Anyone tried this anti-poop-eating product?

sriley · #1 11th January 2010, 09:14 PM

My sweet, 6-month old white Boxer named Chief is really beginning to gross me out. At first, he simply liked to roll in dead things and animal feces. Within the last week, he has developed a liking for dog poop -- both his and Sarge's, my other Boxer. When I went out this afternoon to pick up the poop in the yard, Chief had already done the job for me. Normally, I go out with them and as soon as they do their business, I clean it up. It's been really cold here lately and I don't always go out with them first thing in the morning as I'm usually still in my pajamas, but it's looking like I'll have to get used to the cold! I feed them TOTW and I recently switched flavours from roasted fowl to bison & venison, so I'm not sure if the flavour switch has something to do with his new found love of poop or not, but I need to fix the problem fast. Anyway, my vet was telling me about this product called Forbid that apparently comes in power form. You simply sprinkle the power on the dog's food and when the dog does his business in the yard, the Forbid is supposed to make the feces taste bitter, hence deterring the dog from eating it. Has anyone else tried this product and had success with it?

SteveL · #2 12th January 2010, 05:33 AM

They used fresh pineapple for this on "Its Me or the Dog". Don't know if it really works but it might be worth a try.

sriley · #3 12th January 2010, 05:44 AM

Thanks for the tip. I read somewhere on the web last night that a bit of ketchup mixed in with their food is also supposed to work. I think I'll give both of these remedies a try before going the Forbid route.

lilboxerbaby · #4 17th January 2010, 10:12 AM

My Rugby has rolled around in dead fish before... and he used to eat his own as well as other animal feces out in the field we take him to. Our vet suggested sprinkling a little meat tenderizer over his food to stop him from eating it. He also ended up having too much of some bacteria in his stool which was treated by an antibiotic. The vet said that the excess bacteria may be luring him to his own poop because he wasn't digesting the food fully. We used one small bottle of the meat tenderizer on his and our girl pup's food and after that bottle was through we haven't needed it again. He no longer eats his own poop. We do have to watch him out in the field as he tends to still eat other animal feces, he found an animal tail and ran around with that recently, and we don't want him to roll around in anymore dead fish! That was terrible!!!

Hope this helps!

sriley · #5 17th January 2010, 06:24 PM

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. Thankfully, he hasn't eaten any feces for a few days, so I'm hoping it was just a short-lived fetish, but I will definitely keep the meat tenderizer idea in mind should the problem rear its ugly head again. Your dog and mine must have been littermates in another life -- my guy also likes to eat other animal feces out in the field and he also found a dead fish in the field to roll around in this past fall. The worst was when he found a dead kitten in the field that he JUST HAD to prance around with like it was a trophy. He was SO proud of himself! Boxers are the best dogs, but they sure can be gross at times!

I also found out this week that cutting back on the amount of food being fed may help this nasty little poop-eating problem. If the dog is being overfed, apparently the food may not pass through the dog completely digested, hence the reason why the feces is appealing. I've cut their meals back by 1/2 cup per day (1/4 cup less for breakfast, and 1/4 cup less for dinner) and the poop eating has stopped.

I also found out this week that pineapple is a digestive aid that helps to break down food in the stomach. I suppose I could have tried the pineapple, but I really think I was just being a little too generous with the food. I'll keep an eye on their physical appearance and energy level and adjust their food accordingly, but if non-digested food is a poop-eating trigger and over feeding is the catalyst, then I think I've solved my problem. Thanks again for the responses.

JaspersFam · #6 24th January 2010, 10:00 AM

also heard salt?? kinda works with jasper who LOVES to eat his poop (but not all the time thank god) and knowing about the overeating of the food helps too..

lmorey · #7 24th January 2010, 01:54 PM

We just started having this problem with 11-week old June. When I took her to the vet for her third round of puppy shots last week, the vet sent us home with a couple of packets of Forbid (powder you mix in with their food twice a day). So far, so good

Roxys Girl · #8 25th January 2010, 08:53 AM

I haven't tried that product. But i have tried one from petsmart that worked great with my pug.

**gmacleod** · #9 25th January 2010, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sriley

I think I'll give both of these remedies a try before going the Forbid route.

I think that is a very wise idea. Products like forbid (and meat tenderiser, which is the same thing) is that they are mono-sodium glutonate (MSG). That is a substance banned in some countries because of its health effects - which, for some people, include migranes and heart palpitations. Nobody knows if some dogs suffer similar ill-effects from consuming it, and they can't tell you about it if they do... So whilst it is an "easy solution" it is not necessarily a good solution

Obviously, the foolproof-but-not-necessarily-practical solution is to pick up the poop before the dog has a chance to consume it. If that isn't possible in your case, then I would certainly suggest trying remedies such as different food (works in some cases) and pineapple (works in some others) before resorting to the chemicals.

sriley · #10 25th January 2010, 02:28 PM

Thanks, gmacleod. I haven't had an issue with this nasty little problem since I've cut back their meal portions. Chief is still tempted to "snack" on feces left behind by other animals when I run him out in the field. He's quickly learning that eating or trying to roll in feces means being put back on his leash which is a big deal considering how much he loves his off-leash romps

**gmacleod** · #11 25th January 2010, 04:13 PM

Great

It's good to hear that you were able to mostly resolve it by management

Pharrah · #12 25th January 2010, 04:47 PM

I am a first time dog owner and I got 1 rescue and then my boxer 3 weeks later. They both enjoyed "snacking" on the cats poop. So I did the meat tenderizer in their food as well as the pills to make it taste foul. I tried pine apple also and I think what ultimately worked was consistancy and age. Good luck