my boxer has a bad addiction

well, actually 2... and i would LOVE advice...

he is a rescue.. he was so underweight & sick (mange/kennel cough) when I got him I was afraid he wouldn't make it.

all his faults revolve around his addiction to eating ANYthing he thinks is food..

Soooo because of this he eats poop... and ALOT of it... like.. its disgusting. i need something that will SERIOUSLY deter him from doing so because my constant correction does not do any good.


Also he saw my rottie mix eat some grass one day... and realized that means grass must be edible... and instead of just eating a few blades like most dogs do if they dont feel well.. he mows my lawn..
I do my best to watch him whenever he is outside but as we all know that is impossible sometimes.
He eats enough grass when i am not outside that he literally has packed grass poops..


SOOOOO do I have to take him to the doggy shrink or what? He is just about 1yr old now. I have had him for about 6 months. And constant correction the whole time regarding grass & poop eating.. to no avail :(

I honestly don't know what advice to give you, but my 1 y.o. Pug is nasty like that sometimes too. He'll eat ANYthing, poop, fuzz balls, lint, string, you name it. And if you're not paying him any attention he'll even chew on his tounge to see if you'll try and chase him around the house.

Easiest way is just pick up the poop in the yard everyday or right after they go. we do but thats just cause I hate a mine field of turds in my yard.

With the grass it sounds like a behavioral thing you might look at getting in to a dog training class to help focus his mind then work on the grass eating.

What kind of excercise does the dog get? Do you walk him on a leash regularly? It sounds like he has an excess of energy he is displacing by eating everything in sight.

He gets fetch for about 60+ minutes daily (hard, fast fetch LOL he is a ball spazz). a walk/run. and 2 other dogs that he plays with in the back yard. He NEVER runs out of energy. I had him out 4wheeling with me saturday and playing with a TON of new dogs and even though he was dieing tired, he still had energy (if thatmakes sense).

its when the other 2 dogs lay down to nap he is bored or whatever and eats everything.
except when he poops and im not right there, he turns around and nom noms it.

i dont want to have to lock him in his crate when i cant watch him because thats no fun for him. and he shouldnt have to be in there anyways. Overall hes an amazing dog. Sits/Lays/Shakes/Walks off leash/Doesn't beg/etc. Training him was a BREEZE! but this poop grass thing has me dieing LOL

I need to get a bicycle i think... LOL

I have a boxer/beagle mix that has done this in the past. I think there is some stuff you can buy at either Petco or Petsmart that you mix in with your dog's food that will make the poop taste bad thus making it far less desirable to your dog's taste buds. If you can't find it there, then I think that maybe your vet may be able to prescribe something similar. Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by python1024

I have a boxer/beagle mix that has done this in the past. I think there is some stuff you can buy at either Petco or Petsmart that you mix in with your dog's food that will make the poop taste bad thus making it far less desirable to your dog's taste buds. If you can't find it there, then I think that maybe your vet may be able to prescribe something similar. Hope this helps.

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Look it you have to pay to make poop taste bad there's something wrong in the world..

Add two to four tablespoons of canned pumpkin to the food bowl each day. Pumpkin apparently tastes good in food, but repugnant when expelled in excrement.

Add a spoon (teaspoon or tablespoon depending on the dog's size) of canned pineapple, pineapple juice or spinach to the dog's food.


( googled that for ya)

Add some pineapple chunks to his meals. That will make his poop taste nasty and hopefully make him think twice about making a snack out of it.

Not sure what to offer about the grass-eating, though. Maybe try bulking up his regular meals? My trainer suggested to one lady who was trying to get her dog to lose weight to add some thawed green beans to his meals. This adds bulk and helps them to feel full, without adding a bunch of unhealthy calories. Nel (my trainer) does this for her dogs (very svelte Dobies). She buys bags of simple frozen, cut green beans, and adds a handful to their bowls once a day.

