My dog eat's her bowel movement?

Question

Gracie is a 4 yr. old rat terrier/taco bell dog. She was kept in a dog crate most of her life. We got her six monthes ago. Now, she has a new life with us! we feed her well, and she has dog treat's. Yet, she eat's her bowel movement? Why?

Answer 1

Here's an interesting article I found on Yahoo....
It's possible that some dogs eat their own feces in order to 'hide the evidence'. Some believe that this can occur with dogs who have been punished for inappropriately going to the bathroom. Others believe that eating feces is just a trait passed down to dogs from their ancestors. Coyotes and wolves have been known to eat their own feces during food shortages, and have also been known to eat the feces of herbivores which contain many of the B vitamins. Eating feces can also be a learned behavior if dogs observe other dogs doing this. It's also very normal for females to eat the feces of their offspring. Some think that they do this to keep the den clean while others think it's a deep instinctual response that was meant to conceal the presence of their litter from predators. And then again, it's always possible that there really is no big theory behind it and dogs just eat feces because it tastes good to them.

Whatever the reasoning, eating feces is probably something you'd like to keep your dog from doing. And even if you're not overly concerned about this behavior, you should be aware that there are some health risks associated with eating feces. The main concern is that many parasites, including giardia, coccidia, roundworms and whipworms, can be transmitted through dog and cat feces.

One strange thing I might add.....I find my dogs get into the cat box for a nibble....and that's just gross.
I don't understand how they can do it, but a lot of them do. You are not alone....trust me.

Answer 2

Some dogs do.. And a dog that was crated for life so far, might have learned to eat her own poop to keep her crate clean if she wasn't able to get out when she needed to... Mom does it when they are little, and some pick it up... Most don't, but every so often one of them will do it and people seem to have a problem stopping the whole thing.. The only way that really works 100% is to pick up the poop the very second she puts it down. No poop, not able to eat poop :)

Some will tell you to use that Accent food flavouring, but any of those things contain large amounts of MSG, which are going to cause you more problems than eating poop now and then.

Answer 3

Dogs can develop a taste for waste. There is a product called FORBID it is a powder that gives the waste a bad taste the dogs will hate. You can buy this at the Vet. or Petsmart or Petco. They might have it on Doctor Foster& Smith.com or Dogs.com.
Some people have put pepper on the poop and the dog will not like the taste. I have even heard of putting cayenne pepper on their poop also.
I live in a apartment so I pick my dog's poop up every time she does her business.

Dogs can get parasites from eating their own or other dogs waste.

Good Luck

Answer 4

A behavior that is very common in dogs but not well understood is the eating of feces. Technically this is known as coprophagia. When given the chance, many dogs will eat the feces of other animals such as horses, deer and house cats. Raiding the litterbox is a common activity for dogs in households with cats. The behavior may be derived from the carnivorous (meat-eating) heritage of our pets. Carnivores frequently eat the internal organs and stomach contents (including poop) of the animals that they kill. As a result, eating the feces of other animals may be a normal extension of their carnivore behavior. There may be proteins and other nutrients in the feces that are eaten. Less well understood is why some dogs eat the feces of other dogs or even their own feces. There are a number of animals that normally eat their own feces or the feces of other members of their species. These include rabbits, horses and rats. In these animals it is thought that eating of feces may provide nutrients, enzymes or bacteria that help with digestion. It is not known why dogs eat their own feces. For some dogs it is a strong habit while others may never do it. One theory is that it may be related to boredom or stress. Another is that it is related to digestive deficiencies. Neither theory has any support at the present time. No one really knows what causes it. Controlling or stopping coprophagia is very difficult. Veterinarians can supply a substance that can be added to a dog’s food that makes the feces distasteful. Sometimes this is helpful. Most of the time, the best way to stop the behavior is to prevent the dog from getting to feces. Picking up soon after your dog has pooped can be the best way to prevent him from getting to his own feces.

Answer 5

That is called pica. They somtimes do this because it contains B vitamins (that is why almost all rodents do it too) Which they might be lacking, but others just do it for no reason. You can buy stuff (i think it comes in tablet or powder you put on food) at the pet store if it bothers you. The tablets/pwder makes the stool unpalatable and unapatizing to the dog (who thought you would need ehlp doing that?? hahah) If you ask someone at your local pet supply shop, they will know exactly what you are taking about.

Answer 6

dogs do this. don't ask why. I've heard its a bad habit to its a vitamin deficiency. my puppy did this at times like when i was in the shower and not watching. you have to keep an eye on the dog. you see the dog do it. dont scold it. just pick it up and say no. there are pills you can get from the pet store also. they work for some. just watch because i have heard eating poop can make a dog go blind.

Answer 7

I dont know why... but i do know how to cure this ;)

My dog eats her faeces once in a while too... and the solution to cure this is very simple!

I add chopped up bits of pineapple to her food... it really works!!
Theres an enzyme in pineapple that when it breaks down during digestion makes their poop taste nasty to them.
However... this is not a long term solution... too much pineapple will cause the dog to vomit... so give in moderation!

If not... there is a product by Solid Gold called S.E.P (stop eating poop)
or another method of putting a little chilli sauce on top of the poop... so the dog will be sortta 'scared' of the poop... but i find it sortta disgusting and pity the dog...

so yeah... pineapple is the cheapest method!!

...Annabelle :)

Answer 8

Sometimes the dog smells their food in the bowel movement. When I had mix dog years ago, when it was a puppy and she would eat her bowel movement I would just put Tabasco sauce on it and she would not eat it. I did it a few times Until she got the smell of hot sauce.

Answer 9

We have a 1 year old shipoo and he also eats his poop! Our vet told us he's either still hungry and is eating it to get full or he's doing it for attention. In any case, there is a powder available from your vet that you sprinkle on your dog's food. It is tastelss but does something to the dog's ppop that makes the dog not want to eat it any more.

Answer 10

Very common practice among dogs, even those who have not spent their life in a crate. I work in a doggie daycare and we see pampered well fed pooches dive for "goodies" in the potty yard.
For those who have spent their life in a crate it may be because they were hungry, bored, did not want to lie in the feces, or be punished for soiling the crate when the owner comes home. Once started, it became a habit.
There is a product you can buy which you add to the dogs food - sprinkle it on and it makes the stuff taste bad (I guess, haven't tasted it myself - either the poop or the product); it works when you only have one dog and it is eating its own feces. It is called Dis-Taste and you can purchase it (or the For-Bid mentioned earlier) at this link:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?N=0&Np=1&Ntt=feces%20eating&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&Nty=1&pc=1
Not a bad idea to follow her and clean up after her anyway, even in your own yard, as poop is nasty to step in and can spread disease. Yellowstone lost 60% of their newly whelped wolf pups to parvo last year; brought in by a domestic dog whose owner did not clean up after it.