Dogs Who Eat Their Own Feces

Dogs Who Eat Their Own Feces

I have a cousin named Leonard who was in the Army during Vietnam.

He and his fellow soldiers would often be in the jungle for several days at a time.  The Army would supply them with MRE’s.  (Meals Ready To Eat.)  These are kind of like T.V. dinners… packed in foil bags.  After the novelty of eating out of a foil bag wears off, you come to realize that MRE’s are some of the most bland-tasting food you will ever eat.

Leonard once told me that he and his buddies would pack small bottles of Tobasco sauce in their bags.  That Tobasco sauce became a real life-saver…. in the culinary department, that is… as dousing enough Tobasco sauce on any meal would make it edible.

I always think about Leonard whenever somebody tells me that their dog eats it’s feces and they’ve already tried seasoning it with Tobasco sauce.

Some Con-Man came up with this as a remedy for a dog’s fecal appetite, but it always seemed like a pretty good way to make it more appetizing for the dog, if you ask me.

So what should you do if your dog or puppy has this nasty habit?  Here’s a couple of things you can try.  My clients have had success with all of these:

  • Keep his area clean.  Don’t let him be in an area where he has access to feces.
  • Correct your dog with a collar and leash if he tries to eat feces.
  • Add pineapple juice to his meals.
  • Add ‘Accent’ meat flavor-enhancer to his meals.  (Apparently, this gives the feces an odd odor that repels dogs… as if the odor of feces wasn’t bad enough by itself???)
  • Pick up your dog’s waste immediately after he eliminates.