the advice he eats dried food small bites pedigree chum twice a day and drinks out of two small water bowls that are topped up at least four times a day each and when he goes for a run we take a bottle of water for him.I noticed that he drinks out of the pond in the garden which has larve in it could these be parasites because he is up to date with the worming, i do shout at him to stop when i catch him doing this.I am always behind him to pick up the mess but the little devil runs out so quick and gets into the bushes to do the deed that by the time i get to it half has been eaten.I will keep you all informed of any progrss and thanks again .

No probs with them drinking old water (this will build antibodies ,whatever they are ?)

:blink: ............ :lol: :lol: :lol:



just for you dar khan ....

Antibodies are a class of proteins that are generated by the immune system to neutralize foreign pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and viruses.

So was I anywhere near ?

im no expert hun but i thought antibodies killed off infection ,so not shure that drinking drinking old water would help build antibodies just make them active and kill any nastys thats caused infection or viruses caused from drinking the dirty water lol im guna shut up now cause im confusing myself :lol:

 

[jinnyfizz]

My white GSD was a prolific poo-eater for 4 years, until I changed her from complete food to a raw diet.

It has now stopped. I used to feed my GSDs something like Beta Field (or similar) but my whippets have eaten raw from day one and I would never feed anything else now. Another advantage of the raw diet is far less poo to pick up!!!!! :thumbsup:

Nothing wrong with allowing your dogs to eat cow, sheep or horse poo - this is completely natural and furnishes them with the probiotics necessary for correct gut function. It isn't a dirty habit, and if your dog is allowed to have a "natural vegetarian snack" you will find that the need to eat it will become less and less as their gut balance returns to normal.

Pond water shouldn't be a problem - the only time you should avoid letting them drink old water is from standing rain puddles where other dogs may have walked etc as this is where viruses can lurk h34r:

 

[FeeFee]

Poo eating in itself isn't that uncommon and not usually anything to worry about from a health point of view, but taken together with the excess drinking I think I'd want the vet to take it more seriously and at least run some tests. Excess thirst and constant hunger can be symptoms of Cushings, for instance.

Really hope it's just a habit and you can get him over it, but another vet check might put your mind at rest that there's nothing else going on :luck:

 

[Dar Khan]

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...i?artid=1865635 Found this now all is clear on the antibodies :lol: