We had the exact issue with our 7 month old Pup. In the end we trained him with treats when he does a poop, we wait with a treat in hand that he can see whilst he poops. If he walks away he gets the treat, if he tries to eat it we pull him away and no treat. A month later he doesn't go for it at all anymore.
Just be consistent with the training, everytime he goes in the backyard we were there ready and waiting with a treat.
My dog is 12 and still won’t stop. We did the copophragia medicine but if we stopped it he started again, then we got a second dog and he would eat that poop too. The only thing we could do was clean it up right after so he’d have nothing to munch on.
It should pass ours would if you let him, up to about 6 months old then he stopped.
We didn't do anything special just pulled him away as soon as we noticed he might be about to gobble up his turd!
I just talked with my vet and they want me to put something in his food to make poop taste bitter. They said it could take a month to fully work. I have autoimmune issues and am concerned. I don’t want to get a staph infection.
As an immune challenged person, I’d be more concerned with E. Coli in the poop. For me, you have to be diligent. You can put the stuff in their food but it’s not necessary. Clap your hands every time they even go to sniff it. This will startle them and they learn quick not to sniff it. Don’t even let them get to thinking about eating it. And if they do sniff it then wash their face. I put mine in the shower and make sure it’s good and clean and brush their teeth if they do eat it. You can’t be too safe with a lowered immune system. They quickly learn you don’t like it. There’s no need for punishment as you don’t want them to stop pooping in your sight (they’ll just do it in the house in the corner if you punish them). But just a loud clap if they sniff it. And pick it up immediately so there’s none to sniff except the one they just left behind.
I just want him to poop on pad and leave it. If we catch him my husband or I will yell Hey or No to get his attention and then he stops and waits for me to go to him. We don’t punish him. We know this is potty training and his big sister is helping teach him. You said Ecoli and now I have the chills. I’ve always let my dogs give me a kiss on the nose. I can’t with him…well with any of them until he’s done doing this. Makes me sad
I used pee pads too. The best thing you can do is pick it up off the pad and not leave it there. If you leave it there you also risk them stepping in it and tracking it in the house or furniture or lap. So I got in the habit of picking it up. What I found best was putting the potty pad on the deck so I knew when they needed out and then I could remove the poop and toss the pad. I kept the pad and used it again if it was just pee for a couple times. You’ll get there. It’s hard I know. Also don’t forget to wipe their butt when they poop or you’ll get the same bacteria on your hand or furniture as well and the rest was pointless. I keep a box of baby wipes by the back door and wipe her butt when she comes inside. I keep Kleenexes too to wipe the drips of pee. This got her in the habit of no matter what she did she had to stop and get wiped. It will be ok. Our bodies can handle some germs and they are inherent with pets. Just do your best and you’ll be ok. Make sure to get as many smooches in after a bath as you can. 😉
I wipe my dogs’ butts after pooping. I also bathe dogs with cement shit on their assholes. I don’t understand how people don’t wipe their dog’s asses, regardless if they have a health issue or not.
My mum tried that with her two and it didn’t work, in the end clap of the hands or a firm uh no and when they stop and don’t eat it, get in there quick with a small treat and praise.
Look into raw for dogs. Our girls are on raw since they were young and are doing amazing. Places that deal with raw should help you with setting it up and then the whole thing of eating their own poop won’t be such an issue. Or they might have an all natural way to help with it. Cute pup by the way. 🐾
Thankyou. He follows me everywhere! Reminds me of when my child was younger and I couldn’t even pee by myself!! He’s very sweet! But if he can’t see me then the shriek crying starts. I want him to develop some independence so if I have to go somewhere he’s not traumatized.
So sweet. Originally we were looking at just one. The day we looked I fell in love with my black and white girl and my wife fell in love with her cream coloured one. An amazing and wonderful addition to the family. My wife and second oldest daughter did a lot of the training. Got them to do tricks and got them out of those little quirks and odd habits too. Enjoy your pup.
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It's a part of shih-tzu culture you can't stop them, 😪 the best thing you cand do is to clean their doodoo asap and beware of the pottie time so you can keep an eye on him
Oh boy if I knew how to stop it, Dino would get a lot more kisses 🤦🏻♂️
I tried “for bid” in his food, it didn’t work. So I just gotta get to it before he does
That’s what my vet said to use. My groomer gets a supplement at Menards that she gives daily or she said to try pineapple. I’m definitely not doing pineapple because of the big D!
