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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Ev lives the Lower Mainland of Beautiful British Columbia, Canada where she has been training dogs since 1969. She is experienced in many methods including clicker and motivational training. Ev is an original Superdog Performance Team member and her own dogs have travelled and performed with the Canadian SuperDogs since 1984. She has also served as an A.A.C. judge ans is an original Member/Trainer with the Dogwood Pacesetters Agility Club.
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[Edit]
6/29/2005
I have a 6 month old male Puli. He began eating his own feces 2 months ago. I have tried the Deter in his food, I have tried an vitamin & mineral supplement called "Seameal" that was recommended, it's supposed to make sure he is getting all nutrients from food, however nothing is working. I try to follow him and clean up behind him and am succesful 90% of the time. His breath is just horrid, and I am afraid he is making himself sick? He seems perfectly healthy now though. Is there anything that can be done? Thank you, Paula (paulab, California )
Adding a supplement is always the best start because most often this behaviour is created by a lack of something. After a few times though the 'craving' turns into just a 'bad habit' and even though he may be getting the nutrients he needs by adding the SeaMeal, you might not notice because his fetish is now a bad habit.
(Another supplement that is good is called 'Nupro' and can be purchased from 'Lucid Distributors' - try searching the net for their website for more details.)
Keep on top of it as much as you can to pick up so there's nothing for him to find. I'd also try adding a few pieces of pineapple to his breakfast each morning. I'
ve had good success with that. It seems to sour the feces so it's not as appetizing. Be Careful not to start with too much as it is very rich and acidic and may cause loose or runny stools. Moderation is the key.
The bad breath is probably not helped by eating feces but I believe it is not the cause. Usually store bought bag or canned food causes bad breath in dogs. You could try brushing his teeth - there are rubber-finger-brushes out there for dogs that work great along with special dog toothpaste. The only other suggestion that 'I' would make is "go natural"... feeding a BARF [Bones And Raw Food] diet can eliminate bad breath almost completely but that is an owner's decision and should be well researched before any decision is made.
The only other suggestion I can think of is teaching him a "Leave It." so when you see him from a distance or catch him trying to sneak up on one, you can firmly command "Leave It." and he should. Details to teaching the 'Leave It." can be explained if you wish to contact me directly.
Basically if he is supervised, then there is no reason why any feces should be missed from being picked up. That is really the only cure. Everything else is just aiding you in curbing the behaviour
Canine Caretaker Training/Consulting
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