When to call it quits?

[angieNchloe]

It does take alot of time and energy to raise a new puppy, especially one that is showing signs that your not used to.....

As far as the feces/stool eating...here is a copied and pasted insert from pet md.com

There are several possible causes of dogs eating their own feces or other non-food items, including malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, increased appetite, or conditions such as diabetes, or thyroid disease. Parasites can be another of the causes for this behavior.

This is something that upsets me because most vets only use a bandaid, they give you something to put on the food and don't take the time to see the underlying reason a dog is eating it's stool, because this is NOT normal for any dog.

Possibly you can get some help with training...and allow someone to train your dog and then you reinforce that training.

If you feel in your heart you can't do this...I would offer this baby to someone who really wants it and is willing to take all the time it needs to get it trained.

It's really hard to work and have a new dog. I know you'll do what's best for the dog.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Puppies are hard work and its your job to teach them everything. I dont have any advice but I think its very sad to get a puppy and then get rid of it. Most great things in life take hard work. How great a dog Callie is was worth all the nights of no sleep, getting up at all hours to take her potty, cleaning up the accidents, puppy class, and all the other things. Shes has this amazing love for me even if I forget to play our game of chase or fetch, or if I forget to order her bully sticks or if Im to depressed to even get out of bed she is still there to show an amazing love that only a dog can and all the work is worth that in my opinion.

Awesome!

Originally Posted by Ringo1

I felt this way about my Westie when he first came home. He was so different from our laid-back little maltese that had passed four years earlier.

I was concerned about the Westie breed by all the 'high activity' and 'high exercise levels' that I read. But, I let my son get one anyway! All the descriptions were true. Ringo was stubborn, he would not do anything we said; he hid under the deck for hours; he dug up my yard . . sometimes I didn't really like him much and vice versa, I think.

It took some time and effort to bond with Ringo. One thing that really helped us was taking agility classes. Now, I'm not necessarily recommending this for you - but we had a great trainer who recognized right away that Ringo was the leader of our pack. Once we got used to working together in a fun way - us giving commands and Ringo following them - he was like a whole different dog. We actually had fun together and enjoyed being together. Plus, he was getting a lot more EXERCISE.

I quickly learned that Ringo needs, at the bare minimum, a mile walk per day. This helps drain some of his crazy energy and, he is just easier to live with.

Your puppy will eventually calm down. The poop eating may stop. (Though Lucy still likes goose poop). I would try getting her into puppy classes where you can do some basic obedience together and have some fun. I would try walking both dogs together to improve their bond.

Bottom line - if you see her as just another source of stress - then that bond between you two is not going to form. You have to start actively working with her to address some of your issues.

Try this:

Nothing in Life is Free

Fantastic post!

[Rakaser1]

I know exactly what you are going through. When I brought my 2 new pups home I had high expectations but they were soon dashed. After finding out they had ear mites, we discovered they had mange. Their digestive system was a mess and no food was agreeing with them. On top of it all they decided their poop was mighty tasty. They came from a bad breeder whom I turned in but I rescued these precious babies anyway. I too was at my wits ends but am so happy that I did not give up on them. They are doing sooooo much better now. They have stopped eating their poop ever since I changed them to a grain free food, Natural Balance Potato & Duck to be exact. They love it and have gotten healthier since I've been feeding it to them. They have even become easier to house break, have resolved practically all their behavioral issues too. I have a pen for them and a kennel, this is essential IMO. They have also been in training classes for 4 weeks now, which is helping tremendously too. We, as responsible fur baby owners, have to put the work in to have great dogs and some just require more time and work. I have to say when I was losing sleep, frustrated & crying from all the trips to the vet & the ER, losing patience with them about house training, I was on the verge of giving up. Hang in there, things will change but you have to be diligent. They will be so appreciative that you didn't give up on them and you will be too. I love my little girls so much & they love me back just as much!

[FoxxysMom]

I have been where you are and I am ashamed to say i could not stand my dog. Not my yorkie but Shanti. I was already stressed with life and it felt like everything bad she did was on purpose to tick me off. I hired a trainer but seemed like she only respected him. Long story short, Shanti taught mea lot and i realized Shanti was teaching Choppa. She gave him his bounderies without hurting him. I cant tell you what to do but wanted to say dont beat yourself up. Just making this post shows you want whats best. I will be praying for you and your babies and thst ypur decision works for you both.

[katirob]

I was concerned to read the post that indicated there might be underlying disease causing a puppy to eat poop and saying it wasn't a normal behavior and that vets sometimes apply a bandaid. Hmm -- is that what my vet did? So I looked up the article referenced and found an additional paragraph that was not included - see below:

Sometimes a dog will eat their feces if there are undigested articles of food in their stool. Mothers with newborns will also commonly eat the feces of their newborns. As such, puppies may eat feces as an observation of the mother's behavior or as part of exploration. In addition, a dog may eat feces as a response to recent punishment, to get attention or because it desires to clean its environmental area.

So, your puppy and mine MAY have an underlying health issue or MAY be exploring - hard to tell. A vet's counsel would be wise anyway. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the 'bandaid' my vet offered seems to be working, suggesting that my pup falls into the 'explorer' category - hope yours does too, so as not to cause you a bunch of medical bills on top of everything else!

