How To Deal With German Shepherds Eating Their Own Poop
Unfortunately, once a German Shepherd gets into the habit of eating their own poop, it can be hard to break them of this behavior.
According to a research study reported in Live Science, the majority of dog owners that have tried to discourage stool eating in their dogs have experienced low or no success.
However, this is not to say it is impossible to train your dog not to eat their own poop. You will just need a lot of patience and persistence to find what works to discourage your German Shepherd from eating poop.
Teach Leave It With The Poop
If your German Shepherd hasnt learned the leave it command yet, this is a good one for discouraging poop eating behaviors.
When you teach leave it, you will essentially be redirecting your dogs attention away from the poop and towards you. Then you will reinforce this with praise, pats, treats, and attention.
So How Do I Handle The German Shepherds Potty Habits
To summarize, the dogs age greatly impacts how often the canine will need to poop. Health issues that can cause deviations in the animals normal poop patterns need to be detected so the matter can be addressed.
Health problems, such as an enlarged prostate, can cause constipation. A poor diet, a sudden change in the puppys food, lack of water, and parasitic infections are all separate things that can cause diarrhea.
Potty time does not have to be a scary ordeal when it comes to your German Shepherd puppy. A routine for you and your dog means an easier time managing its needs.
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Why Do German Shepherds Have Sensitive Stomachs
The three most common reasons that your german shepherd may be suffering from a sensitive stomach is its food containing either lactose, gluten or low-quality meat. Thankfully, the risk of all three of these potential causes is totally removed by switching your dog over to a taste of the wild dog food.
How Can I Get My German Shepherd To Gain Weight
Sweet potato and pumpkin are fantastic ways to help your dog put on weight in a healthy way. To avoid excessive protein in your dogs diet while helping him gain weight, consider adding sweet potato and pumpkin to his food. Boosting their diet with fat and fiber will help your dogs digestion along with weight gain.
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Keeping Its Environment Clean
Some dogs, especially mothers, like to keep their environment clean and organized.
Your GSD may be eating its poop because it feels its living environment is unclean and disorganised.
Alternatively, your GSD may recognize its owner gets angry when it makes a mess. Your GSD may eat its poop to clean up after itself and avoid your anger or discipline.
Why Is Your German Shepherd Puppy Eating Their Own Poop
There are a number of different reasons your german shepherd might be eating their own poop. If you can figure out the reason its happening, it can often help you figure out how to stop it.
Here are the most common reasons they may be doing it.
Theyre Copying Their Mom
Just like humans, a puppy is going to learn most of their behavior from their mum. If they notice that their mum is eating her own poop, or eating theirs, then its much more likely the puppy will do the same!
The reason the mother does this is to hide their cubs from predators. In the wild, poop is going to attract wild animals to where the pups are. So obviously it makes sense to get rid of it altogether!
It also helps keep their den clean as well.
Living With A Sick Or Old Dog
If your puppy is a little bit older, then they may be trying to cover up the scent of another dog. Predators would be able to smell a sick or elderly dog from their stool, so your pup may be trying to dispose of it.
Once again, remember, this is perfectly natural and its a built-in survival instinct.
To Get Your Attention
Let me guess, the first time you noticed your german shepherd eating poop, you shooed them off, clapped, shouted, or gave them some kind of attention.
If you did, then your pup may do it again just to get your attention. Just like children, some puppies like attention from you whether its good or bad.
Boredom
Theyre Hungry
And if youre not feeding your german shepherd enough then start feeding them more.
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Why Does My German Shepherd Eat Its Poop
If your German Shepherd eats its poop then you might be wondering why and what you can do about it.
This post will show you a number of reasons why it could be happening and what you can do about it.
So, why does my German Shepherd eat its poop? Possible causes are that its trying to satisfy nutritional deficiencies, its bored, its doing it for attention, its trying to make itself throw up or that it is stressed.
There are a number of things that you can consider when trying to understand why it does it. Depending on the cause there are also a number of things that you can do about it.
It Can Be A Medical Condition
Sometimes dogs eat feces because they need enzymes to digest the food that they eat, called the modern dog feed. The modern dog food is made up of carbohydrates, proteins, and plant proteins. This food has a very little quantity of protein that a dogs body requires.
