How to stop Frenchies from eating poop
Have you ever watched your Frenchie pooping and wondered how you could stop him from eating the poop?
Frustrated, you feel like giving him a well-deserved punishment.
But those shiny eyes stop you in your tracks.
And melt away your anger.
Read through to learn how to stop Frenchies from eating poop
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Why Frenchies Eat Poop?
Medical reasons why dogs eat poop
Presence of parasites
If your dog has worms or parasites like coccidia, the tendency to eat poop is high.
This stems from the fact that parasites and worms deprive your Frenchie of essential nutrients
To compensate for the deficiency, your dog will have a strong desire to eat poop.
Inflammatory bowel disease
Severe inflammatory bowel disease lowers the probability of nutrient absorption.
This also encourages stool eating habits as a way of compensating for poor nutrient absorption.
The symptoms to watch out for include severe diarrhea and weight loss
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
This health condition makes it impossible for dogs to absorb nutrients; hence, they look for alternatives preventing them from gradually starving.
Signs of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency include excessive hunger, diarrhea, low weight, and poop-eating
Although this disease can be fatal, you can lower its adverse effects through proper diet
Enzyme deficiency
Digestive enzymes are essential for proper digestion, but domesticated dogs, unlike wild dogs, consume a less balanced diet, thus having fewer digestive enzymes.
This triggers your dog’s instinct of stool eating.
Give a balanced diet consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins to increase nutrient absorption.
Behavioral reasons why dogs eat poop
Need for attention
Your puppy might be eating poop as a way of seeking your attention.
Reacting to your dog’s poop-eating habit is a recipe for more poop-eating as a way of getting your attention.
Stress
You thought you were the only one who gets stressed.
Well, dogs can get stressed, too, and one way of dealing with stress is poop eating.
Watch for signs of canine stress like excessive sleeping
Entertainment
Dogs use their sense of smell more than the other senses.
Therefore the smell of poop may be fun for them, and they become tempted to taste it.
Cleanliness and puppies
Nursing dogs are interested in making their babies’ surroundings clean; hence eat their poop and those of their babies.
On the other hand, young dogs would want to explore their environment and eat poop to fill their curiosity.
Avoid punishment
Punishing a dog for pooping in wrong places like carpet is natural; consequently, your dog will look for ways of avoiding punishment.
The most logical way would be to eat the poop immediately after pooping to remove the evidence.
Imitation
Dogs like to copy everything
Therefore, if they see another dog eating poop, they will want to try it too!
Other Causes
Medications
Medications like steroids tend to make dogs hungry.
When hunger pangs strike, your dog can eat anything, including stool
Diseases
Diabetes makes dogs hungry as it leads to glucose deficiency.
On the other hand, hypothyroidism lowers your dog’s metabolic rates, thus causing constant hunger.
Hunger makes dogs eat stool.
Boredom
One way of relieving boredom is poop eating, as it keeps your dog busy
Scavengers
Dogs like consuming decaying matter, which includes poop
Why do dogs eat cat poop?
Dogs eat cat poop because the poop smells like food.
This is true for cats with poor digestion; the food gets partially digested hence passed in a near-raw form.
What Are The Risks For Dogs Who Eat Poop?
- Disease transmission: If your dog enjoys kissing people, it may pass stool traces to your mouth or face. Infected stool means infections to those that come in contact with it. Look for ways to stop your dog from kissing people and maintain proper hygiene.
- Parasites and worms: Parasites pass through the stool; hence consuming stool with worms leads to transmission to your dog.
- Drug toxicity: Stool containing drugs like carprofen is toxic to dogs and can lead to death
- Bad breath: Poop has a bad smell. As a result, consuming it leads to bad breath.
How to Stop Frenchies From Eating Poop- 10 Natural Tips
Encourage physical activities
Keep your Frenchie physically active through activities like an evening walk, games, playing with toys, and agility exercises.
These activities boost not only physical activity but also encourage cognitive thinking and processing.
Moreover, keeping your dog active lowers the levels of boredom, consequently reducing stress levels
In addition, physical activities make your dog tired hence less time for poop eating.
Give a balanced diet.
Serving your Frenchie a balanced diet ensures that he gets all the necessary nutrients.
Choose meat or meat parts that have the necessary nutrients for growth.
In addition, go for organic food and avoid processed ones as they might contain toxic additives.
If your dog has problems with digestion, give a diet with lots of fiber as fiber adds bulk to stool, making digestion easier.
