Dog eating poo????

[purplehair]

My mum in laws 10 wk rotweiler keeps trying to eat poo when they take her out, why is she doing this?? how can they stop her???

[CrazyWolfman]

Depending on what type of poo she's eating I would suggest that she is trying to change her smell. In a wolf pack the diet depends on the rank for this reason, therefore the alpha pair, who eat very high quality meat and organs, will smell different to the lower ranking members who will eat a higher amount of lower quality meat and stomach content (partially digested vegetation in most cases). In other words, at home your dog is likely to be fed with the higher quality diet of a high ranking dog, where in fact she behaves like a lower ranking one. This means she smells like something she isn't (which can also cause conflict with other high ranking dogs as they are assuming that she is trying to userp their rank). It's also worth mentioning that juvenile dogs are automatically lower ranking than adults.

The solution would therefore be to mix in a small amount (2 tablespoons or thereabouts) of blended up vegetables with her food. Providing that's what the problem is, that should do the trick, if it isn't then write back and I'll have another crack at it.

[maggie01]

I she is doing it when you are out. Our vet told me that the only way to stop ours was to get there first. He says it doesn't do them any harm, it just is not pleasant.

[lankeela]

Pineapple in the food will make her own poo unpalatable, but at such a young age I would have thought you could easily steer her away from any poo.

She should have a well balanced high protein puppy food to make sure she is getting all the goodness she needs from her food, rather than a cheaper diet that is undigested and passed through almost ready to eat again.

[purplehair]

Thanks all!

[kittenlittle]

Squirt her with a water pistol as she goes in for it, it might put her off.