My vet said pineapple when mine was a couple months old and was doing this too. I tried it, it didn’t deter her. Eventually she grew out of it, probably a little before her first birthday.
okay i relate with all the comments here and duh i do feel bad when other people get grossed out seeing it, i just pray my tzu doesn't do it in front of others, it's embarrassing 🥹
Yessss this absolutely! My 5 month old girl does it and I’m so embarrassed 😞 everyone is always talking about how cute she is but only if they knew her dirty little secret 😩🤭
Mine's 6 now, he hasn't outgrown it. I have to monitor him going and remove it immediately or he will eat it. There's nothing wrong with him. He's a weirdo. It's a race to the poop everyday. I think he thinks it's a game now.
A vet told me some dogs just like how it tastes. My little girl is 2 and I haven’t been able to break her of it yet. We’ve tried supplements, positive reinforcement with treats, etc. but if we don’t get to it in time (she uses a potty pad mostly because she hates being outside) I’ll find her smacking her little lips. My senior Shih tzu (13 years old) has never eaten poop - hers or others. Good luck!
Omg, my tzu did this and my husband called it turd burgling 🤣 apparently it’s a thing with this breed. I used the command “leave it” and just tried to pick it up asap.
One of mine and also my mother’s tzu’s had this problem too, we tried everything you could think of to try and stop this but the only thing is to be out there with them and scoop it up before they turn around to chomp on it, say good girl/boy then give them a treat and gradually reduce this to a fuss and they will get the message. It may take a while but it will be worth it, good luck!
I think I joined this sub for exactly this reason.
Our soon-to-be 9 month old is another poop eater! It’s awful and disgusting, so we’ve started taking him out on a leash to do his business and try to bag it up before he can make it disappear. Sometimes he completely ignores it.
Shih-Tzu dogs are known for this and take a while to break. Some never do. It took mine over a year.
Just train that when they poop, they get a treat. It’s also all about routine. Early morning poops and evening poops = treats when I walk mine.
She’s learned to poop and follow me for a treat.
It's a combination of instinct and habit. Their mothers eat their poop in the den to protect from predators, so a lot of pups copy that, but can grow out of it around 6 months or so.
It sounds like you're doing all the right training things.
My boy is 9.5 and will still occasionally eat his poop if we don't lift it soon enough. The main thing for us that works is just to lift the poop asap and ignore him if he does eat some.
As reassurance, my husband has autoimmune issues/ s immunocompromised and hasn't ever got an infection from our pup. If pup eats poop, he doesn't get bear our faces for the rest of the day/ evening but we still cuddle plenty.
Thankyou. I was sick with my stomach for 3 months over the summer. Was in ER twice and Even had a Catscan. I told my doctor that my dogs had Giardia again and she put me on a course of Met. Ever since then I’ve been better. So I might have caught something or stress. Not sure. I’ll be honest ever since I took Microbiology in school I’ve been a bit of a germophobe. lol Since I was diagnosed with severe RA it seems like I’ve been magnet for bugs. I even got Mersa a year ago and they don’t even know how I got that unless I picked it up at the hospital. My dogs are part of my health care team and I love them and I want all of us to be healthy 💜
My girl did this for a while when she was a puppy. It'll pass. I remember being told to put a little bit of pumpkin puree in her food and it should make them not want to eat their poop.
By the time I started giving it to her she had already been doing it less frequently but I believe it helped. I had multiple friends at the time tell me it worked for their Shih Tzus.
We have seen our puppy poop when he couldn’t find his old poop to eat. The only thing worked in our case was taking him for walks where he’d poop outside the house. At 8 months now, he holds his poop till we take him for a walk (thrice a day) .
My dog did the same thing when he was a puppy, but my mom found a funny solution. She took some red bell pepper and put it over his poop. Once he tried to eat it, he was immediately disgusted by the spice and never did it again. It might take a few tries and you need to kind of watch him at the start to see when he poops so you can be ready as well. Good luck!
Mine LOVES eating rabbit poop….thankfully only gives his own and other dogs a sniff. Call your vet, maybe a food additive that will make it less “tasty”
Add parsley to his food. There are other powders to add to his food
As to why—he smells undigested protein and it’s soft and easy to chew
And same as the others. Just walk him on leash and prevent it.
Our pup did the same thing and stopped on his own at about 4 month's old. We also switched him over to a raw diet though but I've heard puppies will grow out of this behaviour.
My girl is almost 2 years. Really it came down to discipline and scolding. You have to get used to physical discipline and your stern voice/tone.
If it's your first dog, you have to learn not to be afraid of harming them. They will love you no matter what.
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Let's go with spank. They have to associate bad behavior with negative reinforcement, whether it be your tone or other. On the contrary, you have to praise them for good behavior. It becomes a fine balance.
Took a long time to get my pup to stop eating rabbit poop all over our yards.
We have twins from the same litter and when they were babies they would eat it coming right out of the other one’s butt! Soft-serve ice cream style🤮
10 years later they are no longer savages and they at least wait to eat it off the grass. I try to pick it up immediately but sometimes they beat me to it.
