My dog eats poop. Is she vitamin deficient and how can I stop it?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! As you pointed out, they may be eating poop due to a deficiency of vitamins and minerals. Please remember that sometimes this is behavioral in nature. You can consider adding a multi-vitamin to their daily regimen. You may find these online or at your local pet store. If adding this, you would not have the need to feed them more which would likely result in weight gain. Good luck!

This is a very common behavior, some dogs just like the taste. It can also be a sign of intestinal worms or a nutritional deficiency, so make sure Max is up to date on his deworming treatments and feed him a high quality puppy food. The best way to stop this is to pick up his poop right after he goes, then he doesn't have access to it. I hope this helps!

Dogs will eat stool out of boredom, curiosity or in an attempt to correct a nutritional deficiency. She may outgrow the behavior eventually. Pick up stool immediately after she goes. Keep her occupied and engaged with toys and tasks to distract her from stool. Review her diet with your veterinarian to identify and correct any potential deficiencies. There are also food additives, such as For-Bid, that may deter her from eating feces.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center! Stool eating, also known as coprophagy, is actually quite common in puppies and in many adult dogs too. In fact, if not addressed in a timely manner, there's a risk that this unwanted behavior may end up becoming a recurring habit. There are many theories and potential reasons why dogs decide to eat their feces. These include poor digestion, boredom, stress, attention seeking, and a lack of vitamins/minerals in the diet. The latter is highly unlikely if you're feeding your dog a high quality commercial food, since these generally provide all the nutrients your dog needs. The effective way to deal with this behavior depends on the exact cause. So, it's always recommended to consult with your veterinarian.

There is nothing "wrong" with Maria's dining habits--we humans find it gross, but dogs look upon their piles as gourmet meals! Maria is far from alone in this behavior. The best way to stop the habit is to clean up after her immediately, every time she goes. You can also try sprinkling nasty-tasting stuff on it, like hot sauce, vinegar, or pepper. There is a product called Forbid (ask your vet for it), which you add to her food to make the delicacy less appealing. But chances are that as soon as you stop the poop-altering or the Forbid, she'll go right back to her "treats."

When an older dog is having a behavior change they should be checked out by your vet. Eating stools at this age is not normal and almost always has an underlying medical cause. You can try this supplement if you wish to see if it helps. If it does not, she should definitely see your vet. ( https://www.thepetcarefactory.com/online-store-digestive-health ) It would also be a good idea to add some of this supplement to the other dog's food to make the stools "taste bad" so hopefully it will curb Cora from wanting to eat it: ( https://www.animigo.co.uk/coprophagia-for-dogs.html )

Hi there and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Delilah is adorable! Unfortunately most of the time when a dog is eating it's own feces, it's just because they've developed the habit and decide that they like it. Obviously it's a pretty gross thing to do and can lead to reinfection with GI parasites so it's a behavior we want to try to stop. First you should do regular and immediate removal of feces in the yard so Delilah has less of a chance to get to the poop. You can also try feeding something like Forbid (a product you can purchase) or a small amount of pineapple juice mixed in with her food. This will sometimes stop a dog from eating their own feces. Very rarely this behavior can be a sign of a nutritional deficiency so if it continues have Delilah evaluated by your veterinarian. And bring a stool sample for evaluation as well to ensure she has not picked up a GI parasite. Hope this helps!