Thank you all again for answering the questions that Reese and I had on Brutus. Now here is some more! LOL OK...ahem...Brutus is potty trained and doing quite well with it. He is eleven weeks old. He is doing a nasty habit of pooping and then smuggling his poop underneath the recliner. Later, he brings it out and shows the bit of poop to us and then the game is on. Yuck! What we have done now is pick up the poop immediately. I have a gentleman in my office that has stated that if a dog eats his own fecal matter that is an indicator of a vitamin deficientcy. (Something is very deficient if he is eating his poop...maybe his sanity) Though I do not believe that Brutus is eating his poo but more of a torturing method for me and Reese. He wasn't sure if that was true and I wanted to know if anyone has the same issue and if eating his own poo is due to a vitamin deficientcy. I might of answered my own question through Healthypet.com... they say, Coprophagia - Eating Droppings "Answer Why does my dog eat dropping? What can I do? The technical, more polite name for what you are describing in your dog's behavior is coprophagia. It is a very common problem. Actually in most canines it is a normal behavior. Of course, mothers consume their pups' droppings until they are old enough to get away from the nest to eliminate, but dogs will eat other dogs' feces and even that of other species. It is a little more unusual for them to eat their own, but it still happens. Assuming other health concerns such as vaccinations and parasite elimination have been taken care of by your veterinarian, and your dog is on a well-balanced diet, then the idea that it comes from a vitamin deficiency can be ruled out. At this point, your dog's habit of eating feces should be approached from a behavioral perspective. The more a behavior occurs the more likely it will be repeated. That means physically preventing it from happening helps your dog forget about it. Whatever you do, it will take some time to modify the behavior. That means letting your dog know that it is bad through a loud, firm, scolding voice. You can use this method when your pet sniffs or shows interest in feces. It helps to have your pet on a leash when outside to give you some physical control over movement as well. Products such as monosodium glutamate (seasoning salt) added to a pet's food makes the feces less desirable. A more direct approach includes putting tobasco or bitter lemon on the feces itself. Some pet owners simply clean the yard every day to remove any temptation." T
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