As a result, the dog feels the need to eat its own dung in order to digest its food. They eat their dung because they need proper nutrients for their body, and soon they develop this into a habit. This is a medical condition, and you will need to take your dog to the vet. A proper check-up from a professional will get you to the cause and help you get rid of the problem.
Do not lash out on your dog out of disgust. Of course, no one likes to watch their GSDs eating their excreta. However, reacting negatively or hitting your dog will not help either. Get to the root of the problem and figure out an effective solution.
If your dog is exhibiting coprophagic behavior, address the problem immediately. Talk to experienced people, and try to find a healthy solution like changing its diet to a more nutritious one. Do not hesitate to ask any GSD related problem and concerns. For more help on GSD related problems, you can sign-up for our newsletter and be a part of the best GSD forum.
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Dangers Of Your German Shepherd Eating Everything
Your German Shepherd eating everything is not the only problem you have now.;
If they continue with this behavior, they could be facing serious health risks such as:
- Vomiting.
- Choking and obstruction in breathing.;
- Stomach problems due to parasites from eating feces.
You want to stop these unwanted actions. To do that, you must first pinpoint when they started to happen.;
In doing so, you can effectively give them proper training and treatment.
How To Get Your German Shepherd To Stop Eating Poop
Below, I will mention a number of things that you can do to get your German Shepherd to do it less.
Exercise
You can give it exercise by walking it for an hour, by teaching it to play fetch or by getting a dog walker to do it for you.
Make sure that its diet is right
Since a poor diet might have something to do with it eating its poop it would help to make sure that it is eating the right foods. You can look here to see what you should and should not be feeding your German Shepherd.
If you are unsure of what food to get for your German Shepherd, consider getting dog food designed specifically for German Shepherds. You can get a GSD specific dog food on Amazon here and one for GSD puppies on Chewy here.;
Give it other things to chew on
Another option you have is to divert its attention away from eating poop. You can do this by giving it lots of toys that it can chew on. This will be especially helpful if your German Shepherd is in the teething phase where it naturally will want to chew on things.
Take it to a vet
If your German Shepherd is being sick regularly when its eating poop then you should consider taking it to the vet to make sure nothing is wrong. This behavior isnt that uncommon so its not something to be overly concerned about if it is an otherwise healthy dog but it is worthwhile to double-check with a vet.
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How Old Is My German Shepherd With Back Leg Problems
I just wondered if anyone had any further advice please, we have been to the Vets but are not entirely confident in the diagnosis. We have a German Shepherd bitch that we got from a rescue agency, we dont know her age for definite but best guess is 9 or 10. We have owned her for 5 years now.
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, your dog just might have diarrhea. Once you believe that your German Shepherd has dog diarrhea, its a good idea to identify why your dog has diarrhea. Down below in this article, we will go over six reasons why your dog might have diarrhea. 1. Your German Shepherd Might Have a Viral Infection
Common among these are digestive issues and a sensitive stomach. These range from mild to fatal, so its very important to keep an eye on your dogs health and bowel movements. If you own a German shepherd, you should consult regularly with your vet about your dogs diet.
How Can I Get My Dog To Stop Eating Poop
Here are some common techniques to stop our dog from eating poop:
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Theories And Studies On Coprophagia
So why might your GSD exhibit this highly unappealing behavior?
Studies have shown that, historically, many dogs in developing countries developed a taste for feces while scavenging through trash while trying to scavenge their next meal.
While this behavior may seem rather indiscriminate, studies have also shown that the same dogs actually displayed a level of discernment, as they showed a disinclination to consume feces more than 2 days old.
It is also theorized that this behavior in dogs is an emulation of the behavior of dogs ancient wolf ancestors.
Wolves that are old or injured attempt to clean up their den areas that are shared with others by eating their feces.
This is because they are intuitievely aware that the feces contains parasites.
