my boxer has a bad addiction

[OFRD_GRL]

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

[joshthaxton]

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.

[Freakie_frog]

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.

[Spaniard]

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.

[OFRD_GRL]

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

[OFRD_GRL]

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

[ballpythonluvr]

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.

[Freakie_frog]

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.

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

[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)

[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.