A new puppy will explore the world with the nose and the mouth. Everything goes into the mouth as they learn about the world . This is not always a positive situation. As a puppy sniffs around, the puppy may eat or ingest his stool or bowel movement. This is know as coprophagy. While rarely does this cause the puppy a problem, it is disgusting. Who wants their puppy coming into the house licking everyone after ingesting his stool? Coprophaghy is a temporary problem with most puppies. The puppy will ingest the stool once or twice and then stop.

However, coprophagy becomes a problem with the puppy that ingests the stool all the time. There are several options in solving this problem. First you can go out with your puppy, picking up the stool as soon as  he eliminates. Sometimes this will become a race to see who will get to stool first - you or the puppy! Another solution is changing the food, being sure that the protein source is different. This will encourage some puppies to stop.

For the puppy that persists, the use of For-Bid can be beneficial. For-Bid in the food over several days changes the taste of the stool. The change in the taste helps break puppies of this vice. Some puppies will respond well but relapse back into coprophage after a period of time. These puppies usually  require a second treatment.

A variation of coprophaghy in puppies is the puppy that leaves his stool alone but cleans out the cat box daily. This is treated exactly the same way, except you have to give the For-Bid to the cat. Often you will have to treat the cat several times to break the vice.  

Owen Fisk