Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

The harsh reality: Some dogs eat poop. No one knows for certain why dogs engage in this behavior despite our revulsion, but it is more common than you might think. There are many possible theories as to why they do it and these can be divided primarily into medical and behavioral motivations. Consistently eating non-food items is known as pica, and specifically eating feces is called coprophagia. In general, an underlying medical condition may lead dogs to crave non-food items; this is often due to gastrointestinal disease, nutritional deficiencies, anemia, or neurological disorders.

Other conditions can make dogs ravenously hungry to the point where they may eat anything they find; this can happen when dogs develop diabetes or Cushing’s disease, or if they are taking high doses of steroids to treat other conditions. Finally, behavioral causes of pica can include anxiety, compulsive disorders, and/or boredom. Coprophagia is a very specific form of pica and while any of the above causes can be at play, it also has its own unique motivations.

Navigating life
with a new pet? Head to littleKin!

littleKin™ is Kinship’s home just for puppy and kitten parents. Bop over to check out expert advice, new pet tools, and special deals—all curated for your newest family member.

Get Free Advice

In most cases, coprophagia tends to be more of a behavioral problem than a medical one. The majority of dogs who exhibit coprophagia are considered to have voracious appetites and live in multi-dog households. This may be related to scavenging behavior seen in stray dogs and wild dogs who are constantly looking for scraps of any kind in order to survive. Additionally, there may be a link to innate behaviors seen in wolves that do this to keep their den clean and free of feces.        

Related article

“Help! How Do I Get My Dog to Stop Eating Socks”

How to get your pet to stop chewing on inedibles from clothes to couches.

Apparently, poop eating is super common in dogs

“I wouldn’t say all dogs eat poop but a decent amount eat poop,” says Dr. Ashley Rossman, DVM, a veterinarian at Glen Oak Dog and Cat Hospital. A study published by The University of California at Davis on coprophagia found that 24 percent of dogs have tried it, while 16% eat it frequently, meaning 6 times or more.

Worse, most dogs prefer to eat it fresh. Yuck. In fact, researchers learned that eating poop less than two days old was far more common than consuming older poop. Dogs who savor eating poop may also enjoy eating dirt, cat poop or other non-food items as well. A previous study found that dogs with anxiety disorders or oral disorders such as Pica and plant-eating were more frequently coprophagic.

What is coprophagia?  

Coprophagia is defined as the act of eating feces. It does not have to be the dog’s own feces specifically. In fact, many dogs that exhibit coprophagia will eat other dogs’ poop as well as cat poop if given the opportunity. Dogs may do this for different reasons so it is always important to rule out underlying medical causes and make sure to treat any problems effectively to resolve the urge to eat poop.

In most cases however, there is no underlying medical cause and therefore, nothing to fix exactly. For most dogs, this is a behavioral idiosyncrasy that does not have a clear cause. There are some associations between dogs that eat poop and other characteristics though. In the study at UC Davis, over 1,500 pet parents were surveyed about their dogs and certain correlations among the coprophagic dogs stood out. These dogs tended to live in multi-dog households with at least one other dog. They also tended to be considered “greedy eaters,” meaning very enthusiastic eaters that are not picky. Certain breeds also seemed more inclined to be coprophagic, including terriers, hounds, and Shetland Sheepdogs.     

Related article

How to Dog-Proof Your Home

Our room-to-room guide to get your house in dog-safe shape.

But why do dogs eat poop?!

Coprophagy is a bit of a paradox because dogs can be housetrained easily due to their aversion to poop. It is also one of the reasons that some advocate crates when housetraining — dogs rarely defecate where they eat or sleep. So, then why do some dogs eat their poop?

Inherited survival behavior

One theory: it’s in their DNA. Not only did the study suggest it’s a survival mechanism that dates back to our dog’s wolf ancestors some 15,000 years ago, it’s also not uncommon behavior at certain life stages even today — mother dogs will clean up after their puppies for the first few weeks of their lives, and pups themselves don’t really refine their palates until they're about nine months old.