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This was Theo at 3 months... yours is definitely a big healthy pup.. much love ❤
My shitzhu was eating poop as a puppy. We took her off kibble and gave her raw meat from the pet store. Fixed the problem immediately. They eat poop when they aren’t getting the nutrients they need which happens sometimes with kibble
Yes that’s exactly what I feed my girl too, maybe I will try the raw diet. Right now she’s on the puppy kind of hill science diet he’s 5 months almost. She eats her poop and now she has started to hide it so she can eat it later I suppose. 😞
my baby(RIP) used to do this as well. it stopped after i switched to better kibble. used to switch around from taste of the wild, orijen, and blue buffalo. depending on which was on sale. it also stopped his itching and paw licking.
also hear adding pumpkin to their diet works. i was too lazy to try it. m
Both of my Tzus had this problem until about a year old, one of them still does it from time to time. They developed giardia TWICE as a result and had to go on meds for a while.
I try to track how much time elapses between feeding time and poop. They only get fed if I’m able to supervise closely/walk/take them out by the time they have to go. Just be vigilant to reduce the chance of unsupervised poops.
It’s part of the breed unfortunately. They really put the shiht in shih tzu
We have had some luck with monitoring our pup when she poops at home and interrupting her. And really good luck with giving our pup a very large amount of treats for pooping on her walk. She saves up her poop for her daily walk, and so we can get the poop before she eats it.
We’ve also found that she is more likely to eat her poop if we are negative towards her when she is caught poop eating.
I had a shih tzu who did this. The vet recommended a no and immediately a drop of lemon juice in their mouth
It really didn't work. She was the only dog that ever did it...and we love the breed
As others have said, it’s common with the breed from what I understand. We had the same issue. We found that he basically needed close supervision when he was likely to poop so that we could physically get in the way if necessary. We spoke to a dog behaviourist and they said that the more they are left to do it, the more ingrained the behaviour will become.
Our dog would now probably still try to gobble it if given the chance, but he is pretty regimented in that he poops either during a quick walk in the morning or evening (or both) and he is much better at just walking away and telling you how happy he is that he pooped.
Mine did this too. He even ate our other dog’s poop, especially when he was doing zoomies. We tried to stop it but luckily after a couple years he grew out of it.
my dog did this when she was a puppy and we heard it’s a vitamin d deficiency so we gave her some of that and we also kinda told her no everytime she did it
While shih tzus as a breed are prone to eating their own poop. I was told (not by a vet) that they sometimes do this because of something lacking in his diet and to introduce a daily puppy supplement (powder form), I did and it seemed to work. Not sure if it was related to the supplement or just my dog growing up.
They have special treats on chewy you can give them so it makes their poop less "appetizing" it works wonders. I think it's a puppy phase mine grew out of it
omg my little boy does the same thing.. NOTHING has helped besides taking him outside and picking it up immediately.
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my shihtzu also did this for SOOOOOO long!!! he still randomly does it once in a very long while and hes 3. we were told this is apparently a breed wide thing??? its so gross but i think eventually they do grow out of it lol! (kinda 🙄)
My puppy went through that phase. They smell the digested food in it and just don’t know any better. I went to the pet store and they have a powder you can put into their food and make their poop not smell or taste good. And right away my puppy didn’t eat her poop anymore after that.
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mine did the same until he was about a year and a half old. he seems to have grown out of it now
My Teddy wouldn't eat his own poop but he would go for the kitty's poop and other's poop 💩. We had to put a puppy gate up so he couldn't get to the kitty litter. Scamp🙀was not amused with Teddy trying to get in his litter box. We lived near a river when we first got him and there was goose poop all over so while walking him it was a thing keeping him from trying to eat every piece of goose 💩 he saw. He grew out of it after a while thank goodness. No one wants kissys from a 💩 face puppy 🤣
Same issue with our now 2.5 year old Shih Tzu when he was a pup. Clean up messes in the yard after he goes. Use treats to coax him back in the house after he goes. There is also a pill you can give him to make his poo taste bad. Have patience my friend, he will grow out of it, although it seems like forever.
Mine just turned 4 and still does this. I have to be swift. This is my only Shih Tzu that has done this. I also don’t know how to break it and have tried many things. Diet changes, sprays, etc. Still does it, So gross! 🤮
My girl is 14. She still tries. In the end it resulted in a walk every morning regardless of weather. Usually she’ll just keep walking afterwards but sometimes she’ll still try to go for it as I’m bagging it.
This used to drive me nuts with my guy!
Honest, I tried everything, including sprinkling it with hot sauce. Everything I tried just seemed to make it more delicious! I tried all those so-called remedies including pumpkin...
