Why dog eats own poop

This is probably an innate behaviour that has evolved to prevent the spread of disease. So given that eating poo does carry disease risk , why do dogs do it?

A recent study has shed further light on the subject and could help us manage the behaviour. The research showed that several key factors appear to have no effect on whether your dog is a poo-eater. These included age, gender, whether the dog has been spayed or neutered, whether it was housetrained, whether it had been weaned or removed from its mother early, and what the rest of its diet was like. Evidence also suggests that the plethora of products designed to prevent or treat coprophagy, or punishing your dog for eating poo , have no effect on reducing the behaviour.

Veterinary medicine and science vol. Brister, DVM, Jacqueline. Veterinary Partner , Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.

Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Featured Video. Related Topics. Dog Training Tips. Article Sources. This can happen to dogs for a number of reasons, including:. Cat food is commonly higher in protein than most dog foods due to the specific nutritional needs of cats.

Similarly, a dog eating the poop of an herbivore rabbit, duck, horse, for example , indicates he is looking for the pre-digested nutrients and digestive enzymes he would have absorbed from the contents of his prey's stomachs had it been consumed naturally in the wild. Take note that a combination of these recommendations may be needed, and that the time it takes for poop eating to totally stop will depend on your individual dog and the degree of deficiency they are dealing with.

As long as you see incremental lessening of feces ingestion, then you are on the right path! But be forewarned, it may take a few months or longer. When they eat poop, they are telling us they need help with their diet. Understanding which type of poop your pup is consuming — their own or that of another animal — will help you zero in on the right remedy.

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