Is it "normal" for one dog to eat another's feces? Why do they do this?

Answer 1

Dogs will eat just about anything, including their own feces or that of other animals. As disgusting as this sounds, it's common enough to get a fancy medical name: coprophagy, from the Greek kopros (dung) and phagos (one who eats).

Yes, it's an unpleasant topic. But you have to realize sometimes coprophagy is a natural and normal act. Newborn puppies haven't yet learned to eliminate on their own, so the mother dog licks them to stimulate urination and defecation, and then licks them again to clean them up. In other circumstances, nature will prevent all that waste from...well, going to waste. For instance, cats need a higher percentage of fat in their diets than dogs, which means a higher level of waste fat in their stool. Anyone who has dogs and cats knows the pooch will have his nose in the litter box, searching out the leftover nutrient in "kitty chocolates."

When adult dogs eat their own stool, though, it's a different story. Usually, it's a sign of loneliness or boredom, although on occasion, miscues in housebreaking will result in the dog eating stool because he's learned the presence of stool sometimes gets him punished. Actually, coprophagy doesn't present any problem for dogs, with the possible exception of eating stool containing parasite eggs. It is a major aesthetic problem for the owner, however, who must witness it and whose face the dog then tries to lick. You can try to break the habit by relieving the dog's boredom or loneliness: Give him more attention and exercise, rotate his toys so he doesn't have to play with the same old thing all the time, and feed him more than once a day so he has something to look forward to.

Prevention is the only sure cure. Pick up after your dog right away, or muzzle a coprophagic dog when walking in public areas. Set up cat litter boxes where Rex can't get his nose into them -- or simply keep them clean of stool by scooping several times a day, especially before and after feline mealtimes.

As soon as you notice this behavior, make a trip to the vet -- there may be a physical cause for a dog's coprophagy. A belly full of worms or other parasites could rob Rex's body of vital nutrients, and he might be eating whatever he can find to try and make up for it. There might also be a nutritional deficiency in his diet. Adding brewer's yeast to his food will boost his intake of B-vitamins. Pumpkin or raw carrot will add fiber to his diet and help him feel full. In some cases, solving the problem is as simple as switching Rex over to a food with more fat, fiber, or protein. Your vet can recommend a brand better suited to Rex's dietary needs.

Answer 2

Dog eating feces or coprophagia is a vices developed in an untrained adult dog. Feces eating are a natural behavior of the dog. This habit is more common in puppies than the adults.

The dogs that come from dog shops and rescue kennels are most likely to have this habit. The dog can also pick this habit from poorly cleaned pet houses. The feces that remain in the kennel, if not cleared immediately, may tempt the dog by its smell, there by resulting in dog eating their own feces.

In some animals boredom may be a cause for coprophagia. When the dogs are kept alone in the dog house for longer time, they may try to consume feces as they have nothing else to do.

The dogs have 3000 taste buds as against 10000 taste buds of human being. The dogs have two hundred million cells in the nose as against five million cells in case oh human beings. Hence for dogs smell is more important than the taste of the food.

In order to stop dog-eating feces, we need to clean the feces as soon as possible. We can also add pepper in the feces, the taste of which the dogs will never like. We should feed the animal at proper time. The dog should never be allowed to be hungry. The hunger may prompt the dog to eat the feces.

It is better to feed the dog 3 to 4 times a day, in small quantities instead of feeding heavy food for 2 times. This will reduce the output of the dog. Some dogs may have excessive hunger which is due to insufficiency of exocrine pancreas. Those dogs will eat anything and everything including its own feces.

Some people, if they see their dog eating feces, they will rub the nose of the dog in its excreta. This is a bad practice. The dog may get used to the smell and can continue to do the same thing [feces eating].

Some owners have the habit of shouting at the animal, if they happen to see their dog eating their own feces. This also needs to be avoided as this can make the dog to eat the feces hurriedly.

The sight of dog eating the feces will be certainly disgusting to human being, but the smell and consistency of the feces is attractive to the dogs. Last but not least, putting muzzle to the mouth of dogs may stop the dog eating faces behavior at some extent.

Answer 3

The behavior is called "corophagia". Mother dogs clean up after their puppies by eating their feces and licking up their urine in order to hide the puppies' scent from predators and to keep their living space clean. But this is not a behavior that should be tollerated in other dogs. Dogs who eat other animal's feces may ingest diseases or parasites from the stools.

Some dogs may eat feces if their diet is lacking in some trace elements that the dogs think they can get from the stools. A change in diet can correct this.

Some dogs eat feces because they like the taste. To stop the behavior you can use pills or powder added to the dog's food that makes their stolls unpalatable. You can also train your dog not to eat stools by correcting the behavior every time you see it. A firm, calm consistent "no dirt!" command right when the dog is going after the feces is usually enough to break a dog of this habit.

Making sure you clean up after your dogs yourself is the best defense, of course.

Answer 4

May need better nutrition or
Other dog is not digesting its food well, which makes the feces more tempting because it still has a lot of nutrients in it or
Some dogs also do this because of a mothering response as mommy dogs eat the feces of their pups.
Adding pumpkin to the food works best. Given that you know that your dog is well-nourished.

Answer 5

It would possibly not make her in poor health nonetheless while a puppy eats his or her possess feces it's considering the fact that they're lacking vitamins and minerals so do as one of the most different readers instructed and discover a bigger meals. Nature's Recipe is an first-class meals.. however something meals you prefer appear for one with meat as it is first component and NO corn or wheat glutton.

Answer 6

It is called Coprophagia. It is NOT normal, however fairly common. Are you feeding a high quality food such as Diamond, Nutro, Canidae, Natures Best? (Iams and Eukanuba are NOT) If not, try switching. He is probably not getting enough nutrients

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Ask-Veterinarian-700/dog-eating-poop-1.htm

Answer 7

HI
Yes, it is usually an acid imbalance in their diet trying adding pineapple or pumpkin into their food and this should stop it,
LAmmy

Answer 8

yes one dog might get crazy or homeless