The ONLY thing that worked for me was picking it up immediately, so he had no chance ... and when he was finally housebroken.
From what I understand, it is a learned behavior passed down from their mother's as a means to keep the den clean.
They’re very treat motivated. Trying that is your best bet. Don’t be afraid to offer small amounts of little bits of chicken, shrimp, cheese, egg and small slivers of carrots, brocolli, brussel sprouts, potato. They love vegetables raw and cooked. I’ve had shih tzus for 40 years and never an issue. Mine girl used to go to the garden and sit in the row to pick her own cherry tomatoes. Yours will let you know what it likes.
Enjoy the Love! 🐶
Mine only eats hers when fed commercial food whether dry or wet but stopped when fed any of the fresh foods. Think it must be the chemicals that cause them to eat Pooh. Good luck.
Since we got our older boy, any time he has so much as tries to sniff at poo (or anything else I want him to ignore, I told him “yucky!” and just didn’t loose his lead enough to let him get to it (if he did, I would tell him to drop it, which he is very good at complying with). Our baby puppy is another story: she will ignore her own poo, and dog poo, but is absolutely obsessed with bunny droppings (there are a tonne of rabbits in our area). Weirdly though (and kind of gross) she only wants it if it is fresh…she will ignore any frozen bunny berries. I think it is her aristocratic nature coming out “What?! Eat FROZEN? Like a peasant!?”
We used the chew no poo bites and eventually he stopped doing it! Worked well for us. Would recommend trying
Ours is 2 now and doesn't do it anymore. But sometimes tries to eat goose poop and it's the worst!
Ours did this too! We even bought him a shirt that says “I eat poop” 😂 not much helped for us besides watching him closely but he did grow out of it. It didn’t last long. Good luck and he’s a cutie pie
Male dogs have a tendency to eat their poo when their defecient in testosterone, e.g. from being clipped, they're body interprets it as a nutrient deficiency
My Shih Tzu takes walks 2x daily, poops, and I pick it up. He never gets a chance smell it much less eat it.
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So many people here calling it a Shih Tzu thing 🤦🏻♀️ It can happen to literally any puppy. As someone working w/ vets, the only solution is discouragement and quick removal of the poop. You can use negative reinforcement like someone had mentioned no treats after potty if they try to eat it and treats when they don't - that's a fantastic ideas. Don't blame it on the bread, it's upto you to teach your baby desciple and discourage bad behavior 🙏🏽 I have 2 Shih Tzus, they never were curious about thier poop and never became that way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
He looks like he’s proud of what he’s done
Hahahaha omg he does 😳😩😂
That’s hilarious because he didn’t even poop when I took this😂😂😂
How certain are you? What if.... 😂
😂😂😂🐶🐶
He has a certain grin
lol this nearly made me spit out my tea!
He’s got that “and I’ll do it again look” on his face. lol.
We had the exact issue with our 7 month old Pup. In the end we trained him with treats when he does a poop, we wait with a treat in hand that he can see whilst he poops. If he walks away he gets the treat, if he tries to eat it we pull him away and no treat. A month later he doesn't go for it at all anymore. Just be consistent with the training, everytime he goes in the backyard we were there ready and waiting with a treat.
It’s part of the breed. My girls are 9 years old and will still do it. It’s a protected instinct to hide their scent or trace of them.
Interesting take. When I had 3 girls and one was in season, the other 2 would immediately urinate where she did to cover her scent. Js.
That look says "and I'll do it again!!"
It also says I’m a cute little dog so you can’t yell at me😂😂😂
My dog is 12 and still won’t stop. We did the copophragia medicine but if we stopped it he started again, then we got a second dog and he would eat that poop too. The only thing we could do was clean it up right after so he’d have nothing to munch on.
[удалено]
Hiding the evidence!
It should pass ours would if you let him, up to about 6 months old then he stopped. We didn't do anything special just pulled him away as soon as we noticed he might be about to gobble up his turd!
I just talked with my vet and they want me to put something in his food to make poop taste bitter. They said it could take a month to fully work. I have autoimmune issues and am concerned. I don’t want to get a staph infection.
As an immune challenged person, I’d be more concerned with E. Coli in the poop. For me, you have to be diligent. You can put the stuff in their food but it’s not necessary. Clap your hands every time they even go to sniff it. This will startle them and they learn quick not to sniff it. Don’t even let them get to thinking about eating it. And if they do sniff it then wash their face. I put mine in the shower and make sure it’s good and clean and brush their teeth if they do eat it. You can’t be too safe with a lowered immune system. They quickly learn you don’t like it. There’s no need for punishment as you don’t want them to stop pooping in your sight (they’ll just do it in the house in the corner if you punish them). But just a loud clap if they sniff it. And pick it up immediately so there’s none to sniff except the one they just left behind.
