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Glynne Anderson

Pat’s male Labrador puppy keeps eating his brother’s faeces - a condition known as coprophagia. Click “continue reading” to see what advice Glynne offers regarding this common pet problem. 

Question

Hi Glynne

I have two, 11 week old black Labrador male dogs, siblings. Yes, I know everyone says big mistake but apart from the problem I am highlighting here they are making great progress with socialisation, walking on a leash etc. The problem I have is that one of the puppies, Murphy, is eating his brother’s faeces during the night or out in the garden. I have caught him doing this on a couple of occasions. He doesn’t eat his own! I know this will be easy to control once we can take them out for substantial walks, but in the meantime not only is this totally unacceptable, but Murphy seems to be defecating more and the texture (shall we say) is somewhat sloppy! Any suggestions?

Hi Pat
How would “Substantial walks” cure your problem?! I can assure you they aint gonna help mate!
The term is coprophagia and it’s caused simply by your dog’s hunger.

Increase your puppy’s food and number of meals, and make sure he’s not intimidated by his brother, or serious fighting will be next on their agenda. Also feed lots of raw, meaty bones …in fact as many as they can cope with and I think you‘ll find his eating of the faeces will cease.
For more information on coprophagia, click here to view our previous article on the matter.

Whatever happens, do not castrate these two dogs, or you and they, will be in for a life time of hell.
Good luck
Glynne

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Dog Behavior
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    3 Responses to “Q&A - Dog eating faeces”


  1. Charmaine Says:
    September 1st, 2008 at 8:11 pm

    This seems to be a ‘black’ labrador thing. I’ve had 2 of them doing the same thing. I also had brothers (1 black & 1 yellow) and at present another black bitch doing the same thing.

  2. Ilze van der Walt Says:
    September 3rd, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    You get this with any type of dog and they will eat any faeces (bird, horse, cat, other dog, etc.) I recommend that you read a lot more on the subject. There is basically one of two things you can do: 1) Keep dog away from faeces or 2) Accept it and stay far away from their breath.

    Luckily you also get the dogs that do not like feaces!!

    Good Luck

  3. Cheryl Says:
    October 21st, 2008 at 1:42 pm

    I have also heard that this could be due to a mineral or vitamin deficiency in the dogs - try giving them a puppy multivitamin, and also asking your vet.

    I am not sure why Glynne says you shouldn’t have them neutered - as far as I am aware, the problems are unrelated. Also, having your pets neutered is a positive step towards reducing the number of unwanted animals in South Africa - there are plenty - the SPCAs are full!

    Hi Cheryl
    Yes I have also heard all those wives tales about vitamin deficiencies blah, blah,blah!
    The truth is there is very little known about the problem. Try feeding more meat and food and you may be pleasantly surprised.
    Now for the castration question. I wish you guys would read the thing properly!
    I am opposed to routine castration which means the dog is castrated when he reaches the age of 6 months and for no reason at all! You see there are many dangerous side effects which you aren’t told about – the saddest being obesity – especially in Labbys !
    So when the poor animal’s metabolism slows down (directly due to castration) and he starts gaining weight, the cruel owners start cutting his food down which makes him so hungry he’ll eat anything including his own poo, glass, polystyrene, stones and gallons of water or anything on the planet, edible or not, to try and take away the terrible hunger gnawing at his insides!
    He then spends the rest of his life starving hungry, trying to get at food to relieve his misery!
    Get it now?

    I am totally in favour of sterilizing dogs in rural areas, SPCA dogs, dogs which are not properly looked after, neglected or are at risk of covering unsprayed females! I am 100% anti breeding of puppies under any circumstances.

    So here’s the thing:
    • If you have unspayed bitches on heat running around your neighbourhood, call the SPCA ‘cos it’s illegal.
    • If you have no boundaries on your property – you shouldn’t have a dog at all.
    • If your dog cannot get out of your property and you live in the suburbs the chances of there being stray bitches on heat around, and he can’t get out - why castrate him when there are so many nasty side effects?!
    This is the age of information at our finger tips - think for yourself and don’t be brainwashed.
    Glynne

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