Of all the repulsive habits our canine companions have—drinking from the toilet, rolling in swamp muck, licking their butts—nothing tops the disgusting practice of eating poop. Their motivation may not be to gross us humans out, but it certainly does. So much so, in fact, that poop eating is often a reason people try to rehome a dog or even opt for euthanasia.
There's a scientific name for this habit—coprophagia (kop-ruh-fey-jee-uh)—and also both behavioral and physiologic reasons why some dogs view dung as a delicacy.
If you have a poop eater, don't despair. There are ways to discourage the habit.
Although not deeply probed by science—there are few studies on it—poop eating is a relatively common phenomenon. In a 2012 study presented at the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior annual conference, researchers led by Dr. Benjamin Hart, from the University of California, Davis, found that:
Hart wrote, "Our conclusion is that eating of fresh stools is a reflection of an innate predisposition of ancestral canids living in nature that protects pack members from intestinal parasites present in feces that could occasionally be dropped in the den/rest area." His study consisted of two separate surveys sent to about 3,000 dog owners.
While it is repulsive to human sensibilities, it's not really all that bad from a canine point of view. Dogs evolved as scavengers, eating whatever they found on the ground or in the trash heap, so their ideas of haute cuisine is somewhat different from ours. In his Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, animal behaviorist Steven R. Lindsay says, that coprophagia "may be one of several appetitive survival behaviors that have evolved to cope with the periodic adversity of starvation." In other words, when food is scarce, you can't be picky.
For some species, such as rabbits, eating fecal droppings is a totally normal way of obtaining key nutrients. In fact, if you prevent rabbits from doing this, they will develop health problems, and young ones will fail to thrive.
Fortunately, dogs do not need to get nutrients in this manner.
It is, however, a normal, natural behavior at some canine life stages. Mother dogs will lick their puppies to urge them to eliminate, and clean their feces, for about the first three weeks. Puppies will also naturally engage in this behavior, eating both their own fecal droppings (known as autocoprophagia), and those of other dogs (allocoprophagia), as well as cats and other animals. Some dogs find horse manure and goose droppings particularly appealing.
Eating their own poop is harmless, but consuming that of other animals may cause health problems if the stool is contaminated with parasites, viruses, or toxins. In most cases, this behavior will fade before the puppy is about nine months old.
When it occurs in puppies, coprophagia is generally considered part of the process of exploring the world around them. Most will be satisfied with a sniff, but a few will want, like human children, to put everything in their mouths. One bizarre fact: Dogs will rarely eat soft, poorly formed stools or diarrhea. They appear to be attracted most to hard stools. Frozen ones, in particular, are gulped down with relish. There is a reason why dog owners have coined the term, "poopsicle."
In his study, Hart made some other observations about why dogs eat poop:
If your adult dog starts to dine on dung, you should consult with your vet to rule out such health problems as:
In many cases, dogs start to eat their own poop because of some kind of environmental stress or behavioral triggers, including:
Veterinarians and dog owners have seen improvements with a handful of strategies, including:
Perhaps the best way to stop the problem is through training and environmental management methods, including:
Sources: Applied Dog Behavior and Training, by Steven R. Lindsay; "Coprophagia in Dogs—Behavior," VCA Animal Hospitals fact sheet; "Coprophagia: The Scoop on Poop Eating in Dogs," Dr. Sophia Yin fact sheet
Here's a short video with tips on dealing with this problem.
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