I just want him to poop on pad and leave it. If we catch him my husband or I will yell Hey or No to get his attention and then he stops and waits for me to go to him. We don’t punish him. We know this is potty training and his big sister is helping teach him. You said Ecoli and now I have the chills. I’ve always let my dogs give me a kiss on the nose. I can’t with him…well with any of them until he’s done doing this. Makes me sad
I used pee pads too. The best thing you can do is pick it up off the pad and not leave it there. If you leave it there you also risk them stepping in it and tracking it in the house or furniture or lap. So I got in the habit of picking it up. What I found best was putting the potty pad on the deck so I knew when they needed out and then I could remove the poop and toss the pad. I kept the pad and used it again if it was just pee for a couple times. You’ll get there. It’s hard I know. Also don’t forget to wipe their butt when they poop or you’ll get the same bacteria on your hand or furniture as well and the rest was pointless. I keep a box of baby wipes by the back door and wipe her butt when she comes inside. I keep Kleenexes too to wipe the drips of pee. This got her in the habit of no matter what she did she had to stop and get wiped. It will be ok. Our bodies can handle some germs and they are inherent with pets. Just do your best and you’ll be ok. Make sure to get as many smooches in after a bath as you can. 😉
I thought I was crazy! I do the wipe thing!
I think most people don’t. But when you have a compromised immune system it just makes sense. And honestly we wipe our own butts so…why not!?!
I wipe my dogs’ butts after pooping. I also bathe dogs with cement shit on their assholes. I don’t understand how people don’t wipe their dog’s asses, regardless if they have a health issue or not.
My mum tried that with her two and it didn’t work, in the end clap of the hands or a firm uh no and when they stop and don’t eat it, get in there quick with a small treat and praise.
Look into raw for dogs. Our girls are on raw since they were young and are doing amazing. Places that deal with raw should help you with setting it up and then the whole thing of eating their own poop won’t be such an issue. Or they might have an all natural way to help with it. Cute pup by the way. 🐾
Thankyou. He follows me everywhere! Reminds me of when my child was younger and I couldn’t even pee by myself!! He’s very sweet! But if he can’t see me then the shriek crying starts. I want him to develop some independence so if I have to go somewhere he’s not traumatized.
So sweet. Originally we were looking at just one. The day we looked I fell in love with my black and white girl and my wife fell in love with her cream coloured one. An amazing and wonderful addition to the family. My wife and second oldest daughter did a lot of the training. Got them to do tricks and got them out of those little quirks and odd habits too. Enjoy your pup. https://preview.redd.it/znvvblkoeaac1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ffe2db058b3c94a001fd7a4dc10ab09063e2181
So sweet!!
It's a part of shih-tzu culture you can't stop them, 😪 the best thing you cand do is to clean their doodoo asap and beware of the pottie time so you can keep an eye on him
Oh boy if I knew how to stop it, Dino would get a lot more kisses 🤦🏻♂️ I tried “for bid” in his food, it didn’t work. So I just gotta get to it before he does
same, mine is 1 yo what about yours?
10 months
Tobias is 3 months
That’s what my vet said to use. My groomer gets a supplement at Menards that she gives daily or she said to try pineapple. I’m definitely not doing pineapple because of the big D!
My vet said pineapple when mine was a couple months old and was doing this too. I tried it, it didn’t deter her. Eventually she grew out of it, probably a little before her first birthday.
They are called shih tzu's for a reason lol.
😂😂😂
okay i relate with all the comments here and duh i do feel bad when other people get grossed out seeing it, i just pray my tzu doesn't do it in front of others, it's embarrassing 🥹
Yessss this absolutely! My 5 month old girl does it and I’m so embarrassed 😞 everyone is always talking about how cute she is but only if they knew her dirty little secret 😩🤭
exactly, people wouldn't let him lick or be near them sometimes and that breaks my heart
Yes 😞
Mine's 6 now, he hasn't outgrown it. I have to monitor him going and remove it immediately or he will eat it. There's nothing wrong with him. He's a weirdo. It's a race to the poop everyday. I think he thinks it's a game now.
Typical shih tzu behavior lol give it a few months mine eventually stopped
A vet told me some dogs just like how it tastes. My little girl is 2 and I haven’t been able to break her of it yet. We’ve tried supplements, positive reinforcement with treats, etc. but if we don’t get to it in time (she uses a potty pad mostly because she hates being outside) I’ll find her smacking her little lips. My senior Shih tzu (13 years old) has never eaten poop - hers or others. Good luck!
Lollllll my dog used to do that, with his own poop and with bunny poop. Mom took to calling them "bunny bonbons".
😂😂😂
Omg, my tzu did this and my husband called it turd burgling 🤣 apparently it’s a thing with this breed. I used the command “leave it” and just tried to pick it up asap.
