# Correcting a sh*t situation



## Berlin09 (Nov 25, 2019)

Hey

I'm really finding this one behaviour my 1 year old has acquired very difficult to deal with. She has gotten a taste for human faeces, and goes wild for it. Now I would love to say that the simple solution is not to let her near any, but I live in the city and the homeless and the party people find parks adequate facilities. I don't want to have to leash her all the time in the park to avoid this circumstance. 

It's disgusting, but moreover it freaks me out knowing there maybe some residue narcotics or other nasties.

Typical example today. We are in the park everything is fine then she gets a whiff. Ignores all commands, and when I demand "no" or "leave it", commands she normally responds to, she just jumps around in front of me like she's taunting me (I don't mean literally of course). I've tried all manner of discipline; I leash her straight away in a short leash and march away without giving her any slack. I ignore her. Turn my back to her. I've taken all her toys away - not that it makes sense after the fact. 

I'm at my wits end. I end up cancelling events to stay home and hope she doesn't slip into some intoxicated state.

She is not interested in hers or other dog poo. She has found horse manure and wild pigs, deer and similar forest dwelling droppings, but listens when I call her away. She's fed on a pure raw diet, high quality with a mix of veg/fruit. 

Has anybody had this problem and managed to adequately correct it? Everything I read says she'll grow out of it. But at 13 months it doesn't look like it.


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## InTheNet (Jun 1, 2016)

how do you feel about a e collar? (are you allowed to use them?)


Mine absolutely hate the e collar correction even though it is set for the mildest stimulation/ more like a mosquito bite. ( I tried it) usually just the beep is needed/ but we had to use the correction recently to get our males attention When he had a coyote insight.


Both ours learned the underground fence with just one try.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Luckily I haven't had to deal with that.
But would treat it the same as anything else I didn't want them to eat, or roll in.
My dogs learn the Leave it command, when young. As they mature, and their training advances. I overlap that training with ecollar conditioning. 

I am so glad I don't live in the city.
Don't know if I could stomach it
Your other option, is to clean the park before you release your pup to play. 
.


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## tegee26 (Apr 25, 2018)

InTheNet said:


> how do you feel about a e collar? (are you allowed to use them?)
> 
> 
> Mine absolutely hate the e collar correction even though it is set for the mildest stimulation/ more like a mosquito bite. ( I tried it) usually just the beep is needed/ but we had to use the correction recently to get our males attention When he had a coyote insight.
> ...


I don't think e-collars are legal in European countries, at the UK from my i=understanding.


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## Kedves (Nov 18, 2019)

If the OP is in fact located in European country and the E collars are in fact not legal, I would like to add my suggestion. The dogs for some natural reason will go after poop, be that animal or on occasion human one. I'd suggest that this behaviour if corrected or derailed, should wane at around 2 years old. 

My suggestion is, that if your dog seeks that kind of thing, feel free to take her out of the danger zone to a wild forest outside of town, wild beach, field in back country. I know it might take some extra time, but given the chance, they will move on in different direction in no time. 

Other option would be a fenced dog park. Those are usually clear of that kind of danger. Lastly, keeping the dog on leash, till they know better is also an option. 

Whatever you do OP, don't give up, don't get discouraged. That thing will pass and you will be left with enough years ahead, to completely forget about it.


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## Berlin09 (Nov 25, 2019)

Thanks for the responses. I'm in Germany, and there are some sort of e-collars available. I think it was the UK that banned them. That said I'm hesitant to use one. I'm not sure it's the right approach - although desperation would probably lead me to it eventually.

I've thought about trying to somehow deal with it in a controlled manner. i.e taking her to it and correcting the behaviour as she tries to go for it. Sounds disgusting, but the problem is she sniffs it long before I've even noticed and by the time I get there - urgh! Some sort of super command with a super treat? Has anyone had experience with that?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

The treat has to be better, than the poop for it to work. My pups all start out with reward-based training, IE treats and praise. Even after we do more advanced training, they still get a lot of treats and praise.
I would start the training away poo at first.
Here/Come pull her to you on leash, then treat and praise. When she's prefect at it, work on a little long lead. Practice it at a lot of different places. Last you add high-value treats to different places on the floor. She has to come straight to you on the here / come command, without trying to get the treats on the floor.

If you do ever decide to condition her to an e-collar. Please be sure to educate yourself on the correct way to introduce, and use of the collar.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

I'm a hardy soul myself, but this would push me clear over the edge.

Eating feces is often a sign of a nutritional deficit of some kind..and (seriously!) endocrine problems like diabetes. So, I would call the vet and have an exam and a CBC to rule out anything metabolic, and certainly until then, keep her out of places where she can come into contact with human feces, even if it results in less off lead time. Other parks perhaps? The lesser of the evils here, people who poop in the park do so either b/c of some acute intestinal issue which results in an emergency evacuation, or those with "other issues", neither of which your precious V should be in direct contact with.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

No way I'd put up with that situation for very long. I thought Tika was bad about cat poop, but that's disgusting!
You have two options. Find a new place to let your girl go, or enforce the "leave it" command. 
The first behavior I'd work on, is the jumping up and down in front of you. Change out the short leash for a longer, wider, leash , about 3m long, and at least 30-40mm wide. When she starts the jumping up and down, you need to be quick as a snake and get that leash on her, and then throw a loop under her abdomen, and back up to your hand. You're basically turning her into a piece of luggage, and now you control her front and back end.
When she start jumping apply upwards pressure on the section of loop around the belly, while keeping the section to her collar slack free. You're not trying to pick her up!! just take away her feet. This why the leash needs to be wide, so that you can't actually hurt her.
You'll need to practice this in the house, in a controlled environment. She'll pick up "the game" quick enough, but you need to introduce it, before you actually need to use it in the park so that she understands what is happening. It's not hard.
After she is "no slip" responding to the leash, you can elect to introduce the eCollar if you desire. An eCollar is an extension of the leash. If they don't have the behavior down on a leash, they're not going to understand the eCollar stimulation. The eCollar is introduced only after the behavior is taught on the leash, in a controlled environment.
I do empathize/sympathize with your situation completely. I know that "dogs will be dogs", but that's just gross on a whole different level!!
Good luck.


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