Know Why Your Dog Is Eating Poop
Dr. Benjamin Hart looked into this phenomenon and found that over 24% of dogs eat poop at least once. Chances are, you are here because your dog is in that percentage. The scientific name for this is coprophagia, and your dog has multiple behavioral and physiological reasons for engaging in this odd habit.;
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Can My Dog Get Sick From Eating Bird Droppings
Yes, there is a fungal infection that dogs get from eating contaminated soil or bird droppings. Histoplasmosis is an infection caused by the Histoplasma capsulatum fungus. The fungus then enters the dog’s intestinal tract and an infection develops from there.
The most common symptoms are weight loss, lack of appetite, and diarrhea.
If your dog eats poop their breath will smell terrible!
Change Something In Your Gsds Home Environment
If your dogs coprophagia stems from a behavioral issue, sometimes changing the environment can change the behavior.
For example, if your GSD has developed separation anxiety, this can require special and intense training to overcome. You may need to temporarily put your dog in a daycare program or hire a dog sitter to keep your anxious GSD from eating their own poop.
Alternately, if your German Shepherd hates their crate or some other aspect of their living space, you may need to explore an alternate arrangement for when you need to confine your dog.
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Common Reasons Why Dogs Eat Poop
- The most common reason for dogs to eat other animals’ poop is that they simply enjoy the taste.
- Nutritional imbalance, specifically digestive enzyme deficiency, can lead dogs to eat feces.
- Dogs under stress may eat poop to relieve anxiety.
- Understimulated or underexercised dogs may eat feces out of boredom.
- A dog may simply be curious about the taste.
- Dogs may eat their own poop in order to please their owner, effectively cleaning up after themselves.
Why Dogs Eat Poop
Have you ever owned a dog or own one now, you probably have wondered why dogs eat poop. Its disgusting, unattractive, and usually unsafe in many ways. But, you need to know that if your dog eats poop, hes not alone. Actually, its a fairly common behaviour that can cause a lot of stress for owners. Referred to as coprophagia, the eating of poop could be a sign of deeper anxiety or nutritional issues.
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Why Do German Shepherds Eat Their Poop
Mother dogs do this to keep predators away and protect their young. Your German Shepherd Dog is bored so he eats his poop. Like a lot of behavioral problems, coprophagia can be caused by boredom. Dogs who dont get enough attention or exercise will often find other ways to spend their time chewing things or eating poop.
Provide A Healthy Balanced Diet
Is underfeeding or malnourishment the reason for your dogs coprophagia? If it is, then the solution is easy.
All you have to do is provide a complete and balanced meal for your big buddy.
And what is a German Shepherds balanced diet composed of?
- 1740-2100 calories per day.
- Omega 3 fatty acids from vegetables.
- Healthy fat from sources that contain fish oil.
- Small amounts of digestible carbohydrates from barley, oats, and rice.
- High-quality protein from whole meat sources like beef and organ meats.
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Why Does My German Shepherd Puppy Eat His Own Poop
Medical Reasons That Cause Poop Eating in Dogs Malabsorption diseases Such as EPI, will cause your dog to slowly starve since they cant absorb nutrients from their food. Medical conditions causing increased appetite Diabetes or Cushings disease are health problems that can drive your dog to become a poop eater.
Why does my dog eat his own poop? The behavioral condition where dogs eat their own poop is called Coprophagia, and it is actually a lot more common than you may think. There is not one specific reason why your dog eats poop, but most cases can be narrowed down to a few.
Do German Shepherds eat their poop?
How to stop my German Shepherd Dog from eating his poop? How to Stop My German Shepherd Dog from Eating His Poop Make sure your dog eats a high quality, complete dog food at least twice daily as recommended by your vet. Keep your dogs living environment clean and free of feces. Make sure your dog gets enough exercise and attention.
Why do mother dogs clean their puppies? For the first month, the mother dog will clean by licking the feces residue off the puppies. So in this case, it is not a psychological or physiological issue that is causing this temporary coprophagia. It is animal instincts inherited through all the years of evolution.
How Do I Know If My German Shepherd Is Too Skinny
They are lean, athletic dogs with a strong, firm figure and you should avoid learning how to make a German Shepherd fat. Instead, you want to bulk-up your German Shepherd to make them fit. But if you see their ribs protruding or their hip bones raised and easily felt when petting, this is a sign of being underweight.
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