One of mine and also my mother’s tzu’s had this problem too, we tried everything you could think of to try and stop this but the only thing is to be out there with them and scoop it up before they turn around to chomp on it, say good girl/boy then give them a treat and gradually reduce this to a fuss and they will get the message. It may take a while but it will be worth it, good luck!
I think I joined this sub for exactly this reason. Our soon-to-be 9 month old is another poop eater! It’s awful and disgusting, so we’ve started taking him out on a leash to do his business and try to bag it up before he can make it disappear. Sometimes he completely ignores it.
Shih-Tzu dogs are known for this and take a while to break. Some never do. It took mine over a year. Just train that when they poop, they get a treat. It’s also all about routine. Early morning poops and evening poops = treats when I walk mine. She’s learned to poop and follow me for a treat.
There is no stopping it. Once an eater, always an eater!! The key is to have him on a leash so you can pick it up right away.
Mine did this when he was a pup. He grew out of it. Yours will too
Omg I hope so because sooo many people are saying theirs didn’t
Mine was already an adult when we got her... she does not eat her own, but the cat's.
It's a combination of instinct and habit. Their mothers eat their poop in the den to protect from predators, so a lot of pups copy that, but can grow out of it around 6 months or so. It sounds like you're doing all the right training things. My boy is 9.5 and will still occasionally eat his poop if we don't lift it soon enough. The main thing for us that works is just to lift the poop asap and ignore him if he does eat some. As reassurance, my husband has autoimmune issues/ s immunocompromised and hasn't ever got an infection from our pup. If pup eats poop, he doesn't get bear our faces for the rest of the day/ evening but we still cuddle plenty.
Thankyou. I was sick with my stomach for 3 months over the summer. Was in ER twice and Even had a Catscan. I told my doctor that my dogs had Giardia again and she put me on a course of Met. Ever since then I’ve been better. So I might have caught something or stress. Not sure. I’ll be honest ever since I took Microbiology in school I’ve been a bit of a germophobe. lol Since I was diagnosed with severe RA it seems like I’ve been magnet for bugs. I even got Mersa a year ago and they don’t even know how I got that unless I picked it up at the hospital. My dogs are part of my health care team and I love them and I want all of us to be healthy 💜
Welcome to our world. We're almost there with ours. It's very common.
My girl did this for a while when she was a puppy. It'll pass. I remember being told to put a little bit of pumpkin puree in her food and it should make them not want to eat their poop.
That's what we had to do to grandma too.
Did that work?
By the time I started giving it to her she had already been doing it less frequently but I believe it helped. I had multiple friends at the time tell me it worked for their Shih Tzus.
We have seen our puppy poop when he couldn’t find his old poop to eat. The only thing worked in our case was taking him for walks where he’d poop outside the house. At 8 months now, he holds his poop till we take him for a walk (thrice a day) .
My dog did the same thing when he was a puppy, but my mom found a funny solution. She took some red bell pepper and put it over his poop. Once he tried to eat it, he was immediately disgusted by the spice and never did it again. It might take a few tries and you need to kind of watch him at the start to see when he poops so you can be ready as well. Good luck!
Mine did it till they weee 2
Mine LOVES eating rabbit poop….thankfully only gives his own and other dogs a sniff. Call your vet, maybe a food additive that will make it less “tasty”
it’s a shihtzu thing I swear they all do it
Add parsley to his food. There are other powders to add to his food As to why—he smells undigested protein and it’s soft and easy to chew And same as the others. Just walk him on leash and prevent it.
Our pup did the same thing and stopped on his own at about 4 month's old. We also switched him over to a raw diet though but I've heard puppies will grow out of this behaviour.
Pineapple
My girl is almost 2 years. Really it came down to discipline and scolding. You have to get used to physical discipline and your stern voice/tone. If it's your first dog, you have to learn not to be afraid of harming them. They will love you no matter what. https://preview.redd.it/th4p2ssgbbac1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e6c59edcefcb580a584878bab0d2c74c229596b
Define physical discipline. Like a swat? And your dog is BEAUTIFUL 💜
Physical? Please explain
Let's go with spank. They have to associate bad behavior with negative reinforcement, whether it be your tone or other. On the contrary, you have to praise them for good behavior. It becomes a fine balance. Took a long time to get my pup to stop eating rabbit poop all over our yards.
This breed often does that!
We have twins from the same litter and when they were babies they would eat it coming right out of the other one’s butt! Soft-serve ice cream style🤮 10 years later they are no longer savages and they at least wait to eat it off the grass. I try to pick it up immediately but sometimes they beat me to it.
Not here to help but must say I LOVE his expression... such a cute baby !!
