How can I get my dog to stop eating poop

[billypayton]

We have a 9 month old American Bully. We adopted her at 5 months old, and she showed no interest in ever eating feces until we left her with a sitter for a week in December. Since we’ve returned, she is absolutely obsessed with finding any and all poop and eating it. It’s all she does when she’s outside now. My guess is while she was at the sitter’s she got a lot of yard time with minimal supervision, and she discovered the new hobby. I read that pineapple and pumpkin helps to deter them from their own poop, so I have started feeding her and our other dog those, and it does seems to help. However, if we are on a walk or at the dog park, that’s all she wants to do to the point where it’s become obsessive. I’ve tried deterring her with treats, using bitter apple spray, and we are working on leave it, but nothing seems to stick. Any and all advice would be appreciated!
She was also recently diagnosed with Giardia which I’m positive is from this new hobby, so I really need to way to make her uninterested in poop!

Update: we just found out our dog has tapeworms after extensive testing at the vet for a variety of symptoms she was having.
This could explain her poop obsession that seemed to pop up out of nowhere! I’m hopeful that after treatment she will have less of a desire!

 

[lukeyg7]

@billypayton Supervise or muzzle in the yard when not supervised.

 

[marco4444]

@billypayton Basket muzzle (safest)

https://muzzleupproject.com/muzzle-training/

It's a very difficult habit to break. It is normal dog behavior as much as we find it gross. But dogs like this take it a step too far. It's also possible your dog learned it from the sitter's dog, it is socially transmitted sometimes.

People don't like the muzzle because it makes their dog look mean. But it's about your dogs safety and it's a fairly common reason people use muzzles.

 

[regwely]

@billypayton I gave our little shit eater a powder from pet store for about a month and she learned. She lived 16 years and had to go back on it three times in her life. Horrifying the first time. Precious puppy doing what????

 

[marco4444]

@regwely Yeah it's a normal dog behavior but humans think it's gross.

 

[iustusetpeccator]

@billypayton What worked for me was catching her in the act a few times and some firm “No’s.” However, I usually have to repeat the process a couple of times each year once the temperature drops below 0°C because the temptation of digging for frozen poopsicles can be irresistible.

 

[jamesishappy]

@iustusetpeccator Poop-sicles

 

[iustusetpeccator]

@jamesishappy LOL,Not you correcting my grammar for poopcicles.

 

[rosieprettypaws]

@billypayton My breeder told me to give dog pineapple to stop eating poop. Worked for one not the other so it’s a daily race to get rid of it before he does

 

[barbrak]

@rosieprettypaws How did that work? Just cause they hate pineapple?

 

[rosieprettypaws]

@barbrak Pineapple even works as a poop-eating deterrent because it makes poop smell bad. The enzymes in pineapple are thought to change the way a dog's poop smells and tastes, making it unappetizing. Although there is no scientific evidence to support this claim, most vets recommend it, since it doesn’t hurt to try it out.

 

[annaburris]

@barbrak Probably releases a chemical when digested that makes the poop taste bad. There are commercial additives you can buy as well that do the same thing. I'm my experience dogs love pineapple, but I have never tried it as a poop eating deterrent. I actually have a poop eater right now, and both pups like pineapple, so I might give it a try.

 

[jamesishappy]

@barbrak Didn’t work for us.

 

[subjectobject]

@billypayton I had a guy tell me he put some cayenne pepper on the piles , the dog only did it one more time. I honestly don't know how I feel about that ,I'm definitely trying the pineapple thing first.

 

[billypayton]

@subjectobject I have used bitter apple spray, but I haven’t tried cayenne. Maybe I need to just once because she’s unstoppable lol

 

[ongaku]

@billypayton I had a pup that did this and she grew out of it. I would wash her face and mouth at the kitchen sink each time I caught her which she hated. Not sure if that is what made her stop or if she naturally lost interest.

 

[smithrt1967]

@ongaku ...at the Kitchen sink?!

 

[firstlady77]

@billypayton I read somewhere to try putting 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar on their food. Also another benefit to giving them pumpkin. The vinegar seems to be working for us.

 

[1discipleofchristjesus01]

@billypayton Maybe leave some poop out and put hot sauce on it, I heard from a trainer hot sauce strategy when getting them to not dig holes