uuugh! Poop Eater & behavior issues
 

Cooper, my new yorkie eats his poop!:eek:
I was going to start tomorrow giving him the pineapple; today during his walk he started eating another dogs poop! Now thats just disgusting! So I'm pretty sure now, he will eat Lulu's poop too. Why do some dogs do this?

Cooper is 1.5 years old, neutered...He marks everything! I'm starting to believe this is the reason he was given away. Is there anything I can do to stop this at his age?

I'm sorry your going through this, I don't have much advice to give you as I haven't been in this position yet. I believe you can get him belly bands so he doesn't spray. I am pretty sure I read on here that that is what they are used for, I'm sure someone who owns a male will know. As for the poop, is he trained to go inside or out? Will he go and then eat it right away? Only thing I can think of is to have it cleaned up asap after he goes or like you mentioned I think I read pineapple helps. Good luck and hang in there :)

Let's break this down into smaller steps. First you need to do 3 things for his marking. Get a good neutralizing cleaner and clean anywhere he has been marking inside your house. Then you need to put a leash on him and not let him out of your sit until you have this issue under control. Keep him at your side and do not allow him free movement. Get yourself some belly bands and keep them on him until you are sure that he has stopped this behavior. Is it that he is marking or not housebroken or possibly a combination of the two? If I was to take a guess your answer is probably both. It sounds like he was pretty much out of control at his former home.

When I brought Bogey home he tried marking too. I make a huge stack of belly bands and as soon as he and Doodlebug came into the house they would both stop at the back door and I would put them back on. It took some diligence but they no longer mark.

As for the poop eating I believe that dogs that eat their poop have too much grain in their food. I looked back and found a post that said you are feeding NB duck and potato for your little girl and SD for him. If that is true I would switch both to the NB. Pineapple is suppose to be good for making them stop but it can become a very bad habit. I think Accent on their food is another remedy. Pebbles ate her poop for a very short time when she first came to live with us at 5 months. She was eating Eukanuba (I think) but when we started switching food she stopped. I feed NB Sweet Potato and Venison and I don't have this problem at all. I'm not sure how much pineapple but I would think you would mix a little crushed into the food. IMO I think I would make the kibble wet and add it into the mixture.

If you are switching I would also add canned pumpkin to their food. You can give it to both, I actually give it to my three every day and they love it mixed into their food with a little warm water. Its cheap and goes a very long way.

Great post!! Such good advise. You always have the answers.

I give Olivia a chunk of pineapple (which I cut into 3-4 pieces) along with her 2 daily meals. It really does seem to have helped her poop-eating fetish...along with that I really watch her when she poops outside and immediately divert her attention if she even acts like she's thinking about eating it! And I keep the poop cleaned up (pretty much). It's such a gross thing! :eek:

Thank you all for your advice..

"megansmomma", Cooper is somewhat potty trained(when he wants to)...I take him outside, he does his pee but he comes inside and does his poop on the floor. His previous owner kept him in the bathroom all day while she worked. It gets kind of fustrating because I walk him for almost 30 minutes and all he does is sniff, lift his leg, mark and then poop inside...to then eat it!:eek:

I will be trying the pineapple today..this won't hurt their digestive system?

His groomer today recommended not to give him that, he was giving me something else that looks like nutrical, he says it works great, but in between talking and stuff I walked out without it.

Where can I find the belly bands? Petsmart? How does it work?

You just gave me the answer that I was looking for~if you are taking him out and walking him for 30 minutes and he is coming back in and going on the floor he is not trained. Please just listen to what I am saying without getting upset........

It is great that you are taking him out for long walks BUT he is getting distracted from the job at hand. He's probably lifting his leg on every bush, tree, fire hydrant that he see but not "going potty" there is a difference. Now if you told me that you took him out, he went pee and poop and you took him immediately back into the house then he's trained.

If you want to truly break him of this habit you need to take him out for just a few minutes say NO LONGER that 5 minutes. As soon as he makes potty~~praise, treat and immediately back into the house. I am also guessing that when you go for your walk, he comes back inside and you let him immediately off his leash and he now realizes that he needs to go for "real" he then pees and poops. Then you want to loose your mind! ;)

You should take him out for very small potty breaks and only let him go unsupervised for short times after. He's not associating your 30 minute walks with making potty outside ALL the time.

