Why Dogs Eat Poo

Dogs eat poo for any number of reasons. Some dogs will eat other dogs poo while others tend to go for kitty poo and still others will routinely eat their own poo.

The most common reason for dogs to eat poop is that that like the smell. If a dog or cat is not properly digesting their food there are still plenty of nutrients left in the food and might even still smell like dinner to your dog. Dogs sometimes eat their own poop to relieve a symptom of anxiety, stress or boredom. It is believed that female dogs are more likely to develop faeces eating habit than the male counterpart maybe because in the wild a female dog with a litter of new puppies Bitches with a will often eat the puppy’s poop. This is to keep the area clean and also to protect the litter from any predators as well as to ensure that each puppy is eliminating properly. So this might just be something female dogs are hardwired to do whether or not they have ever had a litter of puppies themselves.

Then there are the medical reasons why your dog might eat poo they include overfeeding and underfeeding both of which would cause nutritional imbalance. If a dog is over-fed it will not properly digest its food, or absorb all of the nutrients, and therefore may try to get those missing nutrients by eating the nutrient rich waste. If you only feed once a day or below the amount he needs to eat each day this includes if your dog is on a diet because it needed to loose a few pounds, some dogs can become very hungry and decide to eat poop even for those who have never done this before.

Make sure your dog’s vaccinations are up to date.
The number one way for a dog to catch any of the more serious canine diseases like Parvo or Distemper is through poo. Even tracking it in on your shoe would be enough certainly a poo eating dog would be that much more at risk and vaccinations for canine diseases which are so easily preventable with these vaccinations should always remain up to date.

How you can try and stop this behavior:

Feed your dog a healthy and well-balanced diet. This will keep a dog’s digestive system healthy, and provide it with all the nutrients that its body needs. If your dog has to be on a special diet there are supplements you can give your dog to ensure proper digestion.

Make the poop taste bad by adding stool deterrent food or supplements to their regular diet.
pineapple in her food. Pineapple apparently makes the poo taste bad. The added benefit of pineapple is that you can feed it as a treat and it has a ton of vitamins and minerals that are great for your dog. Some people will add pumpkin to help aid with digestions but I don’t know that it will help make the poo small or taste bad it will however allow them to better digest the food you do give them. You can also find stool deterrents at your local pet supply store that you just sprinkle on their food. Sometimes all it takes though is to add a little bit of fresh fruit and vegetables to their diet for the behavior to completely go away. Commercially available dog foods are meant to be nutritionally balanced for as many dogs as possible but that doesn’t mean they are perfect for your dog or that your dog doesn’t require something more every once in a while.