As you'll know from previous posts, Pearly chomps on plops. Not nice, and we obviously would prefer that she doesn't do it. If we see her do it then we tell her 'no', but we're not always close enough to do so. She is only allowed off-lead in the secure fields near our house, where unfortunately there is a lot of poo for her to snack on! We don't want to stop letting her off in the fields because it's her only chance to have a good run. She tends to go for dry poo and doesn't seem to suffer serious ill-effects afterwards, ie, she's never vomitted because of it. Also, she has a perfectly healthy diet so she's not seeking any extra nutrition - she just does it cos she likes it, and it's now a manky habit.
So, thinking not from a behavioural perspective but from a health one:
Will she become ill from munching the odd bit of poo? She is wormed regularly every 3 months. Should we dose her more frequently?
I know it sounds gross and funny, but I really would appreciate some serious advice. Many thanks!
it would seem not..... my two don't do this but i rather think that's due to lack of opportunity - we can't let them off the leads as we don't have a secure place to do so.
i did have a border collie who ate poo whenever he got the chance and it never made him ill. i would think we consider it a disgusting habit but the dogs don't view life in the same way as us !!
My brother's Irish Setter eats poos when she is in season or during a phantom pregnancy (I'm glad my pregnancy cravings were never like that ). She's 11 years old and doing just fine.
However, her habit did make ME rather sick. Walking her on a winter evening, she picked up something, started munching, and I cluelessy prised it out of her mouth. Wearing gloves. 2 minutes later, lifted my hand to my face and Bleargh... Had to have my coat cleaned and all... showered for half an hour and couldn't get the smell out of my imagination!
Coprophagia is relatively common and can easily become a habit because the taste of the 'food' is it's own reward. It's most probably just plain old greyhound greed! Muzzling her might help stop it (or you could just end up with a poopy muzzle to wash).
Sometimes it can indicate an underlying digestive problem although you'd usually see other symptoms. Only way to rule that out is a visit to the vet since you say her diet is already good.
It's mostly harmless apart from the obvious worms which you're already treating. There are some other nasties she could get so make sure her vaccinations are up to date.
Glenda - we do indeed keep her vaccinated, and we'll be sure and keep them topped up as required. We tried putting a muzzle on her but she'd just rush over to us (or, rather, me!!) with poop all over it and it went all over my fingers cos I didnae notice the muck. Bleurgh......