Having a problem with my 10 month old Lurcher cross. He eats anything he can get hold of, including poo, either in the garden or out on a walk. As a result he has the runs 80% of the time and is sick fairly often and needs his anal glands emptied regularly. I've tried the leave command but he will quickly eat whatever it is and run away with it. He is fed a good dry food regularly, so am i doing something wrong? Can't go on like this, any suggestions??

If he has runs 80% of the time and scavenges that badly, perhaps look at adjusting the food he is on? You say it is a good food; but not every food agrees with every dog so you may need to consider changing.

The only things that can help with the scavenging are training a 'leave' a 'drop' or perhaps a basket muzzle to wear offlead.

I have a very occasional poo eater and have actually found ignoring the behaviour the best tactic as it is certainly done to gain attention in his case. Yours sounds like hunger / trying to balance a nutritional deficiency though to me if he is compelled to eat everything.

Hopefully folk with plenty more knowledge and experience will be along to help you soon.

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Thank you for taking the time to reply, a few people have said to me that maybe his diet is lacking in something. As a first time dog owner, i read up on dry foods and assumed i was giving him the best food, but you are right, one food isn't going to suit all so i will try something else. He is definitely scavenging and ignoring him doesn't work. It's not just poo he's eating either, it's all sorts of stuff, grass, berries that have fallen from bushes, mud etc!! It can't be good for him. We feed him regularly and give him the occasional bone and dog treats, he has lots of toys to chew (he's a big chewer and completely destroys any toys we give him).

Was considering a basket muzzle but will defo try changing his food. Thanks again!

There are some good stickies about food in the Health and Nutrition section if you are after a steer; it's a minefield!

Have you discussed it with your vet also?

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Hi , can i ask what food hes on? i have a 18 month old Lurcher and i feed him Autarky dry food hes doing great on it,

Hi, I did feed him on Wainwrights to begin with but it was too rich for him, he's now on Purina BETA, both are dry foods.

Right off, you should know that AFAIK there is no easy, quick solution to the problem. I suggest you start with 1) environmental control - removing all possible things the might ingest 2) Constant supervision 3) Muzzle - when you can't comply with 1 and 2.


The way you write tells me that he has learned LEAVE IT means, "eat it quickly before they take it from you." You also write "everything" but only mention fec3s; does he also eat other non-food items (dirt, paper, textiles)?

Whatever the issue, it is vitally important after you make a plan of attack, the dog NEVER succeed in eating these things. If not, you are actually using a variable reinforcement and teaching the dog to try harder.

And of course before you start anything, has the dog had a full checkup to see this is not the result of a medical condition?

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