Poop Eaters

Corey asks:

My friend really needs some help. My friend got a Bichon 7 months ago, after seeing how great my Bichon is. But she has had nothing but problems. The main being that she constantly eats her poop. Any suggestions that I can give her???

Jersey suggests:

Hi Corey
I'm not an expert but I would suggest that she clean up the deposits made by her Bichon immediately. Mine get into the cat litter box so it is scooped everyday. If it is not available they can't eat it. I have read that they eat it because they are missing something in their diet but I can't recall what it was sorry.
Jersey

JennieMac responds:

Sorry that I can't help, but I will be very interested to hear what advice comes back. My Molly doesn't eat her own pooh, but she gets into our cats pooh !!!!! It's not so nice when she jumps up for a cuddle in the evening, and she has been raking thru cats poo out in the garden.
The vet reckons she just enjoys the flavour of the biscuits/food the cats are eating.
Jennie and Molly

Tabou's Mom responds:

Our two used to do the same thing when they were puppies...the suggestion of the other responder is good...eliminate the poop asap. Puppies usually will eat any and everything they find...as the "older dog's number rule for puppies" is: "If you find something that may be food, always go ahead and eat it...you can always throw it up later". For dogs, this is still one of their common behaviors. Discouraging it plus maturity usually brings some results, although ours still LOVE rabbit pellets!
There are other recommendation out there concerning diet, etc.--best to check with a vet, too.


Jean responds:

We had a poop eater too.
Cleaning up right after helped.
If she got stinky breath -- we gave her a shot of a product called "Happy Breath", like a powder mouthwash for dogs.