Furthermore, you can add probiotics and digestive enzymes to add to the nutritional benefits.
Cleanliness
Dogs love to eat poop whenever they spot it.
To lower the chances of your Frenchie eating poop, clean the poop immediately after he poops, leaving him and his surroundings free from the stool.
Another meaningful way of minimizing poop-eating habits is by cleaning your cat’s litter box after he poops.
Making cleaning a habit, and after various routines, your dog will get used to it and adapt.
The cleaner the environment, the lesser the opportunities for poop eating
Ignore the habit
Dogs love it when you give them attention whenever they poop. They enjoy seeing you making a big fuss over their behavior.
Constantly reprimanding them can escalate the situation as dogs will make it an excuse to catch your attention.
You should instead focus on training your dog on reasonable toileting procedures.
This not only solves the poop-eating habit but also encourages bonding between you and your Frenchie
Taste aversion products
You can add something to your dog’s food that will make the stool smell disgusting.
You can find safe products to add to your dog’s food in the market.
Always read labels to ensure that the product is not harmful to your Frenchie.
Consulting the vet before adding anything to your vet is of paramount importance.
This is because your dog can be allergic to some products; hence a vet analysis will rule out any probability of an allergic reaction.
Use of commands and rewards
Another way of stopping the poop-eating habit is through commands and rewards.
Whenever your dog poops and wants to eat it, you can use the stop command.
If he follows your command and leaves the poop alone, you then reward him for his obedience.
Another useful command is ‘come’ whenever you see your dog stooping to eat the stool.
This command will distract him, and he will come to you.
Excellent rewards for obedience can be your dog’s favorite toy or snack.
Through this, your dog will know that good behavior and obedience get rewarded.
Vitamin supplements
Most dogs with poop-eating habits lack vitamin B. consequently, eating poop makes them compensate for this deficiency.
Vitamin B supplements are available in various dog stores.
Other excellent sources of vitamin B include whole grains, dairy products, green beans, spirulina nuts, brewers yeast, and liver.
You can give them directly or add them to the kibble.
The supplements and alternatives should be given sparingly as too much vitamin B can lead to adverse side effects like blurry vision
Use of a basket style muzzle
A dog muzzle can be a great way of stopping poop eating problems.
This is because muzzles cover your Francie’s mouth, thus ensuring that he does not eat poop or other unhealthy foods.
Although it can be a good distraction, use a muzzle for shorter periods, like during a short walk
Potty training
You can train your dog to use the potty and remove the potty immediately after they finish pooping.
Using a potty is easier compared to random pooping places, which makes it hard to pick them.
Moreover, a dog potty acts as a discipline-enhancing tool as your dog will get used to pooping inside it.
Consult a vet
You can try all the methods given above to no avail.
Therefore, the last resort becomes the vet, thoroughly analyzing your dog to determine the main problem.
The vet will give you a guide on what to give your poop-eating dog.
Read more of our nutrition tips
My Frenchie Has an Upset Stomach (Signs and Tips to Note)
My Frenchie Has Bad Gas (How Can It Be Stopped)
What supplement can I give my dog to stop eating poop?
You can give your dog supplements that are rich in vitamins B and digestive enzymes.
These supplements include dairy products, liver, green beans, spirula nuts, brewers yeast, and whole-grain products.
Why do pineapples stop dogs from eating poop?
Pineapple has a chemical called bromelain found in meat tenderizers.
This chemical makes dogs’ poop smell nasty, thus discouraging dogs from eating them.
How to clean my dog’s mouth after eating poop
You can clean your dog’s mouth by giving water.
This triggers the production of saliva, which naturally cleans the mouth.
Furthermore, you can give a dental chew or wipe with a cloth
Will eating poop make a dog sick?
Yes, eating other dogs’ poop can make your dog sick.
This is because the poop may have parasites and infectious diseases passed on to your fur baby.
What happens if a dog eats too much poop?
If a dog overeats poop, he can experience stomach upsets like vomiting and diarrhea.
In addition, overeating poop increases the number of worms in your dog’s system.
Final Thoughts
So, are you still wondering how to stop Frenchies from eating poop?
Well, there you have the tips on how to stop Frenchies from eating poop.
There are both medical and behavioral reasons for poop eating habits.
You can curb poop eating using tips like maintaining hygiene, training, and giving a balanced diet.
Employ them and say goodbye to poop eating!