Should It Make You Worried That Your Adorable Dog Eats Poop?

Coprophagy. Its gross. Dogs are our Best friends, why do they think it desirable to eat feces?

Turns out there are a number of well known scientific reasons, and a few misunderstood ones that can help you understand why your fur babies do it, and how to curb their appetite. Yuk.

Why Dogs Eat Poop.

If you’re reading this, chances are you have or have had a faithful four-legged friend. They love to be with you, even when you’re rude.
They are sad when you leave without them, non-judgmentally snuggle with you — even though you haven’t taken a shower.

Best? They totally disregarded all of your gross habits.

But then…you don’t eat poop. And definitely not your own poop.
When dogs eat feces, it’s not always a gross personality trait. Veterinarians agree, any number of things could be going on with your pet if they do.

Coprophagy ( kah/ prAH/ fa/ gee) may make you gag, but’s knowing this part of being a responsible pet parent because it can be linked to medical and behavioral concerns. If your pet randomly starts eating poop, take them to your veterinarian for a well-check to rule out serious medical causes.

In one visit, Your veterinarian will be able to check for these medical conditions:

Digestive enzyme deficiencies -

Our dogs’ stomachs have enzymes in there that digest their food. When isn’t enough enzymes to digest their food, the nutrients do not pass into their system. This is VERY important to have a veterinarian help with because without digesting their food their body is not getting anything out of eating. This can make their bodies weak and although they do not feel hungry, their body is effectively starving for key nutrients.

This will cause our dog to seek out the nutrients they are lacking. Sometimes this looks like eating poop.

Parasites

There are so many different kinds of parasites that could be affecting our dogs, particularly the stomach. This can cause malnutrition because the parasite gets all the nutrients

“Parasites” are a type relationship with another living organism where one creature is benefited, while the other is harmed. When your dog has a parasite, often in the form of a worm, the parasite benefits and feeds off your dog, and the food they consume. As a responsible pet parent, you need to take care of this situation immediately because your pet is incapable of solving this on their own.

Oftentimes a veterinarian will give you parasite medication to flush the worms from your dog’s system and there is no lasting effects. However, it is very sad when pets contract parasites they cannot be rid of, and are life threatening (such as heartworms). Always protect your pet from parasites by keeping them up to date on shots.

Malabsorption issues

When your pet’s body cannot absorb the nutrients in the food they , they have a malabsorption issue. Similar to the enzyme deficiency above, when the nutrients get pooped out without being digested properly, your dog looses out on the nutritional value of eating. Malabsorption in dogs can be a side effect of a variety of very serious health issues. Sometimes it can be an unrelated body system that actually has the real problem. This is why you should take your dog to the vet, they will know how to diagnose the next step to figure out the root cause.

Nutrient-deficient diets

You may have noticed by now that nutrition is very important. What you put into your dogs body, is how their body can function. It gives their cells energy to do every day activities, and functions. Feeding your dog a species-specific food is important for their overall health. If the food lacks the nutrients your pet needs, even if they have enough enzymes and absorption, there will not be enough nutrients in the food to digest. This will also leave your dog’s body starving for the right kinds of nutrients it needs. Dogs have different nutritional needs based on stage of life, breed, activity level, and size.

Unfortunately, some of the biggest name brands in pet food are among the lowest quality for our pets. If you don’t know which brand to buy for your pet, you can ask a veterinarian at your visit what they suggest for your dog.

Underfeeding

Pet obesity is a common concern among many American households. 30 percent of all dogs are obese. That is almost 1 in every 3 dogs. But underfeeding is just as important to avoid and has many health related concerns around it. Each breed of dog requires a specific amount of food to keep it healthy. Just like in people, pets who are underfed will lose weight. Weight loss can also be a sign of a parasite. If you notice your pet is getting skinny, but you feed them consistent amounts, you should call your veterinarian to get recommendations on how much you should feed your particular breed. Your vet may suggest you come in so they can see the dog.

It’s sometimes a behavioral problem that causes them to eat poop.

I wanted to cover the most important points first. If you think that your eats poop due to a medical issue, like any of the above, call a vet.

However, sometimes it’s a behavioral thing.

If you bring home another dog, and your existing dog has this behavior, because dogs are pack animals, they will mimic to fit in. it could be, like in the case of your old dog, be an ingrained behavior — nursing mothers will lick puppy poops up to keep the area clean for her litter — its instinct. Perhaps your pet is stressed, anxious, or bored. The habit may form from being alone all day as a coping mechanism ( gross, I know). Dogs are also naturally scavengers. They have instincts that go deep into their heritage to search for food by tracking it down. Scat trails is a very obvious indicator that food ( or in the case of out domesticated dogs — entertainment) could have passed this way. But, you could just have an attention seeking dog. They may crave your attention so much, they get it by taking extreme measures. If you respond to them eating poop, they will likely repeat the action to draw attention whenever, in their estimate, you don’t pay them enough attention.

How to Get My Dog From Eating Poop?

The first step is to see if your dog is lacking nutrition. Consult a veterinarian and talk with them about what can be done to prevent this in the future. Buy quality, species-specific food, and maintain their vaccines and well-checks. Lastly follow any advice your vet gives you. They know your pet’s situation best.

If you and your vet have ruled out medical concerns, your dogs coprophagy is likely related to behavioral triggers.

Great. What can be done about it? Here are a few intervention you can try on your poo-loving dog.

• Keep your dog busy : puzzles toys are designed by canine psychiatrist to keep your pet busy and engaged. This helps enrich their time alone, or away from bonded individuals. They are a great way yo give mental exercise and activity. You can also try walking and playing with your dog every day to help expend energy.
  Pent up energy can not only result in things like eating poop, but often in destructive/ bad behaviors like chewing, digging, and sometimes aggression.
• Scoop the poop: Pet waste contains harmful bacteria. If your home also has other children, or babies in it, they may not know to stay away. Babies put everything in their mouth and this could make them VERY sick. By scooping the poop, and responsibly piking up after your pet, you can remove this danger, and prevent your dog from eating it too.
• Cats: Dogs will sniff out the cat box every time. Keep the cat box clean, an in a place your dog cannot reach
• Practice positive reinforcement: rewarding your dog for good behavior reinforces the action. The opposite, which does not create a relationship based on trust — is negative punishment. That is punishing a pet for bad behavior.
• Positive Reinforcement: It is growing knowledge that negative punishment does more harm than good. Hitting, yelling, and abandoning (that’s how it feels when you throw them in a cage or outside to be alone) these are not only less effective training tools as reinforcing positive behavior, but it builds a totalitarian, distrustful relationship. Positive reinforcement looks like rewarding with praise for potting in the right spot, or a treat going to their crate by themselves at dinnertime.

Can Eating Poop Cause Problems?

ONE, It’s gross, TWO, it CAN actually cause problems. From gastrointestinal worms to upset stomachs in your pet. Them eating random poop also messes with your relationship with them. When a dog eats poop and then gives a kiss, you now have fecal bacteria on your face. If you don’t allow kisses, that is a big loss for pet parents.

With all this in mind, lets go over the points again. Dogs eat poop for 2 main reasons:
1) Medical

2) Behavioral

You should consult your vet to rule out any serious malnourishment issues, and then focus your attention on positive reinforcement activities. It is usually not a huge deal if your pet eats poop, however it does disrupt your relationship a bit. Your health is very important, no matter how much we love doggy kisses.

Jessica Stevens is a copywriter focused in the pet health and technology space. For questions on packages visit her website, or LinkedIn