Why Do Dogs Eat Poop and How to Stop It
Dogs that eat poop are common, but have you ever wondered why they do it? Recently, scientists have dug into this matter hoping to discover why this weird behavior is so often seen among our canine friends. They, too, asked the questions: “why do dogs eat poop and how to stop it?”
They have discovered that this odd behavior might come from their wolf ancestors, and maybe tied to parasite prevention.
Dogs eating feces is called coprophagia. Surprisingly, other mammals such as elephants, beavers, rabbits, and other non-human primates practice this behavior as well. It can be caused by both behavioral and physiological problems.
It is more common in homes with several dogs. Females are likely than males to engage in this activity and neutered males more so than those still intact.
Those dogs who steal food from the table are more likely to eat feces than less greedy dogs. 85% will not eat their own feces, they only enjoy the feces produced by other dogs.
Scientists believe that the act of coprophagia is a second attempt to extract nutrients from its diet. The information shows that most of the dogs that eat poop do so because of the lack of nutrition in their foods. This deficiency may be due to the effect of disease, not enough food or food of poor quality and lacking the vitamins and minerals that dogs need to be healthy.
But there are otherwise very healthy dogs that are in the poop eating business. Dog mothers may have passed this activity onto their puppies since they usually lick their babies at a very young age to clean their bodies and encourage elimination.
Although most dogs tend to outgrow this behavior of poop eating at about nine months of age. This indicates that some puppies are just like some toddlers that put everything in their mouths but eventually outgrow the habit.
One interesting fact they stumbled upon in their studies is that some dogs usually don’t bother with their poop or with that of other dogs. Avoiding this practice may be similar to their wolf ancestors who eliminated far from their dens to protect their packs from being infected by various parasites within their stools.
Scientists conducted two online surveys with about 3,000 responses gathered from dog owners within Canada and the United States. One of the surveys looked at the difference between dogs that ate poop and other dogs that did not.
On the other hand, the other survey looked at only the ones that ate poop and recorded data about the type of poop the dogs usually ate — the frequency of eating and persistence of the behavior. In the first survey, around 16 percent of the responders reported that they have seen their dog eating poop.
Based on the facts of this study, this behavior couldn’t be connected to how they act or the lack of nutrition. However, around 82% of the dogs that eat poop, ate poop that was a couple of days old.
In one study, 38% of dogs were only eating poop once a week while almost 62% said that their dogs ate poop daily. 85 percent said that their dog mostly preferred fresh poop, that being not more than 2 days old.
The authors of the study believe that the result of the survey can help us to better understand how the odd behavior started. They are connecting it to an adaptive behavior wolves practice.
The feces wolves extract can host the eggs of a number of intestinal parasites, such as pinworms, tapeworms, roundworms, and flukes. These eggs do not hatch into harmful parasites for several days. Eating fresh poop near their den lets wolves diminish the risk of parasitic infection.
Besides parasite control, what are the major causes?
- Drugs, one example being steroids
- Malabsorption of nutrients. This may be caused by illnesses or poor nutrition
- Several illnesses, including thyroid problems, diabetes, Cushing’s
- Environmental stressors or behavioral triggers such as isolation, anxiety, restrictive confinement, attention-seeking activities
How to stop this behavior
First of all, it helps to know why they are doing so. Stopping a bad habit is one thing but if your dog has a nutritional deficiency or a medical illness, it is quite another. A check-up with the vet can guide you in the right direction.
It has been known for some time that a dog’s diet is often lacking in the correct vitamins. B1 vitamin (Thiamine) often needs to be supplemented. Other research shows several nutrients may be lacking as well.
Many dogs in today’s time eat far more carbohydrates than they need. Ancient canines ate far fewer carbohydrates and significantly more protein. Enzyme supplementation has shown to be helpful. Some people add meat tenderizer containing papain to their dog’s food. This is shown to increase absorption and to deter dogs from eating their own feces. It makes the feces taste bitter.
Taste aversion, much like people try to stop biting nails or sucking thumbs has proven successful for some dog owners. Peppers, garlic, MSG, parsley, yucca, and camomile have all been reported as helpful and are common ingredients in coprophagia aversion products on the market today.
Be Cautious
Keep in mind that although MSG in moderate amounts is safe, some humans and some dogs are sensitive to it. Some human foods are toxic and can be fatal to dogs although they are very good for people. A few examples of this are:
- Avocados are wonderfully nutritious for humans but eating any part of this plant can prove fatal to a dog.
- Xylitol is in more and more foods these days and can cause a dog’s blood sugar to drop drastically, sometimes leading to death. Long term use can cause major liver damage, failure, and even death as well.
- Overdose of caffeine can cause canine death. The smallest amount proven to cause death was noted to be 2.2 mg per pound of body weight. The average cup of coffee or tea may have between 40-150 mg caffeine. Depending on the size of the dog, it may only take a few sips to be fatal. Abnormal heart rhythm or lung failure usually precedes death.
- Grapes and raisins are very toxic to dogs whether ingested raw or in cooked items. Be on the watch for vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and depression as well as the decreased output of urine and increased thirst. Ultimately, kidney failure can cause death.
- Alcohol or raw yeast dough can cause death. The yeast dough ferments, producing alcohol. Alcohol poisoning, from drinking it or from eating rotten apples or the yeast dough can all be fatal.
- Chocolate, the darker and sweeter it is, the more dangerous it can be. Based on the weight of the dog with as little as 44 mg per pound of bodyweight being known to be fatal. It causes stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, dehydration as the earliest symptoms. This leads to heart attacks, muscle tremors, internal bleeding, seizures, and even death.
- Salt can lead to fluid imbalance and death.
Training and environmental management tips to help stop this nasty habit.
- Keep the dog’s area clean and feces picked up. No need to tempt them if they have this nasty habit.
- Supervise their walks when possible
- Train them to defecate quickly and then walk away. Giving them a healthy and tasty treat when they do so serves two purposes.
- Teach them to promptly obey the commands to “Come” and “Leave it”.
Talking about why dogs eat poop may save a life.
Although puppies may eventually outgrow this nasty habit, many dog owners prefer they do so sooner rather than later. Some dogs are harder than others to train not to engage in this habit.
A significant number of dogs are euthanized every year because their owners cannot tolerate this habit. What a shame! They may not know there better ways to deal with this problem. Your sharing this information with others may save the life of an otherwise wonderful family pet. Please pass this along.