Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

Among a plethora of other repulsive habits that dogs have, poop eating may gross us humans the most. Seeing this stool-eating practice, some pet owners get worried and start asking why do dogs eat poop. Is this normal? Is the dog sick? Will this habit harm it?

You are not the only one to ask these questions. I often hear people asking why do dogs eat their own poop. The behavior is indeed nasty, but do you know there are many reasons for that?  In this article, you will discover 11 reasons why dogs eat poop.

But allow me to add that this eating poop habit is scientifically called coprophagy. Coprophagy refers to any type of feces-eating, including eating feces of other species (heterospecifics), of other individuals (allocoprophagy), or one’s own (autocoprophagy).

1. Dogs Eat Poop to Relieve Stress:

Yes, stress isn’t just for humans. Animals, too, can feel strained. As a matter of fact, dogs might actually attempt to alleviate stress by eating poop. In this case, it is called poop therapy in the dog world. It is their form of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), also known as a stool transplant, but orally. You may have a 4-legged physician in your home you don’t even know that.

2. Dogs Are Scavengers:

This may be the simplest answer: Canines are natural scavengers. They are drawn to scents, mainly unpleasant smell. This means that, contrarily to us humans, dogs aren’t repulsed by poop: Ingesting stool isn’t disgusting to them. 

3. Dogs Eat Poop to Seek Attention:

You can’t deny the fact that dogs love attention. When they feel ignored, they may opt for stool eating to be noticed and, why not, get a treat. And believe me, it always works. 99.99 of dog owners react when they see their loving pet practicing Coprophagy.

4. Dogs Ingest Stool Out of Boredom:

This case especially applies to dogs that have no companions. In fact, when canines spend all day at home with almost nothing to do, they might entertain themselves by eating poop. This may seem absurd but it’s true.

5. Dogs May Take This Habit from When They Were Puppies:

During their curiosity phase, puppies experiment with different kinds of things that are generally considered as non-edible. Poop is no exception. In fact, they may nibble at some feces as part of their exploration process. Moreover, they can actually learn to eat poop from their moms, and we’ll talk about this later.

6. Dogs Eat Poop Because They Were Punished:

Canines, who were disciplined for pooping in the house, may start to think that stool is bad and try to hide “the evidence” by eating it.

7. Dogs Eat Poop Because They Care for Cleanliness:

This may seem paraxial to you. You may say: “Is this a joke? How can a dog EAT POOP if it cares about cleanliness and hygiene? This so illogical!” Sure, but only to us humans. Dogs don’t have the same logic as us.  

8. Mommy Dogs Eat Poop to Protect Their Kids:

As mentioned in the first point, female dogs ingest poop, especially of their puppies’. This comportment is not only destined to keep the nest clean but also to hide the youngsters’ scent from potential predators.

9. Dogs May Eat Stool Because Of Medical Issues:

This is the only case where medical help is needed. From enzymes and other types of deficiencies, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, intestinal parasites, diabetes, thyroid issues, underfeeding to malabsorption, these health issues may be reasons why some dogs eat poop.

10. Dogs Eat Stool Because Starvation:

Yes. starvation can cause a dog to eat human feces. In other words, a simple way to prevent this behavior from your dog is to feed it enough food at regular times. If your dog is losing weight on an unbalanced diet, supplement it with plant-based dog supplement like Delvix Pet Complete.

11. Malabsorption

Any condition that causes Poor intestinal absorption of nutrients can also lead your dog to stool eating. Malabsorption may be caused by infection, medications, small intestine surgery, and disorders such as celiac disease. Symptoms include weight loss, bloating, and sometimes diarrhea. Eventually, the brain, nervous system, bones, liver, and other organs can be affected if the problem is not treated properly.

To answer the question why do dogs eat poop, eating poop is almost a normal behavior for dogs, except when it becomes excessive you may need to take action…

If you know other reasons why dogs eat poop, please share them with our readers by commenting below.