It’s not uncommon to see a dog owner pulling out their hair and muttering “Why does my dog eat poop?” As gross as it seems to us, for most puppies and dogs, coprophagia (eating their own feces and/or the feces of other dogs/cats/horses etc) seems perfectly normal.
Sometimes it’s something they grow out of once they leave their mom and siblings, but for others it can become a habit– a habit you need to discourage, because coprophagia can have serious health consequences at worst. And at best it can gross you out.
It’s really called coprophagia
Coprophagia is the ‘proper’ name for stool eating, and it is a normal canine behavior. A female dog keeps her nest/den clean by eating the feces of her young puppies. As they dogs grow, the puppies mimic this behavior. That’s why poop eating seem perfectly normal to them.
Most puppies tend to stop this practice after they’ve been weaned and out of the nest, however, others continue the habit even when they’ve moved to their ‘forever homes’. Generally puppies will grow out of stool eating within a few weeks, but for some it can become a long-lasting pattern that leaves their owners grossed out and frustrated.
Is it bad or dangerous if my dog eats feces?
If a dog seems intent on snacking on every random poop he finds, or thinks a cat’s litter box is the best source of treats ever, then it can become hazardous to his health. Many of the most dangerous and contagious dog illnesses are transmitted through feces. If your pooch ingests the poop of a sick dog or cat, he could get very ill himself. Parasites such as worms can also be transmitted through the ingestion of feces, that is not something you want for your dog.
Cat litter isn’t a great thing to be swallowing either. It can ‘clump’ together and cause an intestinal blockage, or at the very least make your puppy vomit.
What to do if your dog eats poop
There are a few things you can do to discourage/prevent your dog from taking part in his very own ‘poop fest’.
- Be sure that you’re feeding your pooch a high quality, nutritious diet.
- Watch that you don’t give your dog too much food.
- Scoop the poop from your yard promptly.
- Keep your dog on a leash when you take him out.
- You can try pouring hot sauce (or something similar) onto the stool piles.
- Some people find that a bit of meat tenderizer sprinkled on their dogs’ food can make the stools less palatable.
So instead of being grossed out, take some action. It’s important to remember that although this behavior probably starts out as natural, continued coprophagia could be a sign of something serious. At the very least, it puts the dog at risk for disease and parasites. So if it continues, a trip to the veterinarian is in order.
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