Dogs are scavengers. As many dog owners know to their cost, dogs often have a penchant for things that we find less than palatable. Occasionally, those rich pickings include poo, much to the disgust of many owners.
Ironically, dogs are often fastidious at keeping their sleeping areas clean by removing their faeces. Dogs will also actively avoid areas contaminated with poo from other dogs. This is probably an innate behaviour that has evolved to prevent the spread of disease. So given that eating poo does carry disease risk , why do dogs do it?
A recent study has shed further light on the subject and could help us manage the behaviour. The research showed that several key factors appear to have no effect on whether your dog is a poo-eater.
The chronic inflammation of IBD can stop your dog absorbing nutrients … so he may resort to stool-eating. Other symptoms include chronic diarrhea and unexplained weight loss. Parasites steal nutrients from your dog. You may need to take a fecal sample to your vet for testing to confirm your dog has worms or other parasites like giardia or coccidia.
Diabetes and hypothyroidism can make your dog feel hungry. Drugs like steroids can make your dog ravenous. Dogs eat stool when they have a nutritional deficiency.
Be sure to feed a fresh, whole diet, to provide an array of nutrients. Here are a few reasons for this natural behavior …. Puppies, on the other hand, want to discover everything around them, including poop!
Puppies will often outgrow this behavior as they get older. Dogs explore with their sense of smell, and to them, fresh stool smells great.
If your dog is bored, he might eat poop for entertainment. If you react to your dog eating poop, he might eat more to get your attention. Cat litter boxes are easy places for your dog to find a tasty treat. But why do dogs like cat poop? Many dogs are partial to canned cat food which is why vets often recommend it for giving dogs medication. For dogs, there are minimal health risks to eating their own poop. But if your dog is a kisser, you might worry about him passing on bacteria and parasites to you and your family.
So if your dog insists on eating poop, you might want to discourage licking people, and wash your face and hands thoroughly if necessary!
Teach your kids to do this too. Your dog may also have bad breath from eating poop so you might need to brush his teeth more often.
Be careful if any animals in your home are on medication. There have been cases of drug toxicity from dogs eating poop from housemates on medications like carprofen and thyroid drugs. If your stool-eating dog lives with other dogs and cats, clean up the poop as soon as it happens.
Parasite testing should be completed and stool or blood tests if required. Coprophagia can be a common behavioural problem for puppies that generally clears up by adulthood. While dogs of all ages may exhibit coprophagia behaviour, some common causes include:.
With early intervention and consistent treatment, owners and vets can help to reduce the likelihood of behaviour becoming a long-term habit and correct behavioural issues that result in coprophagia.
Have you noticed that your dog eats the poo of cats and other animals? Dogs may eat the faeces of other animals as scavenging behaviour. Often, dogs are attracted to the smell, texture and taste of foods — regardless of whether we consider them to be appropriate or not. Cat faeces and faeces from other animals sometimes have enough appealing attributes to attract dogs.
In fact, poo is an odour that dogs are consistently attracted to when exploring their environment. In turn, if poo is attractive enough to your dog, you may find your dog eating it.
Coprophagia triggered by behaviour can be corrected by consistently enforcing a number of practices, including:. For coprophagia caused by medical problems, work with your vet to identify and correct the underlying cause.
Some potential solutions include:. If you have concerns over your dog exhibiting coprophagia, chat with the vets at Vetwest for expert advice and support.
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