There are several posts on this subject - if you try searching on 'eats poop' or something like that you'll get lots of info. My baby does the same thing. The vet (and others here) said there could be a few reasons. One - they learn it from their mom when she's cleaning up after the new puppies - that's most likely if they poop and then eat it right away (that's my Gracie's style). Or it could be because they're not digesting all their food so, I guess, their poop smells like food. Or it could be if they are not getting all the nutrients they need and some instinct tells them they'll get it in their poop. Puppy mill babies may have developed the habit because they want to keep their crates clean.
Solutions are varied. There are things you can sprinkle in their food (one product I got from the vet is called 'Forbid') which makes their poop taste bad. Some people recommend feeding them a little bit of pineapple every meal to do the same thing. I just got some chews at Petsmart that do the same thing. Gracie is finally getting over it but it's taken a few months of using all these remedies.
Hope this helps. |