How to prevent dogs from eating their poop without expensive pills?

This is such a common question for a gross, but unfortunately common, issue. Unfortunately, there isn't a great way to get them to stop. Adding excessive MSG (food seasoning) can make some dogs stop because their stool no longer tastes good (such as "For-Bid"). However, we don't know if there are negative effects for our dogs eating a lot of MSG. Trying to walk him for his bowl movement so you can pick up the stool right away is another way to manage it - you may need to have a treat ready to give him right away after he defects so that you have a moment to get to the stool. Good luck and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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.

Hi, thanks for using Petcoach. Unfortunately eating stool is a behavior problem without a simple answer. Cleaning up immediately after the dogs defecate and/or leash walking Dove may be the only viable way to prevent this. In some cases training along with deterrents such as Forbid may help, but preventing access to stool is the true solution. This article has a bit more information. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dog-behavior-problems-coprophagia

Hi there. You can certainly try this, if you want to. In my experience, most treats and food additives intended to discourage dogs from eating their poop aren't very effective - it's hard to make poop taste worse than it already does! The best thing to do is simply go out with your dog when he poops. and pick up the stool with a bag and dispose of it before he has a chance to eat it.

Unfortunately this is just a gross, bad habit. No medical reason or diet deficiency... I know, not what you wanted to hear! The best thing to do is clean it up immediately and start taking her out on a leash so she is trained to go outside. Then you can lead her away from the contaminated areas I have good success with a product called Forbid. You will have to feed it to both dogs though. It works well however it is not permanent so it will have to be redone periodically

For helping to eliminate purely behavioral causes of coprophagy, a three step method can be used: 1. Decreaseattractivequalityoffeces • Change in diet can oftentimes be beneficial, switching to a brand with a lower protein content to lower the amount of protein excreted into the feces (which the dog finds palatable). • Commercially available products added to food can decrease the palatability of the feces. Examples include: For-bid®; Deter®; and meat tenderizers. Consult with your veterinarian as to the proper dose to use. 2. Preventexpressionofbehavior • Being present and scooping up the feces immediately is a good way to prevent this behavior. • Keeping the dog on leash when taking him/her out to eliminate can help the owner physically prevent the dog from engaging in coprophagy. • Controlled feeding time allows the owner to predict time of defecation and be more vigilant when watching the dog. • Preventing access to other pet’s litterboxes or cleaning them frequently. • Spray collars, such as citronella can be used to deter the dog as well. • “Booby-trapping” feces, by adding hot sauce or “bitter apple” flavor INTO the feces, so the dog associates bad tastes with its feces. • Not rewarding the behavior by ignoring the dog when it consumes its feces, despite how difficult it may be for the owner. 3. Rewardpost-eliminationbehavior • Positive reinforcement immediately after good behavior (so owner must be present). Keep the dog on leash, and if the dog does not go for its feces, reward it with food and praise. Also, if the dog does try to reach for its feces, divert its attention to another simple task (such as asking to “sit” or “shake paw”) and reward it for performing the task. Health Concerns: As with all pets, regardless of whether or not the dog is coprophagic, owners should be careful about washing their hands at appropriate times, such as before eating, after handling feces, etc. Cleanliness is the first line of defense against potential disease transmission, which can include intestinal parasites. Coprophagy can be very distasteful to owners and can be a public health concern. If this occurs, consider seeing your local veterinarian to rule out any possible diseases as the cause and to develop a plan to help eliminate the behavior.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There is really no good medical therapy to prevent this so I am not sure how well those pills would work. This is usually a behavior that dogs tend to improve from relatively quickly. I would just try to avoid him eating his feces and discourage this behavior as much as possible. It is very likely that he will eventually improve on his own. Good luck and have a great day!