For many dog owners out there, one of the most frustrating things our dogs can do is eat animal poop. This may be their own or any other type of animal poop.
Despite your best efforts to chase after them and desperately stop them from eating those animal droppings, sometimes they are just too fast, and before we know it, the damage has been done…the poop is eaten!
When your dog eats poop, it may not give them the best smelling breath, and it’s also not the most hygienic.
Therefore, you’re probably wondering how you should go about cleaning your puppy’s mouth after they have chosen to eat poop.
Below are the tips all dog owners need to know to clean their dog’s mouth after eating poop and what you can do to stop dogs from eating poop in the future.
Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?
If we’re being totally honest, no one knows why dogs eat poop. If only we could ask them!
For young puppies, eating feces is usually done out of curiosity and to find out exactly what this mysterious, smelly object is!
They want to test if it tastes good or not and typically don’t like it when you try to scold them or stop them from eating it, and so they may not be cooperative when you try to clean out their mouth.
Related: Why Does My Dog’s Poop Turn White?
Cleaning Your Dog’s Mouth
As much as you love your dog, they won’t seem quite as cute when they jump up on your lap after eating dog feces, as they may not have the nicest smelling breath.
If your dog has eaten poop, then you’re going to want to clean out its mouth.
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There are two main methods you can use. There is a quick cleaning method and a more in-depth brushing teeth method,
Quick Cleaning Method
This method is good to try and deal with the situation as quickly as possible.
Food and Drink
Firstly, you should encourage your pet to eat some dog food, as this will trigger their mouths to produce saliva.
Dog’s saliva is a way that dogs can naturally clean their mouths and teeth!
You should then also get your dog to drink some water, as this will wash away any bits of poop still in your dog’s mouth, as well as get rid of any germs or debris.
Dental Chews
Give your dog a dental chew to eat for a while.
This will promote the production of saliva, which, as mentioned above, will help to clean out your dog’s mouth naturally.
A dental treat like this also creates friction, which helps to dislodge and remove any debris.
Cloth
Get some clean cloth and wet it with coconut oil or saltwater.
Hold your dog still then, with the damp cloth wrapped around your finger, gently put the cloth in the side of the dog’s mouth to try and clean it.
Wipe their mouth with the cloth, ensuring you clean their gums, tongue, and the roof of their mouth.
When dogs are in the puppy stage, they might be less willing to stay still while you do this. You need to be careful when wiping your puppy’s mouth so as not to make them gag.
Puppy Mouthwash
You can get mouthwash explicitly designed for dogs, and this is a good thing to use to help clean out your dog’s mouth after they’ve eaten dog poop.
Related: Find Out Why Dogs Look at You When They Poop
Toothbrush Cleaning Method
- Choose the right toothbrush – You want to find a proper dog toothbrush, usually available from most pet stores, as these are made to get in-between dog’s teeth. Alternatively, you can use a toothbrush that would be used for human babies.
- Dog Toothpaste – You want to find some dog toothpaste and apply this to the toothbrush. You should not use human toothpaste.
- Expose Teeth – You need to lift your puppy’s lip up and out so you can get to their teeth and gums. That way, you can give their whole mouth a proper clean.
- Brush Teeth – Next, carefully brush your dog’s teeth. This might require a lot of patience, especially for a puppy, but give them a tasty treat and pet them frequently, and hopefully, they will cooperate.
- Rinse – Now, take a clean, damp cloth, wrap it around your finger and wipe it around the inside of your puppy’s mouth to rinse it off.
How to Stop Your Dog From Eating Poop
Eating poop can be bad for a dog’s health.
For example, there is the chance that, by eating other animals’ excrements, dogs could end up getting infected with intestinal parasites[1].
These can make your dog very sick and uncomfortable, which no dog owner likes to see.
So, when you see them taking a keen interest in their own poop or of other animals, you’re going to want to try and deter them.
How do you deter dogs from eating poop? Well, there are a few ways.
It is very common for dogs to eat cat poop, and this type of poop often carries the most risk of parasite infection.
So, if you have a cat litter box in your house, you should make sure it is out of your dog’s reach and that you regularly clean it.
To stop your dog from eating poop, you should make sure that you scoop up their poop immediately after they have gone to the toilet.
Leaving it lying around your yard is what might make them more likely to eat it at some point, maybe without you even knowing.
If you are out on a walk and other dogs’ feces is lying around, you should try to distract your dog with some treats, chew toys, or their favorite ball.
Encourage them to move away using this method, and they should soon lose interest.
Dog’s will be dogs, and sometimes, despite our best efforts, they just won’t stop eating poop.
However, your dog has an excellent, natural self-cleaning system that can deal with such problems, so there is no need to panic.
Just use the methods mentioned above so you can freshen up your dog’s mouth, and then you won’t have to be holding your nose every time your puppy comes near you!
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