Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

Dogs have several repulsive habits which include drinking from the toilet, rolling in mucky dirt or water, licking their butts then your face, but what is the most disgusting is when your dog munches down poop! It could be dog poop, rabbit poop or their own, but the question is WHY! While feces smell bad to humans, it smells tasty to dogs. They could be attracted to the undigested nutrients in the stool, or the fact that they like to explore and use their mouth to examine the dung.

The scientific name for poop eating is coprophagia. Dogs evolved as scavengers, eating whatever they found on the ground or trash heap.  When food was scarce, the survival behavior was to eat what you can in order to avoid starvation. 

This should not be the case in contemporary dog rearing, whereas they have plenty of food to be had. Still, poop eating is a normal, natural canine behavior in their early life stages. This habit is noted in the puppy stage. If your adult dog starts this habit then consult your vet to rule out health problems like parasites, diets deficient in nutrients, vitamin B in particular, malabsorption syndromes, diabetes, thyroid or Cushing’s disease, or medications such as steroids.

 The modern canine diet is higher in carbohydrates and lower in meat-based proteins and fats than the canine ancestral diet. Some people have had success with digestive enzyme supplements for dogs, including some products that contain papain, an enzyme that aids digestion.

If there is no clinical problem for this habit, perhaps the best way to stop the problem of a dog eating poop is through training and environmental management methods, including having all the right equipment for feeding, training, and walking your dog.  Another theory is that certain tastes and smells are as disgusting to dogs as the idea of stool eating is to us, so offering a poop-eating deterrent treat or adding a poop-eating deterrent powder to food will make the poop that’s being produced less appealing. If they are eating their own waste then some additives such as, chamomile, pepper-plant derivatives, yucca, pineapple or kelp tables. This makes their own waste less palatable.  One simple exercise is to teach your dog to come to you for a treat as soon as they’ve pooped. That way, your dog will develop a habit of paying attention to you for a tasty tidbit, instead of turning toward the revolting one on the ground. As always, consult your veterinarian as what is best for your pet and its poopy habits.