This is one of those great doggy dilemmas that everyone has a suggestion for and everyone knows a dog that the suggestion did not work for. It seems to be more common in puppies than adults--and some really do outgrow it, though not all (unfortunately)--and more common in small dogs than large.

Besides being seriously gross, it's not healthy, as your dog may pick up worms or other parasites, as well as contagious diseases, by eating the stool of an infected animal.

The technical term for this is coprophagia. Autocoprophagia is a dog (or any animal) eating its own feces. Intraspecific coprophagia involves a dog eating other dogs' poop. Interspecific coprophagia occurs when a dog eats feces from cats or another species. Now you have some great conversation starters for cocktail parties!

There is no scientific evidence that it is caused by the dog missing some nutrient in its diet, though that explanation has been around for a very long time. Apparently some dogs with medical problems which result in their inability to absorb certain nutrients may have this problem, but there are other symptoms also. It is true that very hungry dogs will eat poop, but just because your dog eats it does not mean he is hungry.

Some things work for some dogs and some things work for other dogs. Some things don't work at all. But nothing works in every situation. Here are some suggestions that are reputed to work. To be on the safe side, check with your vet before trying any of them. These should all be tried one at a time so you will know which one worked!

The following go on the food of the poop provider, not on the food of the poop eater.

1) There are commercial products available through catalogs and vets called Forbid and Deter.
2) One of the most popular remedies you'll hear is meat tenderizer (like Adolphs) but it cannot be the MSG-free type.
3) Canned pumpkin
4) Crushed pineapple
5) Rabbit chow added to food -- about a quarter cup to a cup of dog food.
6) pumpkin seeds
7) breath mints
8) papaya
9) anise seeds
10) Viokase for a week (Viokase is a pancreatic enzyme concentrate prescribed for pancreatitis. You will definitely need to consult your veterinarian about this one)
11) Potato flakes-1 teaspoon per meal

Other suggestions are to put tobasco sauce or ground red cayenne pepper directly on the stools (not in the food!), or spraying the stools with Bitter Apple or vinegar. Supposedly this trains dogs not to eat them.

Proponents of the raw diets say that dogs fed that way don't eat poop.

If the problem is cat box raiding, put the litter box up somewhere the dog can't reach it or in a room behind a baby gate--cat can get over but puppy can't.

The only 100% solution is to keep the poop picked up and keep the dog away from it after he has produced it...an admirable goal, though not always possible.

Sources: Washington State University Study on Coprophagia
Vetinfo: Ask Dr. Mike
Coprophagia - Canine Behavioral Services
University of Illinois - Dog Column 6/2/97
Tomball Veterinary Clinic