Summary: 'My puppy is eating its poop, will he grow out of it?' or 'It's so GROSS when my dog is eating its feces. How can I stop my dog from eating feces?' Believe it or not, dogs eating poop is more common than you may think. It's called coprophagia. We'll review ways to handle this problem.

It is not unusual to see a puppy eating its own or other's feces. This behavior actually has a name. It's called coprophagia. It is disgusting but usually not harmful if the puppy is eating its own feces. Nevertheless, it's the last thing you want to smell when you are snuggling with your puppy. If the puppy eats the feces of another dog or animal though, it could be harmful if the stools have worms, parasites or infectious diseases in them.

Deter Dog Coprophagia Treament 120 Tablet Bottle $9.99 at 1800-PetMeds

Deter Dog Coprophagia Treatment 500 Tablet Bottle $29.99 at 1800-PetMeds

Solution: Other than keeping your dog's poop cleaned up, you can also buy products that you put into the puppy’s food that make the stools undesirable. Deter is the leading product in this category. It works wonderfully well. It comes highly recommended by its users as you can see on the link to the products above. Make sure you read the comments about the product from 1-800-PetMeds. The good news about this behavior is that most of the time puppies do grow out of it. Important: Don't induce vomiting when your puppy eats poop.

A simple training method can also be tried. When you are walking your dog on a leash, simply jerk the leash when your dog approaches feces, and reward him/her when they avoid it.

Deter from Excel, which is offered online by 1-800-PetMeds is described by them as "a safe and effective easy to feed chewable tablet. It is used to stop dogs and puppies from consuming their own feces. Dog eating poop (coprophagia) is a common but disturbing habit in dogs. The cause of this behavior is unknown, but this product is formulated to stop this." (Please note that 1-800-PetMeds currently offers 'Free Shipping' on orders over $39.)

If you have further comments or questions about 'Coprophagia: Puppy or Dog Eating Poop', feel free to visit our Forums, Use our 'Ask a Breeder a Question Link' or make a Comment on this article below. We encourage participation and feedback.

---

Comment on this Subject