Anyone successfully able to stop their dog from eating poop while out on walks?

[Anonymous]

If so, what was/is your tactic?

[Anonymous]

No. I live in a particularly nasty area of DC and my strategies now involve:

1. constantly scanning the ground ahead of me and actively avoiding those spots.
2. saying "no" and pulling him away when he starts to pull towards those piles
3. using a harness on my little poop eater rather than a collar so when I see his fast, happy "I found poop!" tail wag and his mouth going for it, I can yank him away without breaking his neck
4. wearing a headlamp for night/early morning walks so I can do #1
and when all the above fail - it's also fortunately still cold enough for #5 - my gloves are washable. I wash the right one a lot, after I dig poop out of his mouth.

[Anonymous]

Yelling NO and yanking the leash. Worked for all my dogs.

[Anonymous]

Using a harness and yanking hard when he goes for it. If you are using one of those awful retractable leashes, get rid of it and switch to one that is 4'-6' long. I use this amazing two-handle dog leash that gives me the option to keep the dog very close to me if he's not behaving on the walk. There are a lot of similar options if you search for "two handle dog leash".

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075DJMVFG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Anonymous]

No. Had a dog like this for 12 years and never cured it. We tried diet, training, correction. Wire muzzle was too sad. So, just constant vigilance.

[Anonymous]

I have or have had 9 dogs and have never encountered this.

[Anonymous]

One of our dogs is a poop eater and always has been. She's 14 now. The only way we are able to prevent her from eating poop during walks is to be vigilant and keep her on a short leash. Any attempts to snack are met with a quick tug on the leash and a firm "leave it!"

I believe there is something you can add to their food to make their own poop less enticing, but I can't recall what it is. Pumpkin maybe? Whatever it is, we don't use it anymore because our old dog has digestive issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of our dogs is a poop eater and always has been. She's 14 now. The only way we are able to prevent her from eating poop during walks is to be vigilant and keep her on a short leash. Any attempts to snack are met with a quick tug on the leash and a firm "leave it!"

I believe there is something you can add to their food to make their own poop less enticing, but I can't recall what it is. Pumpkin maybe? Whatever it is, we don't use it anymore because our old dog has digestive issues.

OP here. I heard about this too. Too bad it's not something that's standard in all do foods (assuming it's perfectly safe, of course). sigh...

We do the same as many suggested - lots of scanning and vigilance but he's so darn quick, sometimes I don't even have time to react! And we don't use a retractable leash for many reasons, this being one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have or have had 9 dogs and have never encountered this.

Consider yourself very lucky then. Our first dog didn't do this either so we were caught off guard when we discovered how much our second dog loves to feast on it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, walk the dog on a leash, pay attention and control the dog. Not hard.

[Anonymous]

Give the dog yogurt.

[Anonymous]

Mine occasionally sniffs poop, then she sticks her nose in the air and turns away. I can't imagine her trying to eat it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give the dog yogurt.

What does the yogurt do? Does it help change their taste buds? Provide a nutrient they are lacking?

[Anonymous]

Stop using the retractable leash! 4 foot leash works best for my poop eater.

[Anonymous]

I use a gentle leader so that prevents virtually all pulling.