COPROPHAGIA (OH YUCK)

QUESTION: We have an adult dog that has a small run beside the house to go to the bathroom in. Every time we let him out to the bathroom, he eats his old droppings. In fact all of them. This is disgusting so how do we stop it?

ANSWER: This problem occurs quite a bit actually. It often starts out of boredom, not enough free exercise and playtime. AND FAILING TO KEEP THE DOGS DROPPINGS PICKED UP EVERY DAY. Once the dog develops the habit it can be very hard to break. 3 things must be done to stop it. Change to another brand of dry dogfood (Iams is a good one) that does not taste as good coming out as going in. RULE OF THUMB is most CHEAP brands of dogfood are big culprits in "COPROPHAGIA" which is the correct term for a dog eating stool. Getting in the habit of picking up his droppings each and every day is very important. And purchase from a Vet Clinic a product that you put on the dog’s food that once passed through the digestive system makes the stool taste awful. I recommend a product made from Alfalfa. The products that work cannot be purchased at pet stores, only Vet Clinics.

He must be dewormed on a regular basis as he is continually reinfesting himself with worms by eating his stool.