I would suggest your dog is lacking something in the diet.I would consult a vet though.

Eww... that can't be good. Your dog is obviously not getting enough of something in its diet. Best to get it checked out at the vet.

some dried foods take longer to digest and therefore when the dog goes to the toilet it wants to eat its poo because there are still traces of food in it. I have a staffy puppy and she has only just started to do it in the last week, but she has been on a different type of food in the last week also. This to me would stand to reason and back up what I have been told.

Coprophagia is what this activity is called. Notice it's rather a long word...and it has a long list of possible reasons as to why it happens. There's also a lot of disagreement as to why it happens and and even longer list of suggestions as to what to do to make it stop happening. On a practical note: Many puppies DO mouth, carry, or eat poop. Their own, their friends, or the CAT's. Puppies, like all babies are ORAL, they are curious about EVERYTHING. The bigger deal you make of it, the more STRESSED OUT an environment you create, so this can sometimes contribute to the puppy doing things you DON'T want them to do...so if you catch her in the act, simply remove it from her mouth and consider buying her a toothbrush and some DOG toothpaste...do not use human product on the dog! EDIT: 02/11/09 I have had my dogs and cats on Raw Meats for the past 7 months now. NO Kibble, no commercial canned, no cooked, no "meat mix" JUST RAW MEATS. 80% meat 10% bone 10% organs. COOKED bones are no good, they become brittle and splinter. RAW bones simply crunch up like cardboard practically, INCLUDING raw chicken bones. Avoid dense, heavy weight baring bones of large animals, like deer and cow, because THOSE bones can cause teeth to crack, they are too heavy! What types of meats? Pretty much anything goes...beef deer, elk, chicken, turkey, pork, emu, buffalo, fish (not breaded) and for the others avoid any that say "enhanced" just plain old meat. Freezer burned is fine, a bit past expired is fine for dogs. Dogs do not have problems with Salmonella, HUMANS have problems with Salmonella...hence so many recalls of commercial feeds. Dog's stomach acid is about 10 times stronger than ours. What parts do I feed? Whatever parts I can get either on sale, or for FREE..via Freecycle. I'm now saving money too...was: $75-$125 a month, now: $65-$90 a month. AND AS FOR POOP EATING...Well, my dogs were fond of "kitty rocha" two weeks into their NEW RAW DIET...they STOPPED THEMSELVES, COLD TURKEY (PUN INTENDED) FROM SCOURING THE LITTER BOXES IN SEARCH OF "TREATS." Once in a while I see one of them glance at the cat boxes...then they just do nothing! They walk away, they are no longer entranced with the concept of eating cat poop. YIPPEE! AS for their own poop...they never ate that, but now they poop less, BECAUSE almost 100% of what they eat is being USED by their bodies (they are designed to eat MEAT not grains, veggies or fruits) and when they do poop..there is less poop coming out...and then....within about 3 to 4 days what little comes out turns to dust and blows away, or just becomes part of the dirt. For both the dogs and cats, their teeth, coats and behaviors have never been better. Chewing the meat really cleans up the teeth (more than chewing the bones...working to get the meats off of the bones is the trick!) Their coats are glossy, soft and healthy, their energy levels are outstanding and the one cat who can be a bit of a bitch at times, has become more affectionate over all! I had to put my old Shasta Cat to sleep on Monday. He was 15 yrs old. HE had been on meats..(cooked the first couple of years) and then switched to raw, due to increased vomiting about 5 years ago. Loosing the kibble in his life stopped the vomiting and probably added the past 5 years we got to enjoy his HEALTHY AND COMFORTABLE company. He evidently had intestinal cancer (oddly common with cats). Getting him off of grains and on to a species appropriate diet probably gave him a longer and better life, since carbs tend to "feed" cancer. I miss him so very much, my dear, sweet Orangeman...SHASTA If you would like to learn more about RAW FED Dogs and Cats check out these web sites and do your own research..I read up and studied for a number of YEARS...and wish I had just made the switch a lot sooner... http://www.skylarzack.com/rawfeeding.htm http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/ http://www.rawfedcats.org/ END OF EDIT Be sure you are ON your house training program, if she is not 100% house trained. Keep it all positive reinforcement! Yelling at her can actually cause her to eat it more in an effort to keep you from finding it, if she is fully house trained...who trained her...if there was yelling or nose rubbing this too can teach the dog to remove evidence of the "problem." In some cases there isn't much you can do, except PICK IT UP the moment she's gone...remove it. Here is a google link with MANY, MANY articles and suggestions for you to become aware of. Some might work, some will be full of...well..the topic at hand. USE common sense when reading them. Anything that suggests anger, yelling...creating stress is NOT a good training suggestion! http://www.google.com/search?q=dog+eating+poop&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

I have a 4 month old staffy, she is as cute as a button and well youd think butter wouldnt melt in her mouth! In the last week she has started eating her poo, she isnt house trained, but the minute we see the poo we try to grab it. Tonight was the last straw, she pooped in her usual spot while we were in the kitchen having dinner, i didnt know she had done it but when she came to give me a cuddle after we had eaten i was physically sick from the stench in her mouth. Im at my witts end here. Have you had any luck with any of the methods people have mentioned to you? Im desparate! please email me at kylielaura@aapt.net.au Thanks Kylie

I've heard that some dogs eat their poop to hide it or remove it...sort of shame poop eating. This can stem from incidents where they were punished for pooping in the house etc. I don't know if that's true, but it sort of makes sense. I've also heard that since female dogs get their puppies to eliminate by licking their little puppy butts, they often carry this behavior over...once a butt licking poop eater, always a butt licking poop eater, I guess! My female dog loves to eat my male black lab's poop...only when it's hot and steamy, right from the poopshoot! I think she finds it delicious because he's eats a senior food formula, different from her food. So, I just increased her food, and I watch when they go outside and bag the lab's poop right away. Problem solved. She doesn't eat her own poop or my other dog's poop, though. The grossest part about all of this is...she was happily coming in and licking my face for WEEKS until I saw her eating the poo...yuk. :^)

Your dog is eating because he/she isnt getting enough vitamins or nutrients from what its eating. you should give you dog doggy vitamins, change the dry food or take it to the vet for a blood test.