It is thought that wolves would consume “fresh feces of injured or sick pack members that might be deposited in the rest areas near the den. If wolves were to remove the feces from rest areas where infective larvae from intestinal parasites would become more numerous over time, consumption is the only method available.” If this idea is correct, then poop-eating dogs might just be showing off their wolfish roots,a more imaginative and less worrisome explanation than the other options. 

They get a kick out of it

Or, “some dogs will eat their own poop because they think it tastes good,” Dr. Sara Ochoa, veterinarian at Whitehouse Veterinary Hospital, says matter-of-factly. The UC Davis veterinary researchers did find some solid evidence: the habit is more common in multi-dog households, among females, and — no surprise here — pets who are considered food-greedy in general by their parents. In many parts of the world, dogs live as strays and scavenging keeps them alive. Only those that find enough to eat will survive long enough to reproduce, thus passing on these same traits to their offspring. Many dogs may have a built-in urge to scavenge and eat anything that can provide them with nutrients as a result. 

Related article

Is My Dog’s Poop Normal?

From bloody poop to diarrhea—all your dog’s poop problems explained.

Underlying medical condition

While there are no conclusive links to medical conditions, your vet should test your dog for parasites, nutritional deficiencies, or other diseases that can cause an increase in appetite, such as diabetes or Cushing’s disease. You should also consider behavioral conditions. Does your dog suffer from anxiety such as separation anxiety or other form of anxious and/or compulsive behaviors? Do they spend much of the day alone, crated, or otherwise confined? Do they get enough physical exercises and mental enrichment? Stress, anxiety, boredom, and compulsive disorders can all lead to undesirable behaviors

Dogs are smarter than we realize, and sometimes, they put together causes and effects that we don’t even realize we are linking. For example, your dog may start off spontaneously doing something you don’t like, such as barking or pawing at your lap while you are occupied with a gripping tv show, or who knows, your job. You reflexively pet your dog to redirect them, or stop what you’re doing to investigate what kind of mischief your dog has concocted. Inadvertently, you are rewarding your dog’s behavior by giving them attention even though you don’t intend to.

When this pattern is repeated, dogs learn that these behaviors get your attention. While coprophagia is not a classic attention seeking behavior, it has the potential to be one since it would definitely elicit a big reaction from most pet parents. And that reaction can be fun and exciting to dogs and encourage them to continue with the unwanted behavior. The key to extinguishing this pattern is through a combination of ignoring the unwanted behavior while redirecting your dog to a more constructive activity that you then reward. This should also be done in combination with consistent obedience training and physical and mental enrichment so your dog knows what you want from them and has lots of positive outlets for all of their energy. 

Related article

How to Compost Your Pet’s Poop

Without getting totally grossed out.

Learned behavior

Coprophagia is not typically a learned behavior, meaning that most dogs are not eating poop because they saw their friends doing it. However, dogs are social animals and they can learn from one another, for better or worse. It is important to keep this in mind in multi-dog households. If you have a dog who is exhibiting an unwanted behavior, be sure to work on constructive solutions to resolve it and also be mindful to give your other dogs plenty of attention so they don’t feel ignored. If your problem-pup is getting extra attention, treats or other rewards to help redirect their behavior, your other dogs may exhibit signs of jealousy and/or their own attention-seeking behaviors. 

Tips to stop your dog from eating poop: 

The main priority in these cases is to search for and treat any underlying medical or behavioral conditions that are leading to this behavior. If those conditions are well-managed or cured, a dog’s urge to eat poop should be curbed. Then, you’ll want to work on diversion tactics, especially since this habit could put your dog’s health at risk. Their poop is full of bacteria, and, “other dogs’ poop may contain parasites that can infect your pet,” Dr. Ochoa cautions . The best way to stop this behavior is to eliminate opportunity. Clean up any poop in the yard right away and try to avoid it when out on walks or other areas so that your dog has no opportunities to sample the goods. Dr. Ochoa explains, “it will break the cycle for a few weeks and, usually, this will stop your dog [in the long run].” 

