Question re: poop eating and kibble. Our 6 month old has become obsessed with poop - goose poop, rabbit poop, horse poop, etc.and now he’s started showing some interest in other dog’s poop. Thankfully, he hasn’t shown interest in his own poop (Yet. Knock on wood). My question for those of you who’ve suffered the same problem with your labs - has anyone had their lab stop eating other animal’s poop after a food switch? If so, what did you switch from/ to? Right now, he’s eating Purina Pro Plan Savor, which he’s been on since we got him from the breeder. He loves it, and seemingly, it’s been great for him, but I want to make sure that it’s not part of the issue. (And, I also don’t want to switch him unnecessarily) Thank you in advance!!
I switched to raw and it made no difference. He has also had 8 weeks of an analergenic kibble and then back to raw. Still to difference. Sadly I think some dogs just do. If you can reward “leave” with a high value treat you may have some success especially as he is still young.
Hi Kari. At 6 months our Hero was just the same. When out on the common it was deer, sheep, horse poop. Fox and rabbit poop were a favourite rolling ground till he was covered and he would actually pick up cat poop scent from about 20 m away and dash to gobble it down. At a year old this has now completely stopped. We just worked hard on 'leave it' and rewarded with high value rewards to start with same as for any undesirables he would go to pick up and now we say leave and he just walks on by without rewards being necessary, just a 'good boy' or 'well done'. Even leftover takeaways and other food can be passed now. The only one he hasn't mastered is the odd animal or bird carcass or skeleton which we are still working on. So personally I would continue to persevere with training the 'leave' rather than change from a food he is settled with
Hi, First time on this forum after meeting another member riding her horse! Went down the lab route after our Golden Retriever died a couple of years ago, now have a 6 month old bitch from working stock (small, only 14kg currently but very bright and built like a greyhound!!) feeding her barf, fresh meat and a bit of kibble, only real issue is eating her own poo. I feed her plenty of food and vary it weekly. She is slowly loosing interest in rabbit, deer and horse poo but you have to be ready to stop her eating her own, not a problem when out walking as you pick it up anyway but in the garden you have to watch her like a hawk. If your not there to remove it she will eat it straight away. Not very nice at all!! I made a shaker with kibble in it and she will respond immediately to it and forgets her own "ready meal". Seems to work okay.
I would stop the kibble. I was told once that because kibble fed dogs produce a lot of waste and it passes through the system quickly it comes out smelling much like their dinner(Not to the human nose it doesn’t!) Feed more of the raw making sure there is a good variety of protein and the right ratio of meat/offal/bone. Treats could still be protein like dried sprats/liver. A raw fed dog produces very little waste and mine has never shown an interest in his own although he will sometimes eat other dogs when out.