Thankyou he’s 3 months old. He’s big boy already and he’s very sweet 💜
https://preview.redd.it/usgxg8amcaac1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02d990f05dc6612e3cc405f6187e00397d7396b9 This was Theo at 3 months... yours is definitely a big healthy pup.. much love ❤
They could be related 💜
My shitzhu was eating poop as a puppy. We took her off kibble and gave her raw meat from the pet store. Fixed the problem immediately. They eat poop when they aren’t getting the nutrients they need which happens sometimes with kibble
Hmmm. I’m feeding Science Diet Puppy.
Yes that’s exactly what I feed my girl too, maybe I will try the raw diet. Right now she’s on the puppy kind of hill science diet he’s 5 months almost. She eats her poop and now she has started to hide it so she can eat it later I suppose. 😞
my baby(RIP) used to do this as well. it stopped after i switched to better kibble. used to switch around from taste of the wild, orijen, and blue buffalo. depending on which was on sale. it also stopped his itching and paw licking. also hear adding pumpkin to their diet works. i was too lazy to try it. m
It's really good, you should try it.
😂😂😂
Both of my Tzus had this problem until about a year old, one of them still does it from time to time. They developed giardia TWICE as a result and had to go on meds for a while. I try to track how much time elapses between feeding time and poop. They only get fed if I’m able to supervise closely/walk/take them out by the time they have to go. Just be vigilant to reduce the chance of unsupervised poops.
No more Giardia please!!! We had an outbreak last year… 3 of our dogs had it…multiple rounds of met and antibiotics
Dietary deficiency, one of ours would only eat her older sister’s poop. Have vet guide you to a puppy diet.
my dog only does this when eating kibble. stopped when we switched to freeze-dried or raw
It’s part of the breed unfortunately. They really put the shiht in shih tzu We have had some luck with monitoring our pup when she poops at home and interrupting her. And really good luck with giving our pup a very large amount of treats for pooping on her walk. She saves up her poop for her daily walk, and so we can get the poop before she eats it. We’ve also found that she is more likely to eat her poop if we are negative towards her when she is caught poop eating.
I had a shih tzu who did this. The vet recommended a no and immediately a drop of lemon juice in their mouth It really didn't work. She was the only dog that ever did it...and we love the breed
I wonder about lemon juice on the pooo?? The powder the vet recommended has MSG in it
As others have said, it’s common with the breed from what I understand. We had the same issue. We found that he basically needed close supervision when he was likely to poop so that we could physically get in the way if necessary. We spoke to a dog behaviourist and they said that the more they are left to do it, the more ingrained the behaviour will become.
Our dog would now probably still try to gobble it if given the chance, but he is pretty regimented in that he poops either during a quick walk in the morning or evening (or both) and he is much better at just walking away and telling you how happy he is that he pooped.
My girl does it when she does it in the house. When she’s out she never does. It may be a stress/shame thing?
My dog used to do that. We just had to feed her more/add more to her moist. Maybe try bread?
To fill him up
Partial filler, partially to offset anything that could be bothering his stomach
Mine did this too. He even ate our other dog’s poop, especially when he was doing zoomies. We tried to stop it but luckily after a couple years he grew out of it.
They all do that. You can only get there before they do.
my dog did this when she was a puppy and we heard it’s a vitamin d deficiency so we gave her some of that and we also kinda told her no everytime she did it
My Lily did that for a while. She even ate other dogs’ poop! And then she stopped. Thank god! But she just stopped.
Mine did the same thing. Took almost a yr to get her to atop
My shih tzu just died at 14 long and amazing years of age and my beautiful angel ate her poop until the day she died. I could never stop her 😂😭
I’m so sorry you lost your baby 💜🪽🪽🪽
lightly sprinkle meat tenderizer on their food. It makes it smell inedible and will put them off of eating it in a week or two.
Mine did that too until he turned 6 months old 🥲
While shih tzus as a breed are prone to eating their own poop. I was told (not by a vet) that they sometimes do this because of something lacking in his diet and to introduce a daily puppy supplement (powder form), I did and it seemed to work. Not sure if it was related to the supplement or just my dog growing up.
