Dear Dr. Fox: We read with interest your response to the question about the little Shih Tzu with coprophagia, and we wanted to share the results of our own attempt to break this habit in our dog, Min-Pin.
We tried everything you mentioned for dogs 1-1?2 to 2 years old. It was expensive and frustrating, and we were at our wits' end when we decided, as a last resort, to try the reward system.
It was never a question of giving in or giving her up, so it just had to work.
We are retired and are home all the time, and that's what it took -- time.
Since she has bowel movements several times a day, it meant keeping a close eye on her.
When she "went" and didn't eat her feces, we would give her a treat. When she did eat the feces and we caught her, she didn't get a treat. She soon got the picture.
Now she is 4-1?2, and we still reward her even though the habit has been broken. This didn't change overnight; it took several months of close monitoring.
We also used this method with a urinating problem, and it has worked for that, as well.
She knows she'll get a treat for doing her duties outdoors and rushes right back in for her treat.
Of course, what worked for us may not work for others, but if you love your pet, it's worth a try.
-- J.M.G., Virginia Beach, Va.
Dear J.M.G.: Thanks for sharing your experience with a poop-eating pooch that responded to a food reward.
This supports my theory that many coprophagic dogs are hungry and may suffer from a nutritional deficiency.
Being given a treat satisfies the food craving but may not actually correct the deficiency unless it is a fortuitous coincidence, such as offering a high-protein treat such as dried liver.
One of my dogs became coprophagic, wanting to eat the stools of one of my two other dogs, after she had seen me routinely picking up the stools in a plastic bag.
My interpretation, in this instance, is that she was motivated to copy me, cleaning up, like a mother dog, after her puppies had evacuated.
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