How could you believe your adorable pooch would do anything so disgusting as dragging faeces all over the house?
Well, if we travel back in time to the period where our ancestors were more in touch with their body wastes than we are, we'll still express our dislike for gagging, stomach-churning odour that comes out of public toilets, sewer manholes, and heavily fertilized fields in the countryside.
But living things are constantly evolving. Instead of thinking about the filthy habits and disgusting practices of gross promiscuous feeding, even to the extent of eating offal and dead men's flesh, we've now evolved to dislike the feeding habits of animals who are not as intelligent as we are—as if there are rules regulating the manner of eating by animals.
We tend to judge animals who are just living their best lives based on instincts as if they're humans, but imagine how our generations yet unborn will feel when they hear about our feeding habits in the twenty-first century!
It will be a thoroughly disgusting sensory story, but luckily, we may not be there to hear.
I know that there are few things as disgusting as a dog eating poop, but let's stop expecting animals to behave as humans. It's not going to work.
Instead of aimlessly looking for how to punish them, let's see whether we can know more about this behaviour so as to find a way to correct it and stop this habit once and for all.
For all the dog parents out there who happen to find their dogs in the habit of eating poop: yes, this is really what anyone who owns a poop eating dog experiences—total disgust. And let me just say, it's not the best feelings in the world. That's why most dogs who exhibit this poop-eating habit end up in shelters, while some are euthanized.
To me, watching a dog as he eats faeces sounds like a nightmare by itself, without all the smells and microbes added in—so why do they do it? You literally never know! But I hope you can stay a little longer to learn more about this behaviour.
Poops are one of the most enticing delicacies for our canine friends. What's truly scary is that poop eating or coprophagy is a relatively common practice among dogs.
In a 2018 study, researchers found that 16% of dogs in general are coprophagic, defined as having been observed eating stools at least six times. The occurrence of dogs seen eating dog stools at least once was 23% in the study. Thus, depending on how you define canine coprophagy, the occurrence is between 16% and 23%.
What is even surprising is that the habit has no association with clinically established abnormality such as gastrointestinal upset, nutritional deficiency or compulsive disorder.
So, if you're unlucky enough to share your home with a dog that eats poop, don't ever feel overwhelmed. Look for the origin of the behaviour.
Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?
Although the habit of eating poop isn't proven clinically to be associated with established abnormality in dogs, the best option is to seek the expert knowledge of your vet. Your vet will examine your dog to find out whether the habit is as a result of diet deficiency, diabetes, malabsorption, parasite burden, steroidal drugs, Cushing's thyroid disease, or any other conditions that might cause an increase in appetite.
If the aforementioned factors are ruled out, your dogs may eat poop because of some kind of environmental stress or behavioural triggers, such as:
1. Confinement
Dogs adopted from crowded shelters are more likely going to eat poop because they spent most of their time in a small space.
2. Anxiety
If your method of dog training involves punishment, your dogs may likely eat up their poops to get rid of evidence that can lead to more punishment.
3. Isolation
When you keep your dogs away from people in kennels or basement, they may likely feel isolated and anxious thereby feeding on their own poop.
4. Attention-seeking
If you're fond of overreacting anytime your dogs eat poop, they may continue with the behaviour in order to attract your attention.
5. Inappropriate association with real food
If you keep your dog's food very close to faeces, with time, they can associate the odour from the poop with food and start eating both.
6. Scenting it on their mothers
Some puppies will get confused by sniffing faecal odours on their mother’s breath after she has cleaned them. Also, mothers may regurgitate food that is mixed with puppy faecal matter. This may encourage the puppy to develop the habit of poop eating in future.
Are There Any Risks To Dogs Eating Poop?
Scientific studies have shown that eating their own fresh faeces (stools not more than two days old) can be harmless to dogs. However, dogs can also eat poops of other species such as cats, horses, humans, etc. Cat faeces is high in protein and the smell/taste seems to attract dogs while, horse faeces has predigested vegetable matter and attracts some dogs in the same way that regular grass does.
If your dogs eat poop from other species, they could potentially ingest the eggs or larvae of some intestinal parasites which can pose health risks to them.
Dogs that eat poop can also be at risk of rehoming or euthanasia because, some dog owners might not be able to stand this disgusting behaviour.
If Ingestion Of Intestinal Parasites Eggs And Larvae Are Not A Concern, Are There Any Benefits To Dogs Eating Poop?
Eating poop can at times help puppies to establish intestinal flora.
Eating poop can also help dams to keep nest area clean. This is because there are some less frequently occurring parasites found in canid faeces, as well as pathogenic bacteria from sick individuals, that can be immediately infective, if not attended to.
Assuming Your Dog Is A Poop Eater, Would You Rehome Or Euthanize?
I know this is a tricky question and the answer will be different for every person because this behaviour is a very disturbing one.
In fact, people that own dogs that are fond of eating poop report irreparable damage to the bond that existed between them and their dogs.
As hard as it may seem, I wouldn't suggest rehoming or euthanasia because the love that exist between humans and dogs are unconditional.
Rehoming will expose your adorable pooch to many stressful experience such as bouts of depression and anxiety, especially if you were good at taking care of the dog. Your dog will also miss you and may find it hard to adjust to the new home.
And if you're considering euthanasia, remember how heartbreaking it can be to lose a member of your family.
Inasmuch as your dog wouldn't leave you because you're developing harmful habits, you should consider looking for a solution to this problem instead of rehoming or euthanasia. I'll show you some better options in the next section.
How To Stop Your Dog From Eating Poop
There are some ways through which the problem of dog eating poop can be solved. They include:
1. Effective Dog Training
If your dogs find pleasure in eating faeces, endeavour to train them on the “come” and “leave” command.
This method can be very effective when carried out with treat or any thing that your dogs like such as toys. In order for this method to work, you have to be vigilant anytime your dog wants to eliminate waste. Immediately after doing so, use the treat to lure the dog to come. By so doing, your dog will form a new habit of running to you for a tasty reward, instead of going for the disgusting stool on the ground.
2. Environmental Management
Your dogs are more likely going to eat fresh poop. So, always be on guard by keeping the living area and yard clean, so there won't be any faeces for them to feast on. If you own a cat, try to keep the litter box clean or out of the dog’s reach. Don't also forget to monitor your dog while walking.
3. Dietary Supplementation
Supplementing the diet of your dog is a particularly attractive way to fight poop eating behaviour. This is because some dogs eat faeces due to lack of vitamins and proteins in their diets. According to American Kennel Club (AKC), Vitamin-B deficiency, in particular, has been a prime suspect in this behaviour.
You should also add tenderizer that contains papain (enzyme) to your dog's diet because some dog food are high in carbohydrate but low in meat-based proteins and fats.
4. Add Commercial Taste-aversion Products To Your Dog Food
Just like humans, some tastes and smells are disgusting to dogs. Besides, dogs can scent smells that humans can't. That's why the next option for stopping your dog from eating poop should be through poop-eating deterrent.
Although these products contain monosodium glutamate, camomile, pepper-plant derivatives, yucca, garlic, and parsley, they can be very effective in reducing this behaviour in your dog.
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