We acquired a rescue dog (chihuahua), that is, a dog kept in its kennel all its life by a puppy mill. We were very concerned to discover the other day that the dog was eating its own feces. Apparently there are certain animals in the wild -- types of snowshoe hares for instance -- that re-cycle their droppings due to the extreme nature of the cold etc. in which they live, but have you ever heard of a domesticated dog doing so?

Thank you.

Feces eating is fairly common in younger dogs. It is more likely to sicken the owner than the dog unless you are fighting an infestation of worms. It is poorly understood just why dogs do it. Diet could be part of it. A puppy on the proper diet to maintain healthy growth rates may feel it needs more, and eat its or other dogs feces. Many of my puppies have started at about 4 months when I make the switch to adult chow. I usually am able to limit it by cleaning up the stools before they have a chance. Adding pineapple juice or canned pumpkin to the dogs diet should discourage it. There are also the commercial products, Forbid and Deter.

If most of your dog's calories are coming from a commercial dog chow, I would continue to feed it. You can either try the clean up routine or one of the additives I mentioned. Cleaning up doesn't work on the dogs that eat them immediately or when crated.