i've seen many dogs do it, and it's just gross. my friend's dog even tried to eat the contents of her baby sister's diaper!! why are they into disgusting stuff?
2006-10-20 17:22:49 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
This eating poo thing is called copraphagia. Apparently more common in colder weather.
This is very normal behaviour for dogs though totally disgusting to human beings!
You should first rule out any medical reasons though. As your dog may be suffering from malabsorption for example.
It is said that dogs do this to get any extra nutrients that may be left in the faeces.
A dog that is only fed once a day may be more prone to doing this as a top up snack.
If you change the dog's diet, gradually, you may find this behaviour will sstop.
Some have suggested that dogs who see their owners pick up their poo will mimic that behaviour too!
My dog occasionally eats her own poo but most of all she loves rabbit poo...YUK!
Hope this helps.
2006-10-20 23:23:17 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There can be several reasons or no reason at all. Some say they learn this behavior as puppies from their mother and they will grow out of it. It can be a digestive issue whereas the food is not being digested enough so it still smells and tastes like food and/or they are trying to reabsorb the nutrients they are not absorbing properly. It can be out of boredom. (Yea I know I could find better things to do too!). They even say it can be genetic in some dogs. It's really not at all uncommon. You can try the Forbid products which you sprinkle on their food to make the poo taste bad (as if it doesn't already!). You can try a little pineapple with each meal, digestive enzymes and there's even a meat tenderizer that some swear by but you may want to look it up as I can't remember the name. Of course don't try everything at once or you could have a vomiting dog too! :) I have a poo eater that has taught my other two dogs to eat poo as well. I wish she could have taught them something else. Anyhow, nothing has worked with her. It has become a habit now and the only way I can prevent it is to go outside with her and pick it up immediately so they can't eat it. All of the "stop-stool eating" products are worth a shot, but in the end you may just have to be there to keep the poop out of reach. Good luck! Very annoying habit!
2016-05-22 06:56:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You might want to get all those dogs checked out. I have never seen a dog eat his/her own poo. Not saying they don't, i have never witnessed it. My Rott would never do that. He runs from his own when he is done.
2006-10-20 20:39:19 · answer #3 · answered by Ralph H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is lacking in nutrient of some sort. my dogs eat horse poo. also they eat theire own as a way to cover ther tracks. change diet or add to. talk you vet.
2006-10-20 17:28:47 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dogs, and sometimes cats, will consume their own fecal matter. This is not at all uncommon. The wastes still contain nutrients to it and therefore they will eat it.
The fact that this action disgusts us is actually encoding in our DNA. Disgust for fecal matter was an evolutionary step. This was evolved to prevent us from consuming fecal matter which may contain parasites and other infectious things. If it were not for this step in evolution, it wouldn't be uncommon for us to be eating our own wastes.
2006-10-21 13:09:44 · answer #5 · answered by Scyth 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isn't because they are into disgusting stuff. Actually it is because they smell undigested food in there...UCK I know, but that is the truth as told to me by a breeder/trainer of Rottweilers years ago when we had a puppy that did that. To stop it you must change their food to include less veggies and veggie products and higher meat and protein. I have two Greyhounds and feed them WalMarts Old Roy high performance dog food and we have never had that problem.
2006-10-20 17:27:29 · answer #6 · answered by Barbiq 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep, I've heard dogs do it because they can still sense nutrients in the poop. My dog doesn't eat other dog poop but he will eat human poop if he finds it on the trail when we walk in the woods...........eeeeeeeeeeeew
2006-10-20 17:33:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is their animal instinct to eat their poo... based on studies they acccumulate lot of nutrients and minerals on human waste...
2006-10-20 17:25:47 · answer #8 · answered by muttley 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1st for the nutrients, and 2nd, it is a natural instinct from way past times, so that other animals couldnt smell it and find them if they were in another dominate animals territory, since you are the dominate animal, that prehistoric instinct comes out.
2006-10-20 17:32:57 · answer #9 · answered by spacye 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because they don't know any better.
2006-10-20 17:25:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