Why does my dog eat poo…

and how to stop it?

As a dog owner, finding your dog eating poo while on a regular walk can be quite frustrating behaviours… especially when it keeps happening again and again. Known as coprophagia, this habit might be unpleasant but it’s actually not that uncommon.

Understanding why it happens and how to stop it, are key to maintaining your dog’s health, but also your peace of mind.

Why my dog eats poo?

Actually there are several reasons why this kind of a behaviour might happen.

• Nutritional deficiency - might sound surprising, but when your dog is lacking essential nutrients or enzymes, it can lead them to seek out other sources.
  Dry food typically lacks many nutrients.

• Anxiety or boredom - eating faeces can sometimes be a response to boredom, stress or anxiety.

  Poo eating can often be a result of bad or too harsh house training methods.

  So if your dog has pooped in the house, they will “get rid of their poo” just to not get punished.

• Attention seeking behaviour - if your dog has started to notice, that eating poo gets a reaction/ attention from you, they might continue doing that just to keep getting your attention. If you notice your dog eating poo, the best you can do, is to stop the behaviour, not to overreact.

• Instinctual behaviour - some dogs can have instinct to either “clean up” after them, but also, like grabbing that random piece of bread or gum on the street, eating poo can be similar to that.

What to do? How to stop this?

Well, luckily as there are several reasons why your dog might eat poo, there are a few things you can do to stop this from happening.

• Try improving your dog’s diet - take a look at your dog’s everyday food. Ensure that your dog gets food that provides them with all necessary nutrients. If you’re not sure what type of food to try, we have in depth topic and lessons about different type of dog food with pros and cons in the Pocket Puppy School app.

• Increase physical and mental stimulation - to ensure that your dog is not getting bored, while alone for a couple of hours, make sure that your dog gets plenty of physical exercise and mental stimulation. Regular exercise (running, rollerblading, swimming, hiking etc), puzzle toys can help reduce boredom and anxiety.

• Training and positive reinforcement - teach your dog commands, like “come” and “leave it” to redirect your dog’s attention, when they’re approaching poo. Also, do not forget to praise with yummy treats when your dog obeys. Remember, if you’re reacting angrily, it might do the opposite and make your dog feel more anxious and lead them to repeat this action.

• Calm reactions - If positive methods don’t offer a lot of results, then we have defined 5 calm techniques which you can try to stop your dog from doing the naughty things. Look up our “Rules” topic in our app.

• Try out some deterrents - some products, like this vet recommended for-bid, can make poo taste unpleasant (yes… even more than it already is).

Consulting a vet

If this has happened a few times, then most likely there’s no need to panic. This kind of behaviour is actually more common in puppies.

But if an adult dog suddenly starts eating poo and any of the methods above hasn’t helped, then it may be time to consult a vet. It is possible that there is an underlying medical condition.

The vet might take some tests and ask some additional questions and if needed, offer further advice or treatment options.

Good training and nutritional food are the key elements

Coprophagia aka poo eating behaviour can be troubling habit, but with patience, proper training techniques and nutritional diet, you can help your dog get rid of this.

If you feel like this is getting out of your hands, then don’t hesitate to consult your vet.

But if you’re looking for tips and dog training information, download our free Pocket Puppy School app. Through our app we have provided variety of resources to help you raise a happy and well-behaved dog.

Haven’t heard about Pocket Puppy School before?

Pocket Puppy School is a completely free dog training app. Our mission is to make information about raising dogs accessible to everyone in the world.

But in addition to our app, we have a blog (that you are currently reading 🤓) where we talk all things about dogs.

We post some informational and fun content to our Instagram page and believe it or not, we even have a merch store. 🥹 In the store you can get a t-shirt or a hoodie with your own dog picture that we will make into an awesome design.

Feel free to check out all of our channels, and if you have any questions, leave a comment down below.

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