How do I stop my dog from eating undesirable things?

I have a one-year old Golden Retriever who eats poop. He will eat his own if not cleaned up immediately, and he eats other dog's waste. We cannot let him off leash now because he seems to hunt for the poop. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

I read that its because they are not getting enough nutrients from their food, so are eating their own poop to re-fill and re-store themselves on those lost nutrients....so if your not already, try looking into other foods which are higher in nutrients etc? (It may take a bit of research as to what food will best suit your dog)

If not, try teaching the "leave it" command?

Best of luck!! xx

This is fairly common with young dogs. It is usually something they grow out of - but occasionally it becomes either a game or a competition with the owner.
Ignoring it, making sure you pick up and also playing with your dog on walks as a distraction will help. If he`s playing ball with you he`s not poo hunting.

What are you feeding and at what intervals?

We are feeding puppy Eucanuba (sp?) twice a day - two cups in the morning, two at night. We are just about to switch over to adult food. He was on a more natural brand as a puppy but got diarrhea so the vet suggested a change.

Thanks so much for the reply. You are probably right about the competition. Sometimes I think our reaction may be reinforcing the behavior.

give your dog another option...you will need to be there.hunt dogs iv worked did this the most,old school guys i know will tell you there eating it, so they hide there tracks.instictual, they say...im not so sure

THis can sometimes be the case. I used to walk my puppy BSD with several friends, all of whom reacted when their dogs ate poop (horse manure in this case, we were out in the forest). Warning shouts, leave its, etc.

I used to ignore my dog when she ate some experimentally, but also gently distract her if I spotted some before her, usually by playing a game or just doing a small bit of fun training.

It turned out that my dog is the only dog who very rarely eats it as an adult - and if she does, it's usually only because she is hungry (she has a sensitive stomach which gets acidy if she misses a meal).

But you do have to really not mind - no pursing of lips, no catching of breath or sighs - dogs can read us very well and these will add to the excitement as much as a more obvious body cue or "no!" will

Wys
x

Sometimes, not always, a change of food can help. May be worth trying a different food to see if that does the job.

I think that unfortunately once poop eating becomes established it is quite a difficult thing to stop The retrievers seem to be particularly partial to poop chomping. It's fairly easy to stop your golden retriever eating his/her own poop simply by supervising and picking up immediately the dog has done it.
I had a flatcoated retriever bitch who never grew out of poop eating and I don't think it is much to do with lack of nutrients (its more likely that modern foods are so good nutritionally that the waste product is attractive to eat to some dogs who aren't fussy eaters and labs and retrievers are noted for being gannets). My flatcoat simply liked doing it and she would eat fox poo as well + all other animal poop - she wasn't fussy. I got her when she was about 6 months old and the habit had already become established (she used to raid the cat litter box) and nobody had bothered to stop it when she first started.
You could try keeping your retriever on a lead all the time to deny access to poop and also teach "no" whenever she comes across any and before she starts to eat it. Maybe (only maybe) after about six months on lead the habit might be broken, but you will have to be very vigilant and determined to stop it. Good luck. PS I am told it is normal behaviour.