General Discussions

**aschwa** · 01-19-2008, 07:46 PM

Okay, you've chosen to ignore my warning. I tell you this story to completely gross you all out and thereby make myself feel slightly better. You should definitely not read this if you're eating or plan to be eating soon. Highlight below to read it.

So we have a great dog who happens to be a black lab. She's still pretty young and kind of feisty and energetic. As beautiful as she is, she has a problem: she likes to eat her own dog feces. That's pretty gross, isn't it? Well, just the other day when I brought her in from running around outside, she began to hack and cough a bit. If I had only known what was about to happen, I would immediately have shoved her back outside. Yep, you guessed it, she proceeded to vomit her own poop all over the carpeted floor of my porch. And it wasn't just a little bit of pooh-vomit, it was a big, solid mountain of pooh-vomit. I did warn you, didn't I?

**andrei155** · 01-19-2008, 07:57 PM

Well, it has to come out from somewhere, and since it already came out the first way, maybe it was time for the second

.

**TributeK** · 01-19-2008, 08:43 PM

There is a reason for this, although I don't really feel like looking it up. I saw a video of a gorilla doing the exact same thing. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with a lack of a certain mineral or enzyme. I bet if you research it you could easily find out what the animal gets out of doing this, add that to it's diet, and it would probably help stop this act.

**aschwa** · 01-19-2008, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TributeK

There is a reason for this, although I don't really feel like looking it up. I saw a video of a gorilla doing the exact same thing. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with a lack of a certain mineral or enzyme. I bet if you research it you could easily find out what the animal gets out of doing this, add that to it's diet, and it would probably help stop this act.

Okay, I will have to look it up. We have another dog who eats the same food and doesn't do this, though. Maybe the black lab has a genetic problem getting all her nutrients, but she's otherwise completely healthy and fit.

**cbwm** · 01-20-2008, 07:53 AM

All dogs eat poop, just not normally their own poop. What a wonderfully low maintenance animal! It sounds like the real problem is the vomiting. Shes not bulimic is she? Perhaps making sure she drinks lots of water after her "Snacks" would help keep them down.

Side note: Do you ever invite any of your "Friends" over who like your dog and watch them let her lick their face? Could be entertaining. I'm just sayin.

**LadynRed** · 01-20-2008, 01:46 PM

It's called corprophagia - and here's one suggestion from a vet:

Quote:

Behavioral corprophagy can be stopped by diligent cleaning of the fecal matter, mineral supplementation and changing the flavor of the feces. Multi-vitamin and mineral supplements, such as VitaGravy, are often helpful in satisfying certain cravings your dog may have that lead him to such behavior. One common feces flavor modifier is monosodium glutamate, MSG, a flavor inhancer found in supermarkets. Accent(r) is a common brand. It just so happens MSG changes the feces flavor also when added to your dog's food. Try adding a mineral supplement and Accent(r) to your dog's food to see if it helps.

The bigger issue is that the dog could develop an infection in it's mouth or digestive tract from eating poop.. so it is something you want to try to stop.

And here's a more in-depth article on the subject:
http://home.gci.net/~divs/behavior/coprophagia.html

**serandfae** · 01-20-2008, 02:13 PM

Interesting story, though I wish you hadn't used hidden text to tell it.

My beagle used to do this. It's more common in some breeds than others. Incidentally, dogs' saliva has a heavy natural antibacterial factor in it, much higher than in other animals. I'd be more worried about my cat licking my face, since a cat's saliva has things within it designed to kill small prey.

**ADAM Web Design** · 01-20-2008, 03:01 PM

I used to know a guy who had a dog that did this. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. His logic was he just had to feed it once and it was set for life.

(Sadly, that's a true story.)

**midlandi** · 01-20-2008, 03:17 PM

My Daughter visited over Christmas with her new "westie" puppy who does that.
Just after one "feast" my wife picked him up, whereapon he Burped in her face!
Poo flavoured Burp.....Uggghhh!

**ForrestCroce** · 01-20-2008, 03:20 PM

Hey, Adam ... was Monty Python involved?

I have a friend who's dog used to do the same thing. She says he wasn't that bad to train out of it.

**aschwa** · 01-20-2008, 03:24 PM

The point that really grossed me out wasn't so much the pooh-eating as the pooh-vomit all over the floor of my porch.