Sheltie eating its own poo?

J

Josh and Jess

Forums Regular
I have a somewhat yukky question: Does your Sheltie eat its own poo? :dead:

The reason I'm asking is that I have observed Jessie (10 months) doing it. Although she does not consume all of it, she will eat up to a third of what her back end just produced. Why would she be doing this? She only ever eats her own poo but never Joshies. I noticed that her poo is very smelly, although Joshies isn't. They are both on Hills Science Diet.

I tell her to 'leave it' whenever I see her doing it but she's such a clever little girl.. She now simply waits until I've left for work before she does it.

Anyone got any ideas? :eek2: :eek2:
 
Ah, yes, the dirty little secret of Sheltiedom. :razz: Most of us have been there. You can try putting bitter apple spray on it -- mine just thought it was dressing. Eventually Layla outgrew it. Until she did, I was the fastest scooper in Northern Virginia!
 
I don't have a problem with Spencer eating what he eliminates - BUT rabbit poop?:eek2: Oh yeah, he goes around the whole backyard with his nose to the ground seeking out those tasty little pellets.
 
Being the fastest pooper scooper would help:biggrin2: I'm only kidding. My friends dog used to eat their poo. There's a few products you can purchase at a pet shop for this. You just put it in your dogs food and it stops them from eating their own poo. I think one of the products is called "Forbid". YUK is right!
 
I actually saw an episode of "It's me or the dog" where one of the problems was the dog was eating his poo. The core of the problem stemmed from him (almost) literally inhaling his food-as if it was his last meal. So, he didn't digest it-basically, it came out the same way it came in. Since the dog wasn't getting enough nutrients the first time-his poo smelled very much like his food, so thus, he ate his poo.

I don't know if it'll work for your Sheltie, but Victoria used pineapple to solve the problem (along with a special bowl that forces them to eat slower). Pineapple tastes yummy going in, but it makes the poo taste & smell awful (really? you mean it's not already?). At any rate, it seemed to work and it solved the problem.

Hope this helps! :smile2:
 
Sadie was really gross about eating her poo when she was a pup. She would only eat her own poo and only if it was fresh and warm :dead:
Its something that she does less and less as she gets older and its been a number of months since she's done it but I can't say for sure that she'll never do it again. She's 13 months old now.

My trainer didn't seem to think that the things that you feed them that's supposed to taste bad coming out don't work, however I've read online about some people having success.

With Sadie I took a different approach. When she was young and I still had to go outside with her I'd bring out a treat with me. After she'd pood I told her she was a good girl and distracted her away from the poo with the treat. Then the poo would immediately be disposed of.

As she got older and could go outside on her own she learned that if she came in right after going pee/poo that she'd get a treat. Treats after peeing/pooing are definitely much better than eating poo. Sadie loves carrots so this is often her reward. I'm very glad that she loves healthy treats! We also got a good recall on her so that on the occasions when she remembered that she liked eating poo we could tell her to come and she'd come running for her treat. We always go out and pick up the poo after she's done so that the yard stays clean and she's not tempted to start her old habit again.

I hope this is helpful!
 
Jan244 said:
I don't have a problem with Spencer eating what he eliminates - BUT rabbit poop?:eek2: Oh yeah, he goes around the whole backyard with his nose to the ground seeking out those tasty little pellets.
Click to expand...


Squirrel and Deer area also very tastey to my Shelties...
 
Pineapple really? I have never heard that. My sheltie had tried eating her poo once when she was a baby.. but we caught her and told her no and she obeyed. Never had a problem with it ever again. I guess I was lucky.
 
Jan244 said:
I don't have a problem with Spencer eating what he eliminates - BUT rabbit poop?:eek2: Oh yeah, he goes around the whole backyard with his nose to the ground seeking out those tasty little pellets.
Click to expand...


My parent's sheltie Milo LOVES rabbit poop. I'm not sure it's a delicacy that Sadie has discovered yet, thank goodness. I've had trouble keeping her out of goose poop though. :dead:
 
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