So we did the poo poll..... http://thelabradorforum.com/threads/poo-poll-does-your-labrador-eat-poo.14165/page-2#post-215569 Which (at least for this very informal poll) showed girls are much more likely than boys to eat poo. Then I got a girl puppy! I'm thinking 'forewarned' and all that. So far, the only precaution I've been able to take is never to leave her alone with poo. Which hasn't been difficult. We've avoided any accidents at night, and she is supervised during the day. (And the reason I'm typing this at half midnight is because I've just stood in the rain for 20 minutes, with no poo, and she is yapping in her pen so I just want to check she hasn't had a poo before I go to bed - I'm not returning to her pen while she is yapping). I don't have much intention of letting Betsy free run - she will get freedom, but I made the mistake with Charlie of allowing him too much free running too young, so intend she'll be on a line outside of a training field for quite a while. Hmm....hope that does it. Her recall is great already, the breeder sent me home with a 211.5 whistle (I use 212 for Charlie...) and a recording of Betsy's recall that has called the pups to food ever since they were weaned. Won't want to use that to call her away from poo though. So am training a 'quick' - like a magic word. And leave it, of course. Got a couple of weeks before we are out and about.
Betsy has no idea how much thought is going in to her training. She'll be completely sorted before I meet her at this rate!!!
Lottie has never eaten her own poo and didn't start eating other dogs' poo until she was about 5 months (just so you're warned ). She quickly became an addict but after a lot of (ongoing) hard work is now in rehab, only occasionally falling off the wagon .
Molly just eats cat poo. And duck poo. And horse poo. And fox poo..... What was the problem with allowing Charlie to much freedom out of interest?
Wrong sex but my boy Bailey has never eaten his own or other dog poo (not come across cat poo yet) but he is absolutely addicted to both rabbit and fox poo....oh and rolling in fox poo at EVERY possible moment!! He has lots of baths!
My three girls did a bit of horse poo snacking, but it didn't become a habit with any of them. By seven months old all had stopped doing it. They still show an interest, but don't eat.
As far as free runs go, our dogs don't get any until they are 17 weeks old and then only with one or two known dogs. They are expected to 'greet nicely then come away' from unknown dogs. I think having another dog at home helps them not to develop any dog fixations.
My girl vote on the poo poll was for cat/horse/cow/rabbit/sheep - but never dog poo. Fingers crossed Betsy doesn't develop the yucky habit.
Hattie will sometimes have a snack on sheep and horse poo but that's it, if I am quick enough a 'leave it' stops her. Charlie never snacks on any poo as he's running too fast to even notice it x
Once her vaccinations say she is ok to go out, I would take her to a safe place with trees and bushes and little ofshoot paths and then keep changing your direction (no long line on!) and she will ever more watch where you are. Worked with my young man.
That is good advice in general, @Stacia but with a very, very bold puppy (like Charlie, and Betsy is even bolder if that's possible, I think) and in London, the change direction thing is a little bit risky. If you had a cautious working line puppy in the country, sure, but having experienced Charlie's version of the puppy 'safety response' I think Betsy is going on a line....
Charlie was a bold puppy, strayed too far from me very easily, never met anything that scared him (because he wasn't scared of anything) and learned that fun is to be had all around him and wasn't all that bothered if he lost me. It took months and months of hard work to regain proper focus from him, and stop him legging it to anything that moved - and I seriously mean anything. People, dogs, skateboards, joggers, plastic bags, leaves....anything. He still does it today from time to time, not often. But a while ago, he spotted 4 people in orange jackets working on a railway line. I'd say they were maybe 400m away. They just caught his interest and he was off....got a video of it somewhere...
I have a girl poo eater, although not dog poo. Sheep, cow, goose, rabbit have all been a tasty treat. Fox poo is just for rolling in! She has got much better and at 7 months has a pretty good 'leave it! ( because we have had so much practice!). Good luck!
That's the adv Molly is the opposite, scared of everything. Any dogs or people walk past she comes and sits behind me. Makes her look amazingly well trained!