As for the belly bands there are people here that sell them.
* Featured Yorkie Products For Sale * - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community

The belly bands are a garment that wraps around their midsection which prevents the urine from hitting your furniture and carpet. It does not stop their marking all it does is stop the ability for the pee to hit the spot. It is NOT a cure of marking but a prevention for the messing.

No pineapple will not hurt them at all. My Bogey goes crazy for pineapple and will eat it straight up;)! His entire body wags when he sees me opening a can and he does the "pineapple dance":p. Personally, I give my three all different fresh veggie and fruit it is good for their digestive system and also healthy for them. They will eat bananas (Doodlebugs fav), oranges, grapefruit (Pebbles fav), carrots, green beans, celery (Pebs other fav :rolleyes:) and even different types of melons too. Fresh veggies are great for these little ones. On the other had I wouldn't be flipping them FF or cheesburgers.:p

Of course there are many products out there for stopping poop eaters that are sold commercially. Pineapple is a cheap home remedy that is proven to help with this issue. IMO the most important thing is to feed a high quality food that is low in GRAINS which also addresses this problem.
*Something also to think about ~was your groomer actually giving or SELLING you this product when he recommended it as a better alternative than pineapple? ;)

I hope this was helpful and answered any of your questions. :)

Thank You "megansmomma"...Your advice has been very helpful and I would not get upset...I'm here for all the advice I can get on this new addition.
Lulu was no problem because I got her when she was only a few months but Cooper is 1.5 years old, still young but came with these little bad habits I have never experienced with.


Yes, this is exactly what I do and it's fustrating that he decides that the floor is the place to do it.


Thank you..I would look into them.;)

I am on my way to buy some pineapple!...do you buy the can? in the frozen bag or a just a pineapple and cut into pieces? How much is to much and do you feed it once a day, twice?
As to the groomer...of course he was selling!:D


YES! You have!....thank you!:)

I just changed Cooper's food to NB-duck & potato small bites; I mixed in a little of the wet and he LOVED it!! He never ate the SD like that before.

I also tried the pineapple a few chunks(dole can) and he loved it also and guess what?....Did not eat his poop last night and did not care for it today either!

How much is to much pineapple? I only gave him 2 chunks last night and today another 2 chunks. Is it once a day or with all his meals?

As soon as he finished eating, I walked him outside, he peed and pooped!:D
Cooper got hugs and kisses and a treat for being a good boy.

:bravo:

See I told you it would work! ;) I think what you are doing is just perfect. I would give him a chuck or 2 with each meal and see how he does and adjust from there. I really turns into a nasty bad habit after a while. I was feeding mine the Duck and Potato and their poop got very greasy looking. I changed to the sweet potato and venison and now it's much better but it is heard to fine. I've been told that there is a game meat shortage because of the high demand for all the dogs with allergy issues.

I hope this fixed his little problem. :)

2 poop eatters x2
 

:eek:HELP. I JUST HAD TO RUN TO THE BATHROOM TO P--E.I HAVE A MALE X 2 THAT EATS POOP.I WAS SITTING AND READING YT.WHEN I SMELLED POOP,BAILEY WAS EATTING P--P DOWN BY MY FEET.I HAVE HEARD IF YOU PUT TOBASCO ON POOP AND THEY TRY TO EAT IT,THEY WILL NOT EAT IT.I ALSO HAVE GONE TO THE VET HE GAVE ME POUDER TO PUT ON THERE FOOD,DID NOT DO A THING.CAN ANYONE HELP ME WITH POOPIE PROBLEM X 2.:2puppy:

Well, i just went and got pineapple and pumkin.isure hope it works.they all like the pineapple.

I can't help, but I was wondering if someone knew how the pineapple works.

I have 2 poop eaters! Yuck!! I am going to try the pineapple. Do you buy canned in syrup or fresh? Thanks

Whoever knew that so many pupsters think their poop is dee-licious!? :D What works for me is to buy canned pineapple chunks in juice (not sugary syrup). I give my 5# yorkie 1 chunk (I break it into 3-4 little pieces) at each of her 2 daily meals. She loves it and I have not seen her eat her poop since we started the pineapple, about 2 weeks ago. The explanation I read (I believe it goes like this) is that the pineapple contains something that helps break down the proteins in their digestive system, resulting in less-appealing poop.

:DI tried it for the first time yesterday, I purchased the can/syrup(dole brand), it's already in chunks and I haven't seen Mr Cooper eat his poop...yet

So do the belly bands actually teach them to not mark? I guess I had the impression they were just like a diaper, didnt know they could be used as a training device.