Bad Habits?

[Sadie1]

I have a 3.5 month old Yorkie female. Extremely cute but when unattended she'll eat her poop. Any suggestions as to how to make her quit? Most people say she'll outgrow this but it seems she's getting worse.

[JillandJack]

Little Jilly did this when she was a puppy and did outgrow it! I can only suggest you monitor her when outside and pick it up right away.

[abbie's mom]

Hi and WELCOME to YT.

I'd say, "just be glad she doesn't eat CAT poo!" Some of our sweet, adorable, prissy little girls have that disgusting habit. I can't let Abigail outside without close supervision, because neighborhood cats come into my backyard and POO.

[klogan]

Stomper will eat poop anytime he can get to it. It is gross. He is almost 2 years old and didn't outgrow it. I tried some products from the vets to prevent it, but it did not work.

[Nancy1999]

I’ve read that sprinkling a little meat tenderizer on their food discourages them from eating poop.
Nancy

[Amanda7]

I had that problem with Snickers as a puppy, and used Deter. It's available at most pet stores. It worked for as long as I used it, and eventually he got out of the habit. Also, it's important to pick up poop as soon as possible. Good Luck!

[artie merlino]

Unfortunetly I have the same problem......I had a litter of 3 puppies and the 2 younger females are eating their own pooh too! It irritates the heck out of me! They will eat their own and each others, they only started doing it since I started feeding them the wet/canned dogfood. It upsets me to have to scold them. My male used to do it too, but he grew out of it. Actually the more you respond and get excited they think I'm playing a game when I chase them to try and stop them. It's weird if you don't acknowledge it they stop and grow out of it? I tried everything from the Vet. but it only works unless you keep giving them the pills and that gets expensive! I even tried "Meat Tenderizer". But so far I noticed you just can't leave them un-attended for long periods of time and when they do go pooh, you have to pick
it up right away! Good Luck

[Yorkie3]

Isn't that disgusting?? Joey and Gidget will do that, Joey more so. Emilee never has. I've tried everything suggested here and from my Vet to no avail. I just have to get it picked up right away.

[Suzy]

Emma did/does this too. It comes in waves with her. It's disgusting.

A couple things to try:
-Pick it up right away, when possible
-Try DETER from a petstore. FORBID from the vet gets expensive and does the same thing.
-Praise the dog for pooping in the right spot, right away, and give a small treat. Sometimes the small distraction will make them forget about the actual poop.
-After getting them away for awhile, DON'T pick it up. If they go too near it, say, " LEAVE IT!" and let them know they poo'ed and that's great, now leave it alone. We're working on this one with Emma.

[rachelsyorkie]

It gross but a lot of dogs do it, I always just say ewww dont eat the poo, lets get a treat instead.

[Gail49]

Try giving them canned pineapple chuncks. My neighbor told me this and it works. Good Luck

[howie_wowie]

Howie does this too and it REALLY bothers me! I get so upset w/ him. I can't help it when I'm not home and I notice he's messed w/ his poo. But, when we're at home, he'll sneak away and poo somewhere and them eat it! I now know, when he's really quiet for more than 30-45 seconds, he's up to something...like eating his poo! Just his morning when I was in the bathroom getting ready, he did it. I pick it up right away when I notice he is going, but even if I don't catch it for 30 seconds after he's done, he's already at it.

I've tried Deter, it doesn't really work. Or, I think it works one round. The round that he goes after taking it. But, they say one time a day, so I don't want to give him some after everytime he goes.

Any other suggestions?

[Sadie1]

Originally Posted by Gail49

Try giving them canned pineapple chuncks. My neighbor told me this and it works. Good Luck

I tried the pineappleand it didn't work. She cleaned up her poop again.

[YorkieMom55]

It's taken a few litters of puppies to finally figure out that the first thing that they learn from their momma's is to eat poop. (We call it "self-snacking" Yuck.) It's imprinted as soon as they are born and mommy is licking and cleaning. Some forget it and others don't. Sunnie will clean up after them until they are weaned and then I'm the clean up crew.
I just need to get into the same schedule they are on and watch for it and pick it up as soon as they do it. Good Luck, you're doing a good job trying to do something about it now and not waiting a year.

[Sadie1]

Originally Posted by YorkieMom55

It's taken a few litters of puppies to finally figure out that the first thing that they learn from their momma's is to eat poop. (We call it "self-snacking" Yuck.) It's imprinted as soon as they are born and mommy is licking and cleaning. Some forget it and others don't. Sunnie will clean up after them until they are weaned and then I'm the clean up crew.
I just need to get into the same schedule they are on and watch for it and pick it up as soon as they do it. Good Luck, you're doing a good job trying to do something about it now and not waiting a year.

thanks. Never had to deal with this before. Hope she stops it soon.