There are many reasons why a dog may decide to eat his/her own poop, another dog’s poop or the poop of another animal species. The reasons way a dog consumes poop varies per individual canine - here are some typical factors to consider when looking to understand why your dog may eat poop…
Some Typical Root Causes of Coprophagia
- Behaviour
- A mother dog cleaning up after her very young pups’ stools - a behaviour evolved to protect the young from predators
- Acquired habit
- Anxiety and stress
- Greedy eaters
- Punishment for eliminating (pooping) in the ‘wrong’ place
- Transferable behaviour - learning by example
- Breed pre-disposition
- Some breeds have a pre-disposition to poop eating - i.e. Border Collies , Shelties
- Environmental Factors
- Enzyme deficiency
- Inappropriate
- i.e. dry dog food
- Insufficient diet - scarcity of food
- i.e. dogs that have suffered deprivation - stray dog, puppy mill dog, neglected dog, etc.
- Medical Issues
- Gastrointestinal parasites
- Mal-absorption of nutrients
- Neutered males are more likely to ‘indulge’
- Pancreatic Insufficiency
- Pancreas is not producing enough digestive enzymes
Other dogs enjoy raiding the cat litter box. Cats that are feed a processed food diet tend to pass stools that are full of undigested matter - this can make the stool appealing to some canines.
I have eleven dogs in my own dog pack. They are all fed a diet consisting of primarily raw fresh and whole food. Given the opportunity - three of my dogs will indulge in dog stool coprophagia - the other eight dogs never do so. The three that indulge have no medical issues...
So why do these three dogs eat poop - here is a little analysis (please note the three have asked me not to mention their names):
- Poop eater No. 1
- Breed - Sheltie
- Sex - male, neutered
- Background - puppy mill dog
- Poop eater No. 2
- Breed - German Shepherd x Malamute
- Sex - male, neutered
- Background - homeless rescue who had to compete for food
- Poop eater No. 3
- Breed - Australian Shepherd
- Sex - female, a very maternal female
- Background - rescue who had severe anxiety issues
A walk on the trails can be a source of natural help-yourself treats’ for the dogs. The foraged treats range from healthy and self medicating items, to disgusting to me ‘uh uh, don’t touch’ items and ‘don’t roll in it either items.
Examples of acceptable items that my dogs self-select are organic (non-pesticide or herbicide treated) grass, wild strawberries, juniper berries.
And, well - you have an idea of what the unacceptable items consist of :>)
Additional Assistance
If you require additional support and guidance I would be pleased to assist you via my In-Person or On-Line Services…Dog Obedience Training and Behavior Modification Services:
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