My dog eats poop & everything on walks. Is he okay? What can I do?

Eating feces is a very gross habit that is unfortunately common in dogs. Since this is a recent behavior change for Mahtzee, it's possible that it could be related to an underlying medical problem of some kind - some illnesses such as diabetes and Cushing's disease can cause an increased appetite, which can lead to eating all sorts of unappetizing things that he may not have been interested in before. Your vet can do some simple blood tests to check for these problems, so it might be a good idea to have this done if he hasn't had any lab work recently. If everything checks out normal, then it may be that Mahtzee has simply developed a taste for poop - this sometimes happens, sadly! In that case, I would recommend teaching him a "leave it" command to prevent him from eating feces on your walks. To teach this, carry some tasty treats with your in your pocket when you take him for a walk. If he shows interest in something on the ground that you don't want him to pick up, say "leave it!" and show him a treat - give him the treat as soon as he looks up at you. Over time, he will start to turn away from whatever he is sniffing and look expectantly at you as soon as you give the command.

It really sounds like you have pretty much done everything we recommend in these situations. Often times dogs will "outgrow' this behavior but there is no guarantee. There is an old wives tale that says dogs do this due to a nutritonal deficiency. That has never been proven so I don't necessarily believe it but you can try giving Chaplin a multivitamin (like Pet Tabs) to see if that helps. This article has some other ideas you can try. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1613 My other recommendation would be to add a probiotic to his diet like Fortiflora (the best one in my opinion). https://www.walmart.com/ip/Purina-Pro-Plan-Veterinary-Diets-FortiFlora-Probiotic-Supplement-30-CT/43284986 Finally, if he is eating inappropriate things (other than the feces) you can try putting basket muzzle on him when he is unattended. He may be able to still eat feces through it but depending on which type you get you can minimize that. Don't get a regular tight fitting muzzle on the snout. It needs to be the kind where he can still pant and drink water through it. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=basket+muzzle Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Keeping Rocky away from anything poop-like is the best to keep him from eating it. That may mean keeping him on a leash when outside going potty in the yard, or keeping him in a laundry room or kitchen that is easy to clean so you can get to it quickly before he eats it. Anything remotely edible that isn't food, treat, or a chew toy should be moved out of reach. Crate training, which is useful for potty training can also help deter accidents in the house and chances for him to eat poop. For-bid and other products can also be given to all your pets to make the stool less tasty to him. If he's having diarrhea in addition to trying to eat everything, ruling out any issues such as parasites or GI problems with your vet is a good idea.

It's difficult to say if this is raccoon feces for sure from the picture, but if it is, raccoons can carry a form of roundworm, and it can be harmful to dogs and humans. Even if it is not raccoon feces, other types of wildlife can also carry parasites that can be harmful to dogs and humans. I recommend calling your vet to get dewormer for Hachi right away. Your vet may also recommend an appointment to have Hachi examined and running a fecal test on him to check and see if he has any parasites. If this is not an option I recommend seeing if you can get an over the counter dewormer that is labeled for dogs and giving it as per the label directions. If you notice diarrhea or vomiting, or worms in Hachi's stool, I recommend seeing a vet right away, as these could be signs that Hachi has intestinal parasites. Wash your hands thoroughly after cleaning up Hachi's stool to reduce the risk of infection.

Sniffing on walks is a completely normal behavior - most dogs do this to some degree, but since Wendy is a hound mix, it makes sense that she would be especially fascinated with smells in the environment! This is not a problem at all, and she should be allowed to sniff as much as she likes when you walk her. As far as eating dried poop, you can easily teach her a "leave it!" cue to use on walks when needed. Start by using one of her toys at home to practice. When she has the toy in her mouth, say "leave it!" in a cheerful tone and hold a treat in front of her nose. When she lets go of the toy to get the treat, praise her and let her have the reward. Over time, with practice, she will begin to drop her toy on the verbal cue alone - but make sure to reward every time with a treat, to keep this behavior reliable! On walks, just carry some treats in your pocket in case you need them. If she starts to grab some poop, tell her "leave it!", and praise and reward as soon as she does.

If it is that big of an issue, I would look into teaching Snowball "Leave it". You can find various tutorials on YouTube that will walk you through it. Basically, it teaches Snowball that it isn't OK to just pick things up off the ground and eat them, and that she'll be rewarded for leaving it behind instead. Teaching other things such as drop/trading what's in her mouth for a reward, may also help. You should still be walking her, but you can keep an eye on her during your walks, and if you see her start to eat something, move her to another area, or remove the item from her mouth. If she's very mouthy and likes to carry toys, you can also bring a toy along on your walks for her to keep in her mouth and potentially deter on other things. If she does get into something she shouldn't and is ill, having your local vet's number on hand is always best as even the most vigilant of owners and well-trained of dogs can sometimes get into things they shouldn't.

I'm sorry to hear that! There are a few things you can do: Keep Bentley on leashed walks only when outside to keep him from getting into garbage or pet waste. Working on commands such as "leave it" or trading for a high value treat can redirect his attention back to you and away from the waste. If he's eating his own, making sure to pick up any stool ASAP (both indoors on doggy pads and outdoors in your yards or walks) can prevent him from getting access to those items. If he's going for litter boxes, moving litter boxes to rooms that you can block off with a baby gate that your cat can jump over but Bentley can't, or using a cat door with an RF chip to allow only your cat access can help prevent him from getting to the area to munch. You can also try products such as For-bid which can be added to the food of whomever's waste is being eaten to make it unpalatable. However, the best treatment is preventing Bentley from getting to the waste at all.