My 1-year-old dog has anxiety and eats poop. What should I do?

Hi thanks for using PetCoach. Tootsie could certainly be exhibiting some signs of anxiety. Dogs can also develop some cognitive dysfunction as they get older as well. There are some diet some supplements that can possibly help with cognitive dysfunction, as well as medications. It maybe worth a visit to her veterinarian, to discuss options and try to differentiate whether this may be anxiety or cognitive dysfunction. Here’s a bit more information on cognitive dysfunction and some foods or supplements that may help https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/behavior-counseling-senior-pet-cognitive-dysfunction https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/nutrition-for-dogs-with-cognitive-dysfunction-syndrome-cds https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/behavior-counseling-senior-pet-behavior-problems https://indoorpet.osu.edu/dogs/aging_pets/cds

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Separation anxiety can be difficult to address but with patience and persistence training can help. Rather than starting on anti-anxiety medications right away, I typically recommend trying products such as NaturVet Quiet Moments Calm Chews with Melatonin and an Adaptil collar, which can both be found online or at your local pet store quite easily. I would also recommend using a Thundershirt, which can be found online or at the pet store. It would also help if you began feeding Sienna breakfast and dinner in the kennel so that she becomes used to being inside the cage for positive things. I would move all of her toys to the inside of the kennel and whenever she goes inside the kennel, reward her with her favorite treat. If this does not help, I would recommend speaking with her veterinarian and discuss anti-anxiety medications as these may be beneficial in deterring this separation anxiety she suffers from. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

Hello. I would start with an over the counter anxiety product like Zylkene. I would also start using a dog appeasing pheromone in the home ( room diffuser ) or it comes as a collar. The pheromone can calm an anxious dog without drugs. Adaptil is the name of this product. If this does not help over the course of a couple of weeks, you will need to talk to your vet about possible behavior modification therapy & the use of prescription medications like Trazodone. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like Camellia may have generalized anxiety, or separation anxiety. This can cause dogs to have destructive behaviors, such as chewing excessively, tearing up furniture or clothes, etc. I recommend consulting with your veterinarian about medications that can be given to help reduce anxiety at home, and make dogs much more calm at home. These can include Trazodone, Prozac, Clomicalm, etc. Many dogs tolerate these medications very well and can save them from being relinquished to shelters. I hope this is helpful! Please consider there before rehoming Camellia, as her underlying problems will not go away on their own, and changing homes can actually worsen her signs.

You can try For-Bid powder. Mix it into the food. Buy it from your veterinarian or at the local Petco. You can also leash walk Sadie to steer her away from stool or areas where there is stool. A last resort would be a basket muzzle which may prevent her from eating stool or at least make it harder to give you time to get her away from it. Pick up any stool in the yard before she goes outside or as soon as she is done defecating. Review her diet with your veterinarian to confirm adequate nutrition and use a variety of toys, tasks and exercise to keep her distracted from any stool.

This could be due to some type of anxiety. if anything has changed in the house - new routine, new pets/people, loss of pets/people, new construction, less exercise, etc, this could be the cause. Sometimes they will also develop separation anxiety from you which can cause these behaviors. If he is friendly with other dogs and social, you may try taking him to a doggy daycare to see if this will help get some of his energy out. You can also try to add a calming collar like adaptil. If this doesn't help, you can talk to your vet about starting him on an anti-anxiety medicine like fluoxetine or something similar to see if this helps to calm him down. I hope this helps!

If Zoy has lost two teeth, he could have other dental disease in his back teeth causing the bad breath. He could be licking and chewing himself due to allergies, mites, or ringworm. I'd take him into the vet to get these issues checked out. As for his separation anxiety, I recommend crating him when you are gone. The crate will provide him a small space where he can feel safe in it when you are gone. You will have to slowly train him to get used to a crate. Start putting him in it when you are home and sitting nearby so he doesn't think you are abandoning him, and slowly increase the time he is in it. He can have toys in the crate, and puzzle toys with treats in it that he has to figure out how to get the treats out. You can put a tablespoon of peanut butter in a Kong toy and freeze it in the freezer overnight, then give it to him in the crate. That will keep him occupied for a while. Finally, you can get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety and pair that will a DAP pheromone collar that releases pheromones when in contact with his skin. If these methods do not help him, then I recommend having him seen by a vet to discuss the use of anti-anxiety medications. Best of luck, I hope this helps.