Eating Poop (Coprophagy)
It is a normal behavior for a female dog to keep the whelping area clean by consuming the dropping of her pups the first few weeks of their life and this is a normal behavior. Dogs often find cat, horse, rabbit, and other animals feces enjoyable to eat and this is also a normal behavior (eating another species feces), although we find it discussing. Dogs that eat their own feces or that of other dogs is more concerning since this is not a typical behavior.
There are several possible reasons that a dog might eat their own feces or those of other dogs.
Raised in confinement
Anxiety Disorder (Stress)
Digestive Disorder
Hunger
Learned Behavior Observing Other Dogs
Attention seeking behavior - they get attention, in much the same way as when they grab one of your shoes and run
Dietary imbalance
“Coprophagic dogs were more likely to be reported as greedy eaters” [2] in one study. “greedy eaters” was in contrast to finicky eaters. Although no further context was presented in the study I’m curious if these “greedy eaters” were also fast eaters? Dogs that are fast eaters often develop the fast eating habit in the early weeks of life due to competition over food or going hungry. (See “How To Buy A Puppy” or “Socialization”) And considering that dog food generally speaking is a low or poor quality food with regards to digestibility, the feces of other dogs can contain a higher percentage of undigested protein which may be attractive to some dogs.
Dogs that consume feces are subject to ingesting parasites (2-days old feces) that can be contained in the feces they find. For this reason alone, it is a good idea to prevent this behavior.
What to do
Feed a high quality diet (Higher digestibility)
Feed twice a day (Reduce hunger)
If there is a cat in the home simply locate the cat's litter pan from reach.
Cleanup right after dogs eliminate!
Use the NutriScan test to determine if your dog has a food sensitivity issue. Adverse Food Reactions
Start by removing any potential contributing factors e.g. boredom, receiving attention, lack of food, or poor diet. It is best to determine why your dog is eating and eliminate the need for them to do so. If boredom, make their life more interesting. If attention seeking, give more attention so there is no need to attract attention. If lacking calories, feed a higher quality food with a greater digestibility. Poor digestible foods will contain a high amount of undigested protein in the feces.
Cleanup right after your dogs eliminate! Keep a detailed log with times you feed and the elimination times of your dog. After a few days if you have been consistent in your routine and have been keeping a detailed log, you should have an observable pattern of elimination times. Just as with housetraining, about an hour before the predictable time of elimination supervise your dog closely so there is no opportunity to consume feces. As soon as they eliminate, clean it up so they do not have access to the feces. If you cannot be home at the predictable elimination times change the feeding times to adjust elimination times.
If this habit was ingrained at a young age you likely will not be successful in eliminating the behavior. If it was developed after the early puppy stage you may have a chance at changing the behavior.
Products to Eliminate Poop Eating?
Don’t waste your time and money.
The paradox of canine conspecific coprophagy
“There are several caveats that need to be mentioned in this study. One is with regard to the finding of no successful results in treating coprophagy with any of the commercial products.”
