Coprophagia (kop-ruh-fey-jee-uh) means eating feces. Gross!! While we like to think of our animals as little humans, we need to remember that at the end of the day they are animals. While coprophagia is usually behavioral, medical conditions should be ruled out by your veterinarian before confirming it a behavioral issue.
Why does your dog eat poop?
They are hungry and have decided that poop doesn’t taste that bad after all.
It stems from their wild ancestors who ate their feces to hide from predators.
They are over-stimulated or anxious and are using it as a mechanism to cope.
They have learned that it gets their owners attention.
Their diet is not nutritionally balanced and they are trying to make up for the lack of nutrients.
They have a medical condition, like intestinal disease, Cushing’s disease, Diabetes Mellitus, or thyroid disease, that is causing them to eat feces.
What to do when your veterinarian has ruled out a medical reason for coprophagia?
If they are eating their own feces or the feces of another dog in the house, as soon as they defecate the feces should be picked up. This removes the opportunity for your dog to eat the poop. Training them to sit for a treat immediately after they defecate may also help break the poop eating habit. There are many products on the market, like For-bid, that you can feed to dogs that makes their poop taste bad. Typically these products work well while you are using them, but without other training at the same time they are unlikely to have lasting results.
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