Why Do Dogs Eat Their Poop?
- posted: Jan. 20, 2024
Why Do Dogs Eat Their Poop?
At Patton Veterinary Hospital, we get this question A LOT: Why does my dog eat poop and what can I do to stop it? Several studies endeavored to shed some light on WHY dogs like to eat feces. Preventing poop eating is a different story…. Let’s learn more about why dogs think that poo is so tasty and maybe some ways to curtail coprophagy (the fancy medical term for ingesting poop).
An article published in January 2018 at the University of California, Davis suggests that it may be instinct that leads our furry friends to perform such a disgusting act. Dr. Benjamin Hart and other veterinary researchers proposed that dogs may be acting like ancestral wolves who may have eaten stool to keep their dens clean and parasite-free. Yes, stool eating may be linked to an attempt at parasite prevention.
While rather revolting to think about, dogs and wolves tend to favor eating “fresh” leavings, no more than 48 hours old. This may be because if the dog’s feces contain worm eggs, the eggs are usually not infective when first expelled. Therefore, if immediately consumed, the risk of parasite infestation is reduced. The study was not definitively conclusive on this matter, but it is one possible reason that dogs might ingest their waste.
Other veterinarians have hypothesized that coprophagic dogs might be trying to satisfy a nutritional need. Stray dogs in some countries are known to eat both human and animal feces if food is scarce. Dr. James Serpell of the University of Pennsylvania stated, “Modern dogs and cats are fed diets that are relatively rich in fats and protein, not all of which may be completely digested, making their feces potentially attractive as a secondhand food source.” Sounds gross, but waste may actually contain some fats and proteins that dogs desire.
Rest assured, your dog eating stool does NOT mean that there is anything wrong with him or her or that something is lacking in his or her diet and is generally not harmful, but it is quite distasteful (pun intended!) to our sensibilities. So, can stool eating be stopped?
While the studies discussed here offer some explanation as to why dogs eat stool, the bad news is there is no one way to discourage dung eating in dogs. The studies looked at the efficacy rate of behavioral training as well as commercial and home remedies intended to stop dogs from eating poo. Sadly, none of the products or training methods proved successful in preventing dogs from ingesting poop, so, coprophagy is a hard habit to break.
For what it’s worth, there are some commercial products and home remedies that you can try to discourage coprophagy. Forbid brand and other similar powders or chews usually contain MSG which is intended to make the stool bitter and less attractive to dogs. If using, feed it to the dog whose stool your dog is eating. I.E. if he eats his own poop, put it in his food. If he’s eating the poop of a housemate, feed it to the housemate. Other anecdotal treatments are adding crushed pineapple or yucca to the food, adding a vitamin supplement containing B vitamins or digestive enzymes to your dog’s diet or putting something distasteful directly ON the poop like hot sauce, cayenne pepper or lemon juice may deter dogs from eating it. However, none of these are proven treatments and they may not stop your dog from snacking on piles of poop.
It seems that keeping the yard free of fecal matter is our best bet at stopping our stool-eating friends. Take heart that if you have one of these indelicate pooches. You are not alone.
This blog brought to you by the Patton Veterinary Hospital serving Red Lion, York and the surrounding communities.
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Patton Veterinary Hospital
425 E Broadway
Red Lion, PA 17356
