My dog eats poop

Q: Help! My shih tzu eats dog poop! What can I do to stop her from doing this? 

A: We took this reader's concern to our knowledgeable community of dog treat business owners and came up with terrific suggestions. Please write back and tell us what worked the best for you so we can share it with others who have a similar issue with their dog.

Stop dog from eating poop!

Why do dogs eat poop? Some may do it due to a health issue, because their digestive systems aren't functioning properly and they are hungry. Others do it "recreationally."

If you think your dog has a health issue and appears to be starving, please get him or her checked out by a veterinarian as soon as possible. 

Some dog food is not well-digested so when it is excreted, it appears to be available food.

You may have a dog who is eating poop just because it's there, or trying to destroy the evidence if he poops in the house. It is also thought that dogs eat poop as a survival tactic stemming from their wild ancestry - to hide their presence from predators.

The number one suggestion: pick up and remove all dog feces as soon as possible before the dog can get to it. 

If this is not feasible, there are natural ingredients as pictured above that may be helpful to stop a dog from eating poop, otherwise known as "coprophagia":

• Pineapple 
• Pumpkin
• Chili peppers
• Anise seed

These natural ingredients contain enzymes that work to break down the fecal matter into distasteful and even more foul smelling waste. 

Pineapple: Juice, canned or fresh fruit 
Pumpkin: Canned or fresh
Chili peppers: "season" the food with hot sauce or pepper
Anise seed: 1/4 to 1/4 teaspoon of anise seed sprinkled on the dog's food. 

Do not cook the pineapple or pumpkin as that will deactivate the enzyme that is necessary.

Make sure to give ALL the dogs in the household the anti-poop ingredients.

There are commercial products available. These have been recommended.
Click the links to learn more:


Dis-taste

Potty Mouth

S.E.P.

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Bad Breath Biscuits For Dogs Who Eat Poop

Bad breath biscuits for dogs can help your four-legged friend give more enjoyable kisses.

Dogs are not the most discriminating eaters. Unlike humans, who may choose not to order a hamburger with the onions or forego the garlic sauce when in close proximity to others, dogs do not care who they might offend with their breath.

Bad breath biscuits for dogs from The Black Pearl Bakery

You may have seen your dog or another one eat a pile of waste. Why do dogs eat poop? There could be various reasons why. One reason is just that he wants to. Nothing more complicated than that. Some dogs eat the poop from a more dominant dog.  Then, there are other behavioral reasons that could explain it. 

An unpleasant result of eating such an awful snack could be an upset stomach, or flatulence. 

Whatever the reason, the end result is BAD BREATH! Unfortunately, if you give your dog mouthwash, he is more likely to drink it than gargle. A better solution is to give him charcoal dog biscuits to calm his stomach. 

Activated charcoal helps to absorb bacteria from a dog's stomach and control the flatulence and upset. It is sold as a dog food product referred to as charcoal biscuits. The charcoal comes from coconut shells, wood, bamboo and olive pits. 

Make your own homemade dog treats using powdered activated charcoal. 

Powdered activated charcoal

Just add several tablespoons of culinary grade activated charcoal to a dog biscuit recipe. Roll out the dough and wash it with water before placing into the oven to bake the charcoal biscuits.

Note: Activated charcoal, or activated carbon, is processed in a special way and is NOT the same as the charcoal found in charcoal briquettes used for barbecues.

Join us in Homemade Dog Treats on Facebook to learn to make dog treats.