Watching dogs eat poop is stomach-turning. Why do they do this? Is this normal? How do I get them to stop? Follow along as I talk about my experience with Dagr, my Havanese puppy, and try to curb his poop-eating tendencies.
Personal Experience: My Dog Eats Poop
When Dagr first arrived, I noticed many things about him. He’s cute, playful, funny, outgoing…and he likes to eat poop. Rabbit poop is his favourite, with goose poop a close second. Most bizarre to me is how much he likes to eat his own feces and that of other dogs. What gives?
Here’s a link to a diary entry, where I attempt to juggle paws, poop, and puddles.
Understanding Poop-Eating in Dogs
I mentioned this to our vet during Dagr’s recent check-up. It’s a disgusting habit to us humans, but she confirmed that it’s normal puppy behaviour (called coprophagia) that they usually grow out of. She gave him some deworming medication to be safe, but so far, he’s healthy and doing fine. I feed him well (he’s on Carna4), and he gets plenty of enrichment and daily exercise. I work from home so he gets lots of attention. I don’t get the poop-eating drive.
Coping with Poop-Eating Behaviour
Dagr has a keen sense of smell and loves enrichment activities that involve tracking and hunting. To give him better things to hunt besides poop, I hide a portion of his evening meal around my condo, and he enjoys sniffing around for the kibble. When outdoors, I toss treats into the grass. I am wondering if I can channel this ability into something more productive when he’s older. I noticed that there are scent detection and nose work classes you can take your dog to, so I might look into those in the future.
His poop-eating proclivities make me think of those terrariums you seal, where the critters inside survive by living off each other. I picture Dagr in a jar, generating his own meals and living his best life. <sigh>
Effective Solutions for Dogs That Eat Poop
In the meantime, I have to figure out how to cope so Dagr can have more freedom when we’re on walks. I want to put him on a long leash and give him sniff time in the park, where he can wander and explore without being watched like a hawk.
I don’t enjoy prying poop and dead things out of his mouth, so I started researching solutions in earnest.
Innovative Products to Prevent Dogs from Eating Poop
That is how I stumbled across an ingenious product by Outfox called Field Guard. It is a breathable covering that goes over your dog’s head, creating a thin barrier between them and things in their environment. They hardly know it’s there, allowing them to participate more in their outdoor experiences while staying safe. In addition to helping to stop unwanted scavaging behaviour, it also protects your dog from insects and barbed grass seed penetration.
The product isn’t designed for dogs <9 lbs, so I’ll have to wait until Dagr is a little older before we can consider this option, but I am intrigued.
Safety Note: This product “cannot protect dogs from pesticides, toxic substances, and animals that excrete toxic substances” so don’t rely on this as a tool to stop exposures to these things. You still need to be vigilant and aware of what your dog is coming into contact with.
I reached out to the company for more information. They shared a testimonial, which I included below, from a customer whose dog was a compulsive poop eater. This product was life-saving for her dog.
Customer Testimonial: A Life-Changing Product
“I am reaching out because I really wanted to share how helpful and impactful the Outfox has been for mine and my dog’s quality of life. She has fairly severe compulsive pica, and she will obsessively eat poop, sticks, grass, and other things that are incredibly dangerous to her. She is very persistent and had been able to take off any muzzle I’ve had her wear prior to the Outfox, even with tons of positive muzzle training. We are working with a veterinary behaviorist and going through medication trials for this which have been helpful but take a long time to help, and have limits to how helpful they can be. Exercising her outdoors every day was completely exhausting and scary with her behavior problems, I was constantly afraid she was going to really hurt herself.
Once I found the Outfox, I felt like we had a brand new life. I can take her off-leash hiking every day and give her so much freedom that I had never been able to give her before! She is way more comfortable wearing the Outfox than any other muzzle, and she wears it quite happily whenever outside. She can romp around, run, swim, and play with other dogs all while wearing her Outfox! I can actually relax and enjoy being outdoors with my dog every day without being in a constant state of panic about her really hurting herself. I also feel the Outfox has really helped us give her behavior medications the best chance to work because it prevents her from getting into these unhealthy obsessive patterns of finding things to eat.
I feel really grateful this product exists; it’s been a complete lifesaver. And as a fun bonus, it keeps all the foxtails out of her face/ears and keeps her from being stung by bees in the face (she is very allergic to bees)!
Thanks so much for making this product; it’s been so, so helpful for us.
P.S. here is a photo of her getting to just be a dog out on trails with her Outfox ”
Conclusion
This product sounds like it could be a great option for dogs like mine with a compulsion to poop eat. I’m curious if anyone has tried it and what your experiences were. If Dagr doesn’t outgrow his poop-eating habit, I’m ordering one for him. Let me know if you’d like me to review it in the future!
Have you dealt with poop-eating issues in your dog? Share your experiences and solutions in the comments below. If you’ve tried the Outfox Field Guard, I’d love to hear how it worked for you!