It sounds like you shouldn't have any trouble convincing him both pineapple and green beans are good to eat. :D

There is a product that you can buy that you add to the dogs food. When it passes through their system, it will leave the poop with an unpleasant taste to the dog. You put it in their food for a couple of months ans the dog learns that poop does not taste good and afterward leaves it alone. I can't think of the name of it, but a Veterinarian could tell you what it is. As far as grass eating most dogs eat a little every now and then. It usually makes them vomit.

If you sprinkle a little Accent (available in any grocery store) over his food he will stop eating his poop. It changes the smell of the poop and he will stay away from it. It works 4sure. I have used it on a few dogs myself. Accent is MSG but many people put it in their food all the time. If you do that for a few weeks it would brake him of his habit.
Good luck

LOL everytime I read "it makes the poop taste bad" I didn't know what to think.. doesn't poop taste bad by nature? LOL

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Look it you have to pay to make poop taste bad there's something wrong in the world..

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x2!!

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Originally Posted by Creeptastic

Add two to four tablespoons of canned pumpkin to the food bowl each day. Pumpkin apparently tastes good in food, but repugnant when expelled in excrement.

Add a spoon (teaspoon or tablespoon depending on the dog's size) of canned pineapple, pineapple juice or spinach to the dog's food.


( googled that for ya)

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Thanks!!!!

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Originally Posted by JLC

Add some pineapple chunks to his meals. That will make his poop taste nasty and hopefully make him think twice about making a snack out of it.

Not sure what to offer about the grass-eating, though. Maybe try bulking up his regular meals? My trainer suggested to one lady who was trying to get her dog to lose weight to add some thawed green beans to his meals. This adds bulk and helps them to feel full, without adding a bunch of unhealthy calories. Nel (my trainer) does this for her dogs (very svelte Dobies). She buys bags of simple frozen, cut green beans, and adds a handful to their bowls once a day.

It sounds like you shouldn't have any trouble convincing him both pineapple and green beans are good to eat. :D

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Ya convincing him to eat ANYthing isn't a problem. He takes multivitamins, medicine, etc without peanut butter LOL

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Originally Posted by spk329

If you sprinkle a little Accent (available in any grocery store) over his food he will stop eating his poop. It changes the smell of the poop and he will stay away from it. It works 4sure. I have used it on a few dogs myself. Accent is MSG but many people put it in their food all the time. If you do that for a few weeks it would brake him of his habit.
Good luck

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Where in the grocery store would I find this?



Thanks everyone for all the input :D

[You can find it in the spice section....Accent and it says flavor enhancer on the label. Maybe it makes the poop taste more like POOP LMAO!!!!! Good luck but it will work

I had a dog who did this a few years back too, (the eating poop thing), not the grass thing, but what I found really worked was filling a spray bottle with white vinegar, and as soon as he goes, spray the poop with the vinegar generously, and when he tastes it, he will be detered from eating it. I tried all the pet store "fixes" for this problem and to be honest none of them work. But in my experience, try this, it might help.

That would work if he didnt like vinegar LMFAO
(I swear hes a special child)

I really dont like eating msg, and wouldnt give it to my dog. Maybe try the pineapple first? I keep reading that it really works.

I have four dogs now and my mom was a vet assistant for 15 years, so we have had all kinds of rescues and rehomed dogs come through our doors with all sorts of problems.

Pumpkin, canned stewed tomatoes seem to work best for this problem. The pills you can buy work on some dogs and less on others.

There is also a theory out there that it is a dominance thing with multiple dogs, the lesser of the pack will clean up after the dominant dog. Or that you are the master and the dog sees you pick up the poop so he thinks it is the right thing to do by cleaning up his own poop. Again these are thoughts by some vets and some will dismiss them

* Edit - The grass thing alot of times a vitamin shortage of some sort, you can try a different dog food if you are willing to switch them over

Ya def. willing to try a different food. Whatever it takes to stop the grass packed puppy tummy LOL

Any suggestions on a good brand dog food that might help?

Dogs eat poop when they are missing something in their diet (Generally) there are exceptions. What the animal could be missing I do not know. Grass is eaten for digestive problems. He could have intestinal parasites. Has he been wormed yet? Or he could just be well for lack of a better word. three bricks shy of a full pallet.:D:D Just kidding