[MaddiesMommie]

When I first rehomed Cooper, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into. She was not housebroken properly and developed dirty dog syndrome-she barked at everything-she was destructive-she ate way too fast, making herself sick, so then I had vomit to deal with a few times a day- she lacked proper social skills with people and other dogs.
**The first thing I had to do was realize NONE of these were her fault. She was only exhibiting behaviors she had developed due to lack of training. It took LOTS of work and patience to correct her behaviors. She still requires special attention and will slip up occasionally.
Your pup is going to need your attention, time, and lots of training. There is no magic or quick fix to most issues.

[MaddiesMommie]

I cannot imagine giving away one of my dogs, BUT if I was not willing to take the time to help Cooper, I would have only been cheating her. She would have always been in "trouble" and not living the happy, healthy life she deserves. Should you see that you are not able or willing to give 110 percent for your pup, then I suggest you seek a reputable rescue to surrend to. I hope you are able to find some help and correct the behaviors your dog has developed. If you do, you will not be disappointed with the rewards. One look into Coopy's big brown eyes make all the hard work soooo worth it. Good Luck, please keep us posted.

[ArmaniMan]

People have given you great advice on working on the issues you have, if that is something you choose to do.

As far as your original question though- I think it is time to call it quits when an animals quality of life is suffering. If you don't have the time to exercise the dog, train the dog, spend time with the dog, etc- then maybe it is best for the dog to be in a new home. If you are too stressed when you get home, the dog will feel this and act accordingly.

In the future, I think you need to spend more time researching the type of pet you are getting and the time they require before adding a new addition to your home.

Good Luck to you and your pup.

[JuliesDogs]

First I have to clarify that this is my second dog. My first yorkie Tommy is 5 and was a very good puppy. He came from a rescue puppy mill so he has TONS of medical issues but one of my dear friends is a vet and I'm happy to say he is very healthy these days. He is also very well behaved, he never ate his poo or barked more than at the door or chewed on my hands or anything. I was living at home until recently so he was used to having someone home pretty much all the time so while it is true I wanted another dog to keep him company I had also been thinking about it for a while. I thought I could deal with it but I think I was maybe hoping I'd get a carbon copy of him. I am not unwilling to work with Sallie, I tried the Forbid and the water (she loves water and the can w/pennies and forbid did nothing). I just didnt want her to get more bonded to me, or have to go through training and things if it didnt work. I think I'm worried training wont work. I've never dealt with behavior issues before so I was a little hesitant but it sounds like it can be done so I will give it a try. I do love my dog I just want to do the right thing for her. I hope this is just a test of my patience and one day I'll look back and laugh.

[YorkieMother]

Only reason a pup would see a mother dog clean up to the extent it was habit fomring is if the breeder was not all over cleaning up after the pups themselves.

Where did this pup come from?

Also one can research all one wants but the reality of this is that sometimes dogs do not fit. The mersiful thing is to allow it to find a place in life where it does fit.

JL

[gracielove]

It is possible for a puppy to have personality problems because of bad breeding. I don't know what kind of line your puppy comes from but there has been a lot of indiscriminate breeding with Yorkies that could cause neurological issues and other problems that can effect the dogs behavior. If you are willing to continue working with the puppy maybe you could have it evaluated by a professional who understands dog behavioral problems. If you do decide to rehome the dog this may be something that needs to be considered anyway. If the puppy does have problems it would need a very special home that could live with it's issues.

[TwoforFun]

I heard of giving the dog pineapple so their poo becomes sour. My girl used to eat her poo and it eventually stopped. I would keep the poo their and every time she went back to it I would say NO.

Dogs eating their poo is not rare. I would not be able to argue the reason they do it but it happens.

My girl used to drive me crazy as well (still does ). But I was able to train her to pay attention to me. Now she's still a hyper little dog but when I say come here she's by my side waiting to be picked up. I think a little bit of training will work miracles. If you don't have time to walk your pup all the time, throw a ball across the room.

[Furbaby Friend]

Okay, I need to clarify this misinformation. Dogs do not eat poop because there is something wrong with them. It CAN be because of health concerns (and of course you should get it checked out to rule them out), but USUALLY it is not. It is a behavior that is all. My own research and my own vet and my friend who is a vet all backed me up on it too.

It is a behavior that some grow out of OR with patience and training you can get them not to do. Just like biting, barking, and chewing on things they shouldn't. Things like Forbid and pineapple help teach them not to do it. I personally like pineapple.

Putting hot sauce on top of eliminations and leaving it for them to "try" and find out it is NOT yummy, is also a method for bigger dogs (not sure if it is a good idea for little ones and I have not tried it).

Anyway, I just needed to correct the impression that poop eating means there is something seriously wrong because that is not necessarily the case.

Note: Poop eating is a common behavior for all breeds of dog.

[angieNchloe]

Glad that was cleared up by those who have dealt with that! That's not something I personally have had to deal with yet. Not to say Chloe won't try it one day, as she is a little stinker! As I said in my post, I was ONLY copying and pasting what was on www.petmd.com
:-)

[Denzilla]

Puppies are a lot of work. Don't give up on her. If you do I guarantee you'll regret it. Good Luck.