[tamrajd99]

My family would like to adopt a new dog. Someone told me that all dogs will eat their own feces! Is this true?

[Marriedguy]

No, not all dogs eat there feces but some do. Just hope that your dog won't and if he/she take it to the vet.

[labman]

If you get a dog, you can count on hearing a lot more garbage. ''Experts'' will come crawling out of the woodwork. Everybody that ever owned a dog will be telling you this and that. Plus everybody selling anything to do with dogs will have their say. Many people set great store in their own limited experience, going from what they have seen with one, or even a few dogs. That leads to false flat statements like ''All dogs eat their own feces.''

Sometimes puppies will eat their own feces plus other dogs, cats, etc. Often by a year old, they grow out of it. I don't remember about my Aster doing it as a puppy, but at 14 years old, I still have to watch her, or she will work at cleaning up the woods. When she was a puppy, her one brother would nosh on road apples and then run at both ends. Otherwise, it is relatively harmless, nothing to call the vet for. All the vet can do is prescribe a food additive that may be no more effective than others. So I wouldn't let concerns about feces eating keep you from getting a dog.

If you do get a dog, I would suggest adopting an older one. One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may find a rescue near you starting at American Kennel Club - Breed Rescue The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

RubyPitbull does rescue work, and has contacts that may help too.

To familiarize yourself with the current dog world, you might look through the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802

[bushg]

Tamara. Keep in mind that you can also adopt a puppy from a rescue group, ASpCA or a no kill shelter, sometimes they have entire litters. I have never adopted a puppy. I figure they all grow up. I was also told by the shelter that black dogs do not get adopted out as often as other colors. So Guess what? I adopted a black dog, not the puppy that I went in looking for. It's been 3 wonderful years. At first she ate her poo, I was grossed out and the worker said it was probably from nerves, she was right, that stopped soon after I got her. My other dog has never eaten poo as far as I know. So no not all dogs eat poo.

[RubyPitbull]

The only other resource I have to add is Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a puppy or kitten.
Take a look at what shelters & rescues are in your area and what dogs are available.

As you have been told, a lot of puppies will eat their own poop and every other poop out there. It is part of their learning process, like human babies sticking everything in their mouths. It is just another training issue if you get one that does it.

If you haven't owned a dog before, or it has been a long time, I strongly recommend that you consider an adult dog. If you want a puppy, you need to make sure you have the time to dedicate to training it properly. They go through a phase of chewing and tearing everything up they can get a hold of. Before you get one, I do recommend that you read through Labman's link at the bottom of his post and take a good look at his recommended reading list. Pick up one or two of those books prior to getting a dog and make sure you have located a good vet in your area and a good trainer. This way, if you need help, you are already set and ready.

[phoenixpham]

my family would like to adopt a new dog. someone told me that all dogs will eat their own feces!! is this true?

All my dogs have done this. They especially love cat poop. The vet told me it goes back to the wolf who did this for survival but my dogs are well fed with a healthy dog food so the idea that they need something we are not giving them is not true as far as I am concerned.

[RubyPitbull]

Phoenix, it has nothing to do with needing something you aren't giving them. What the vet was telling you is that they can't help themselves, that this is imprinted into their basic genetic code. The problem with this theory is that it doesn't explain why there are puppies that don't do this.

[labman]

Proofing just why dogs do things is difficult. Much of the reading I have done leads to the conclusion it is dietary. I often first see it at about 4 months when I switch from the richer puppy chow to adult chow to slow growth. Since aster returned to our care, our last 4 puppies were more eating hers than their own.