11 wk old puppy eating own poop

[karla215]

Ugh, I've done research and read a past thread on here to know this is "normal", but could be symptomatic of something nutritional missing or being overfed - but I kiss that little mouth! :sos: Anyway, can anyone suggest anything that has worked for them in this situation? Right now she is getting 1/4 cup stella and chewy's duck duck goose frozen pellets, and maybe 1/8 cup fromms gold puppy food 3X per day. S&C says 3/4 c for 5lb adult, maybe more for puppy. The fromms is to make sure she's also liking fromms and ideally S&C is more of a "plus" to make fromms more palatable to her, since she wasn't eating that much or with any enthusiasm. Would you think this is underfeeding?

Since banana is easy, I can try adding that in first. Or pineapple? How much would you add to each 3X a day feeding? Last night she threw up 4 piles, all about 10-15 seconds apart, of mostly undigested food. I had English bulldogs who threw up regularly, so I didn't panic, but figured I may be overfeeding? I so appreciate any insight from experience or what you have read has worked for others, and input on my daily feeding, to know if I'm under or over feeding.

She's probably around 7 lbs - she was 6 lbs the week before she was delivered, and has probably grown since then. She uses her sod in her pen religiously, and pee pads when out of the pen (or sniffing at the pen, and I drop her back in there to go!), but we had a couple accidents the past day that were my fault, both poop, because she had had SUCH good return to the pads to pee or poop when she needed to, that I let her roam further, and I just didn't pay enough attention, thinking she had this! Oh yeah, I would say her stool is mostly firm and well formed, but on occasion it will be less formed/firm. Never loose.

I can mostly monitor her when I'm home (but for leaving the room from time to time when she's in her pen), to clean up the poop before she eats it, but during the week I'm away much of the day, stopping home at lunch to feed and play with her. So during the day she'll have access to eat it. I thought about crating her during the morning and afternoon, but she can't hold it that long most likely.

Thanks much in advance! We've got a vet appt next Friday, but if needed I'll move it up (would have to go to a diff vet, since this one is on vaca next week I believe). Oh yes, she's energetic, playful, and a great fun puppy, so I think her health is good based on her energy and demeanor.

Karla

 

[eeturk]

This sounds exactly like what Hudson did as a puppy. Same food, too, although he still did it even when I switched him. The biggest thing for him was always cleaning it up right away, and also if he approached the poop I would firmly say "no!!!" This made it so that if I was anywhere around he would just sit and stare longingly at the poop instead of eating it (lovely, I know).

Eventually he just kind of stopped doing it (he's 7 months now), and obviously it helps a lot when they're only going outside (since he never tried it out there). I tried some vitamin tablets for it (I forget what they're called but I got them on amazon and they didn't seem to work at all)!

With my experience it was just a matter of diligence and patience. It is so gross and I am so glad that this phase is over! It will most likely pass.

My vet told me that it could have stemmed from watching his mother clean up after the puppies, so he automatically wanted to clean his area. As he has grown and realized that I will do it, he has become much less interested in his poop.


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[davidh]

What I would do is feed her a little more FROMM and less of the S&C and see if that helps, plus sometimes they will do that to try and keep their place clean.

 

[karla215]

Thank you both for the advice! I'm going to email the breeder to see if she has any tried and true solutions, but will stay with more of the fromms! Will update, but am trying to watch her add much as possible to not allow it this weekend!

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[eeturk]

Thank you both for the advice! I'm going to email the breeder to see if she has any tried and true solutions, but will stay with more of the fromms! Will update, but am trying to watch her add much as possible to not allow it this weekend!

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Funnily enough my guy does it much less on full Stella and chewy than he did on Fromm. But I'm guessing it's because he never did have firm stools on the Fromm and he has tiny rock hard stool on the Stella and chewy so maybe it's less appetizing?


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[MaplesMommy]

Hi there,

I dont have an advice for the poop eating but I can maybe explain the throwing up:
Stella and Chewy is raw food right? If so you really shouldnt be feeding it with the fromm. Kibble takes up to 12 hours to digest, raw meat only 4-6 hours. A dogs stomach is small and expands when its filled with food however it is supposed to go back to its origin size at least once or twice a day. When this natural reflex isnt possible because kibble is ALWAYS present in his stomach it can very likely upset the dogs stomach. Also kibble takes hours to be broken down until all the nutrients can be absorbed whereas raw meat doesnt. Can you see how it can be confusing for the dogs GI to digest kibble and raw at the same time?
If you want to feed kibble and raw I would suggest feeding kibble early in the morning or late at night so the dog has enough time to digest it before raw meat goes into his stomach.