Why do Dog Eats Feces Feces Eating: Is there any
way to get my puppy to stop eating her poop? Ah yes, the poop-eating-puppy.
Rest assured this is a very common complaint among dog owners but one which can
be overcome with patience and persistence. This disgusting, feces eating behavior
is known as Coprophagy (koh-PROFF-i-gee). There may be underlying
reasons for Coprophagy that might need professional attention. Never
punish your dog for a behavioral problem that can be modified by positive
reinforcement as there can be many underlying causes, such as a thyroid
problem. One Shih Tzu had this problem since she was two months old. She was
diagnosed with a low thyroid and after treatment, never returned to the old
habit. Coprophagy may be a
displacement or compulsive behavior in response to stress, frustration, or
anxiety. A dog that is tied up in the back yard for many hours a day is lonely
and frustrated. Dogs are known as "pack
animals" by seemingly all species but humans. This often results in
displacement behaviors such as barking, digging, and Coprophagy. It may be
an attention-seeking behavior. Or, Coprophagy may be caused
by a nutritional (thiamine or vitamin-B) or digestive enzyme deficiency in some
dogs. Have your vet do a thorough checkup on your dog for dietary
deficiencies before starting any treatment. Also gastrointestinal medical
problems should be ruled out prior to using any product designed to curb this
habit. One thing we have found to be
helpful is to never allow your dog to eat 'tootsie rolls' from the cat's litter
box. The feces along with the clay or wood chips can be ingested and cause
harm. Since most dogs have a fondness for cat food, do not allow them to eat
more cat food than they do of their own. Cat food is so called for a
reason...it is for CATS. 8 in 1 Deter Coprophagia
Treatment for Dogs is a product that some dog owners have used with good
results. "My dog eats his own
poop!" exclaims the shocked human family member of an otherwise-perfect
canine. Or, embarrassed to come right out with it, the human says, "I need
to ask about this thing my dog does. It's really strange and disgusting…"
The average person doesn't seem to discuss poop-eating dogs with friends and
family, so people don't realize it's a common dog behavior. Natural Behavior Mother dogs clean their
nursing puppies and eat the feces. With pups in the nest, you can imagine the
unhealthy situation that would result from the waste being allowed to
accumulate. Cats perform this task for their kittens, too. Other adult dogs in
the family sometimes take over motherly duties in times of need, such as a
litter too large for the mother or a mother who is ill or dies. False pregnancies are normal
in intact female dogs, and female dogs tend to cycle on the same schedule with
other females in the same household. Other females who are in false pregnancy
are often well equipped to mother some or all of the pups in another female's
litter. You can see that eating dog
feces is not at all an unusual behavior for dogs. When the pups start eating
solid food and walking well enough to get out of the nest to poop, mom can stop
the cleaning duty. But the habit can certainly persist in her, and the
hard-wired instinct probably exists in most dogs, ready to be triggered by
various life situations. Triggers Sometimes we don't know why a
particular dog starts eating poop, but certain conditions can trigger the
behavior. Since some of these indicate a dog that needs help, you'll want to
consider them as possibilities for what is going on with your dog. A dog with a physical problem
that causes excessive hunger, pain, or other sensations may resort to eating
feces. If your dog suffers with a digestion or malabsorption problem, the
nutrients in the food he is eating will pass through his digestive tract
without providing him needed nutrition always leaving him with that hungry
feeling causing him to eat whatever is available until the next meal. If your adult dog who has not
previously had this habit suddenly develops it, take the dog to your veterinarian
for a check-up. A dog who is not getting
enough to eat or is going too long between meals may eat feces. Your
veterinarian can help you evaluate the dog's weight and can suggest a feeding
schedule and amount. Sometimes it takes experimentation to see what works best
for a particular dog. A dog with intestinal
parasites or other condition that creates blood or other fecal changes may eat
feces. One dog may eat the feces of another dog who is shedding something like
this in the stools. A fresh fecal specimen to your veterinarian for evaluation
can detect some of these problems. Eating feces rarely causes other medical
problems except if it contains parasites, which can be a cause for concern. Another drawback to this habit is that dogs doing this often suffer with
periodontal disease, caused by the stool adhering to their teeth. Sometimes a change of diet
helps. There doesn't seem to be any one food that is right for all dogs, and
your dog may need something different than you're currently feeding. Be sure to
make any changes of diet gradual, mixing the new food in with the old over a
period of several days or weeks, to give the dog's intestines time to adjust
and avoid diarrhea from the change. Some dogs develop a mental
connection that they will be punished if their humans find them in the same
room with feces. Dogs react to this fearful situation in various ways, and one
way is to eat the feces so it will not be there to make the human angry. This
is one of many reasons not to use punishment when housetraining a dog. Boredom can cause dogs to do
all sorts of things, including eat feces. Interesting toys that have treats
inside them for the dog to get out can help with lots of boredom-based
problems. Dogs may do just about any
wild thing when suffering from separation anxiety. If that is the problem, this
won't be the only symptom, and you'll want to help your dog work through the
separation anxiety. Sanitation The number-one thing you can
do to help overcome feces eating is to keep your dog's area clean of feces.