But let’s say you didn’t catch them in the act until they were older. Both veterinarians suggest spicy or bitter food additives designed to make your dog’s poop less palatable- apparently, that’s possible. At the very least, Dr. Ochoa explains, “it will break the cycle for a few weeks and, usually, this will stop your dog [in the long run].” You can also supplement your dog’s diet with vitamins and enzymes to ensure they’re getting a complete and balanced diet from their food…and food alone.

While the focus of the UC Davis study was not on determining how to stop poop-eating pups- the results showed that behavioral management, enzymes, and taste-aversion products did little to alter the desire. The “leave it” command scored the highest rate of 4 percent. Training can be helpful so if you haven’t started, work on improving your dog’s “leave it” cue. Should all else fail, the other other option is on you- pick up your dog’s poop ASAP. Well, sh*t.

Related article

The Facts of Poop: How to Treat Your Dog’s Diarrhea

Shudder. It happens to all of us.

Can you train a dog to stop eating poop?

Most dogs with coprophagia will stop eventually when they seem to lose interest. The best way to initiate that is to create a pause in their access to poop and if enough time passes, they will often outgrow the impulse to eat it. This means being hypervigilant about preventing your dog from having any access to poop. In addition to keeping your yard clear of poop, there are some other helpful techniques to add on including:

• Leash walks only: if your dog is quick and/or sneaky about eating poop, you may have to stick to leash walks only for a bit. This way, you are always with your dog when they are outside. You’ll have the ability to help them navigate any potential temptations, and pick up their poop as soon as they defecate. This is a great opportunity to practice obedience skills and sneak in some extra enrichment for your pup too.

• Leave it cue: teaching your dog to respond to the “leave it” cue is helpful for tons of situations when you need your dog to avoid things that are gross, dangerous, and/or toxic. Some dogs with coprophagia are so driven to eat poop that this does not always stop them from indulging, so you may need to use this in combination with other strategies.

• Target training: This technique takes training a step beyond the ‘leave it’ cue in that it involves training your dog to touch a designated target on cue. This can be extra helpful if you train your dog to touch a certain target right after pooping so that your dog gets into the habit of physically leaving the scene of the poop, giving you time to clean up. Be sure to provide your dog with lots of praise and treats as you work on these skills so it is fun and rewarding for your pup too.  

• Basket muzzle: Training your dog to comfortably wear a basket muzzle is a great way to protect them from eating unwanted things. It may take time to gradually introduce the basket muzzle, but it is worth it if you can help your dog to associate it with positive things like treats, going for walks, and praise. Once your dog makes a positive association with it and wears it comfortably, it can be a great tool to keep your pup safe. 

Related article

Muzzle Up Project Wants You to Remove Your Judgment Goggles When You See a Muzzled Dog

How the misunderstood training tool actually empowers dogs to be “happy, fulfilled, and living their best lives.”

FAQs (People also ask):

Is it safe to use commercial coprophagia deterrents?

In most cases these are safe but unfortunately not very effective. Always check with your vet to be sure a specific product is safe for your dog’s situation. 

Can professional training help with a dog eating his poop?

Yes. A professional can help identify behavioral conditions that may be causing the problem and can teach you techniques to redirect your dog to other activities.

What vitamins or nutrients do dogs obtain by eating poop?

There are no specific nutrients in poop, however, it contains small amounts of undigested food which can be digested the second time around, providing limited nutrients. 

References:

• Veterinary Information Network: Why Do Pooches Eat Poop 

• Clinician’s Brief: Coprophagia

• Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine: How to Stop Attention-Seeking Behavior

• Veterinary Medicine and Science: The Paradox of Canine Conspecific Coprophagy