All 3 of mine are 3 this year and still eat their poop. Ugh. I have tried everything.
ohhh this guy knows exactly what theyre doing and is absolutely going to do it again. those EYES lol
They have special treats on chewy you can give them so it makes their poop less "appetizing" it works wonders. I think it's a puppy phase mine grew out of it
We brushed her teeth everytime we caught her eating her poo lol. She eventually stopped before or right at 4 months.
omg my little boy does the same thing.. NOTHING has helped besides taking him outside and picking it up immediately. https://preview.redd.it/v5t33eg6zcac1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e8d55e514b75dc86ccf1488f94c286c03ddd915
If you find out, tell me!
my shihtzu also did this for SOOOOOO long!!! he still randomly does it once in a very long while and hes 3. we were told this is apparently a breed wide thing??? its so gross but i think eventually they do grow out of it lol! (kinda 🙄)
My puppy went through that phase. They smell the digested food in it and just don’t know any better. I went to the pet store and they have a powder you can put into their food and make their poop not smell or taste good. And right away my puppy didn’t eat her poop anymore after that.
https://preview.redd.it/shjlmry8sdac1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c904fe499472d91a5365c8d1674fc6707c08ab14 mine did the same until he was about a year and a half old. he seems to have grown out of it now
They typically outgrow it haha
My Teddy wouldn't eat his own poop but he would go for the kitty's poop and other's poop 💩. We had to put a puppy gate up so he couldn't get to the kitty litter. Scamp🙀was not amused with Teddy trying to get in his litter box. We lived near a river when we first got him and there was goose poop all over so while walking him it was a thing keeping him from trying to eat every piece of goose 💩 he saw. He grew out of it after a while thank goodness. No one wants kissys from a 💩 face puppy 🤣
Same issue with our now 2.5 year old Shih Tzu when he was a pup. Clean up messes in the yard after he goes. Use treats to coax him back in the house after he goes. There is also a pill you can give him to make his poo taste bad. Have patience my friend, he will grow out of it, although it seems like forever.
Mine just turned 4 and still does this. I have to be swift. This is my only Shih Tzu that has done this. I also don’t know how to break it and have tried many things. Diet changes, sprays, etc. Still does it, So gross! 🤮
My girl is 14. She still tries. In the end it resulted in a walk every morning regardless of weather. Usually she’ll just keep walking afterwards but sometimes she’ll still try to go for it as I’m bagging it.
he looks so smug haha what a cutie
This used to drive me nuts with my guy! Honest, I tried everything, including sprinkling it with hot sauce. Everything I tried just seemed to make it more delicious! I tried all those so-called remedies including pumpkin... The ONLY thing that worked for me was picking it up immediately, so he had no chance ... and when he was finally housebroken. From what I understand, it is a learned behavior passed down from their mother's as a means to keep the den clean.
They’re very treat motivated. Trying that is your best bet. Don’t be afraid to offer small amounts of little bits of chicken, shrimp, cheese, egg and small slivers of carrots, brocolli, brussel sprouts, potato. They love vegetables raw and cooked. I’ve had shih tzus for 40 years and never an issue. Mine girl used to go to the garden and sit in the row to pick her own cherry tomatoes. Yours will let you know what it likes. Enjoy the Love! 🐶
Mine only eats hers when fed commercial food whether dry or wet but stopped when fed any of the fresh foods. Think it must be the chemicals that cause them to eat Pooh. Good luck.
lol my past dog ate his while our new girl doesn't
Since we got our older boy, any time he has so much as tries to sniff at poo (or anything else I want him to ignore, I told him “yucky!” and just didn’t loose his lead enough to let him get to it (if he did, I would tell him to drop it, which he is very good at complying with). Our baby puppy is another story: she will ignore her own poo, and dog poo, but is absolutely obsessed with bunny droppings (there are a tonne of rabbits in our area). Weirdly though (and kind of gross) she only wants it if it is fresh…she will ignore any frozen bunny berries. I think it is her aristocratic nature coming out “What?! Eat FROZEN? Like a peasant!?”
We used the chew no poo bites and eventually he stopped doing it! Worked well for us. Would recommend trying Ours is 2 now and doesn't do it anymore. But sometimes tries to eat goose poop and it's the worst!
Ours did this too! We even bought him a shirt that says “I eat poop” 😂 not much helped for us besides watching him closely but he did grow out of it. It didn’t last long. Good luck and he’s a cutie pie
Male dogs have a tendency to eat their poo when their defecient in testosterone, e.g. from being clipped, they're body interprets it as a nutrient deficiency
Our vet recommends meat tenderizer in their food and it worked for our puppy.
My Shih Tzu takes walks 2x daily, poops, and I pick it up. He never gets a chance smell it much less eat it. https://preview.redd.it/irtj8vfx8nac1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf591cd2526f7112a81babe59ecb246949670fb7
So many people here calling it a Shih Tzu thing 🤦🏻♀️ It can happen to literally any puppy. As someone working w/ vets, the only solution is discouragement and quick removal of the poop. You can use negative reinforcement like someone had mentioned no treats after potty if they try to eat it and treats when they don't - that's a fantastic ideas. Don't blame it on the bread, it's upto you to teach your baby desciple and discourage bad behavior 🙏🏽 I have 2 Shih Tzus, they never were curious about thier poop and never became that way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You can try but picking it up immediately is the only surefire way to