This means housetraining, and supervising the dog whenever the dog is in the
designated relief area. It's obviously not healthy for dogs to eat feces, and
preventing the dog from carrying out the habit is also basic to getting the
habit to fade. It's not healthy for humans
or dogs to have the feces lying around, either. Until a dog is fully
housetrained and the feces-eating habit has died out, picking up after each
bowel movement is an important tactic. After the dog's habits are steady, you
may be able to pick up just once a day if you have a private place for the dog
to use. Food Additives Some people swear by food
additives to stop a dog from eating feces. Sometimes the theory is that the
additive provides a nutrient the dog is seeking when eating feces and thus the
dog will no longer crave feces. Other times the theory is that the additive
makes the feces taste bad and the dog will not want it. Before you try adding any of
these things to your dog's food, consult your veterinarian about whether the
particular additive is safe for your particular dog. Don't expect any additive
to be a miracle cure. These things tend to work for the occasional dog, but
chances are pretty good that your dog won't be the one. Bait and Switch While you're hanging out with
your dog to supervise, you can hurry the process of fading out the feces-eating
habit with a simple and pleasant training technique. The tools you'll need are
a collar or head halter for the dog, a leash, and small treats your dog values
highly. If your dog is easily
handled, the collar will do. If the dog is extremely determined to eat the
poop, extremely fast or strong, have a behavior specialist fit your dog with
the correct size head halter, introduce your dog to it gently, and give you one
or more lessons on how to use the head halter safely and effectively. It gives
you more control over the dog's mouth than a collar, and if your particular dog
needs it for this training you'll be glad to have the skill for other training
situations, too. Take your dog out to potty on
leash. As soon as the poop hits the ground and the dog shows interest in it,
call the dog to you. Use the leash not to jerk the dog, but simply to keep the
dog from being able to reach the feces. Keep the treats out of sight. The instant the dog reaches
you, praise the dog, whip out a treat and give it. Then back away from the dog,
praise and give another treat for coming to you, and repeat that for a total of
three to five times. At this point you have really taken the dog's mind off the
feces. Go on indoors with the dog
and come back out without the dog to clean up. Once you have good control and a
good rapport with the dog, you can go ahead and clean up while the dog is still
outside. As you set this habit more strongly through repetition, you will be
able to do the bait-and-switch with the dog on a long line, coming to you at
the back door for a treat. Eventually you'll be able to do bait-and-switch
without a leash or line on the dog. Keep up the same energy and level of reward,
if you want the dog to keep responding! Talk About It After the dog has been
prevented from eating feces for a considerable length of time, the habit tends
to fade. That makes supervising the dog and working on this in the positive,
bait-and-switch way very worth your while. Start the intervention as soon as
you notice the dog eating feces, because the less time a habit has been going
on, the more easily it will fade. Help your friends and family
by talking about this problem. You'll help their dogs in the process too
because some people try punishment to break the habit. As you know now, that doesn't
work, and it's destructive to the dog's trust in people and to the family's
relationship with their dog. Let's bring this "dirty little secret"
out into the open. |