A few puppy questions

[rme147]

Hi everyone-
My husband and I just got our first corgi 3 weeks ago and he' s doing great! Well, yesterday, we picked up our second corgi.... and she's 5 days younger than him. Well, I have a few questions I was hoping someone could shead some light on for me...

1) my boy corgi- well, he eats poop. it's really gross, but I can't be the only one with this problem. Lol... does anyone have any remedies to get him to stop?

2) our new girl corgi is only 5 days younger than our boy, but she is TINY... is she just a petite corgi? if you put them side by side, she doesn't look that much smaller, but when you pick her up, she's literally half his weight and she just feels like she's not as "stalky" as Levi... but she's not underfed- and she's perfectly healthy... any ideas?

[Jane Austen]

I think the dogs are normal but you are out of your mind,(joke, sort of) You have doxies and a new pup and then get another on top of that. Besides being pregnant. Good luck. I know you will manage but it is a lot to handle at one time.
The experts can chime in about the poop eating and the weights but like you said others have had similiar problems.

[MyPemCharlie]

Congratulations! And yes, you do have your hands full!

The first thing to look at with poo eating is his food. Sometimes a kibble doesn't really agree with a particular dog and their body does not absorb all the nutrients they need...so they eat their "protein packed" poop.

If you're feeding a really good quality food, then he may just like the taste of poo...Mmmm Yummy! There are products available at pet supply stores that you sprinkle on their food that is supposed to give their poo a bad taste. The only other solution I know of is to follow them around with a scooper and clean up right after he goes potty.

I wouldn't worry too much about the weight as long as you're not planning to breed and then you would need her to be within the breed standard weight. Average Corgi puppies should weigh about one pound per week old up to about 20 weeks. Charlie was only 5.5 pounds at 10.5 weeks, so I was afraid he would end up tiny. He may end up small still, but he's a "whopping" 22 pounds at 10 months. He caught up a bit, and still has some growing to do. As long as your girl's healthy, I wouldn't worry to much right now.

Congrats again! I'm expecting some great stories from you and your crew!

[rme147]

Thank you for the advice so far! I will be posting many fun stories that I'm sure are headed my way! With 4 dogs, it's hard to pick up poop more than 2 times a day (they all go outside)... but I'll look into some products to try! And I'll post some pics of my new pup soon.

[Michael Romanos]

I hope your husband is fine as well!!!!!
I can never understand why some people go from zero to having two pups at or near the same time.
Here are some suggestions to stop your Corgi pup from eating faeces:
change diet to dry food or very largely dry food; change dry food to another brand; add 10-20 percent of fibre to each dry food meal - fibre is cooked brown rice, bran or green vegetables (cooked or uncooked); give more portions of a daily meal thru the day eg 4-6 times instead of 2-3.

If you don't add supplements such as veggies, cooked brown rice, cooked fresh meat to your pup's daily (dry?) meal, I'd start as soon as.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by rme147

Hi everyone-
My husband and I just got our first corgi 3 weeks ago and he' s doing great! Well, yesterday, we picked up our second corgi.... and she's 5 days younger than him. Well, I have a few questions I was hoping someone could shead some light on for me...

1) my boy corgi- well, he eats poop. it's really gross, but I can't be the only one with this problem. Lol... does anyone have any remedies to get him to stop?

Well, this is a hard one. The only remedy I've heard of that really works is to pick it up before the dog gets to it.

Other than that there are many theories as to why it happens and how to prevent it. And from what I've heard and learned over the years, no one theory is totally correct and there isn't any one way that has worked across the board to stop it. Not any one food, feeding method, supplement or additive that has been fool proof in stopping this problem.

I don't suggest changing the food if you're happy with it.

Here are some websites with info:
Coprophagy: Preventing Stool Eating in Dogs & Puppies
Coprophagia in Dogs ~ Pawprints and Purrs, Inc.
Coprophagia in Dogs
Coprophagia in Dogs, Causes and Cures
COPROPHAGIA IN DOGS

2) our new girl corgi is only 5 days younger than our boy, but she is TINY... is she just a petite corgi? if you put them side by side, she doesn't look that much smaller, but when you pick her up, she's literally half his weight and she just feels like she's not as "stalky" as Levi... but she's not underfed- and she's perfectly healthy... any ideas?

It could be she isn't as stocky as he is. She can be healthy and be undersized. She might always be undersized and she might out grow it. Hard to say.

How old are your puppies? Where did you get them?

Peggy

[rme147]

Thanks for the poo-eating advice... I tried a supplament, but it gave all the dogs bad tummy problems- so I stopped that. Their food is just fine, we'll just have to keep a closer eye on him when he goes outside. I was told that rewarding him for NOT doing it can work as well. So we're trying that.

My male pup is 8 1/2 weeks (born 2/21/08) and he is from a local breeder here in LakeCounty. Our female is almost 8 weeks (born 2/26/08) and she is from Missouri (we're in California). I took her to the vet on Thurs. and the doc said she is in perfect health. I was just curious about the size difference.

Thanks for those websites also!

~Robin~

[Michael Romanos]

What do you mean when you say you gave your dogs a supplement and it gave them tummy upsets. What supplement? Do you really understand what supplement means or can mean - it can mean additional food that is different to the bulk of their daily diet eg cooked fresh meat, veggies, fruit, cooked brown rice. it is unlikely any of these recommended things in small quantities will give dogs a bad tummy. Apart from anything else, it adds flavour to a dogs meal, makes it more interesting and prevents food boredom.

[glencorgi]

She probably means something like Deter or Forbid, which is put in with the meal and is supposed to make the feces less "appetizing" for them to eat. Another commonly suggested additive is Adolph's Meat Tenderizer (plain) sprinkled over the food.

Debbie

[Jane Austen]

Just a thought on curbing the "poo eating". Do most pups outgrow the temptation?
Especially if the dog is watched and disciplined, it would more likely reduce the habit.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Jane Austen

Just a thought on curbing the "poo eating". Do most pups outgrow the temptation?
Especially if the dog is watched and disciplined, it would more likely reduce the habit.

No, unfortunately they don't seem to outgrow it. Females that didn't partake will sometimes pick up the behavior after they've had a litter. Keeping feces picked up, watching and teaching a good "leave it" command is the best way to break the habit as you noted.

Debbie

[colbycorgi]

we too have had the poo-eating issue...and we work the best at just staying on top of the pick-up crew...and cammie is much smaller than colby was...just came from the vet infact and at almost 6 months, cammie is just under 18lbs and colby has lost a few too, not on purpose, just getting extra EXERCISE, playing with cammie and all his friends, he topped the scales at just under 29lbs....good luck to you and your new babies...