COPROPHAGIA (Dog eating faeces)

"Coprophagia" is the term used when dogs eat the stools of other animals and/or their own stools. When dogs eat the faeces of other animals, it is said there can be some minor nutritional value in it for the dogs. One thing to know is that provided the animal whose faeces it is that your dog is eating is in good health and not carrying intestinal parasites, there is generally no harm to your dog for his/her behaviour (although I'd be inclined to avoid the doggy kisses for a while LOL).

For the purpose of this article, I'm referring mainly to dogs who eat their own stools after defecation or who might be eating the stools of the other dog in our multi-dog household.

Reasons for Coprophagic behaviour can be numerous and varied, such as :

Diet/nutrition deficiency related.

Simply looking at your dog's current diet and improving on it may correct your dog's coprophagic behaviour. Feed a good quality premium range food, including fresh raw meat and of course raw meaty bones.

The result of bad house-training methods.

If scolding your pup/dog during house-training for soiling inside the house it's not necessarily the case that your pup/dog is going to pair the scolding/punishment with the act of having soiled in the home. Dogs don't think that way - they think in images. From your pup/dog's point of view it might be a case of the dog getting the picture of "dog + human + poop = dog in trouble". Some dogs will therefore do whatever they can to remove/change that equation by getting rid of the poop and the only way they can do that is (a) by hiding it (so they soil in places where the excretions are not visible eg. under a bed) or (b) by eating it. From there, it can become a learnt behaviour.

Attention seeking attempts.

Perhaps your dog has learnt that you'll pay attention to him/her when he is exhibiting coprophagic behaviour, yet not when he isn't? This is an example of inadvertent reinforcement. Even "bad attention" can be welcomed by some dogs, rather than no attention at all. Make sure to praise your dog when he has moved away from having defecated.

The result of boredom.

A dog who is not mentally stimulated or doesn't have the outlet for mental stimulation that s/he needs tends to look for things to do. They have busy minds that need to be exercised. Coprophagic behaviour can begin as something exploratory, but then develops into a habit.

The result of unhygienic environment.

Pick up after your dog and leave a clean environment clear of excrements.

Medical Issue.

Pancreatitis, parasitic infection, malabsorption and other inestinal problems can all contribute to the development of Coprophagia. If you've checked out other possibilities as above and/or feel that health could be a contributing cause, visit your Vet for a check-up. Taking a stool sample to the appointment may be of assistance - your Vet will be able to test it for things such as (but not limited to) a worm burden count.

Learnt Behaviour.

For whatever the cause of the Coprophagic habit and assuming all of the above has been addressed and/or ruled out, we sometimes simply have the 'learnt' component to deal with. This might be a matter of making the stools he leaves behind taste bad. Some people have tried setting up the situation by collecting all stools save for one or two, and lacing them with something that doesn't taste nice (one would think that poop by itself doesn't taste nice, but hey .... dogs are dogs LOL) eg. cayenne pepper; chilli. This method has worked for some, but it is laborious and it does rely on someone being home to always making sure they follow up Fido's bowl motions with the pepper shaker at the ready. Consistency is an absolute necessity for this training so it's often not very feasible if possible at all.

Feed Pineapple.

There has been a degree of success with feeding the dog pineapple. It has been thought that the presence of processed pineapple in the dog's faeces renders the faeces unattractive, therefore deterring the dog from ingesting its stools. I don't think it is as simple as that, nor necessarily believe that "taste" is a factor here at all. After all, if pineapple was so bad tasting to a dog, why would he eat it in the first place?

However, Bromelain" is an enzyme capable of digesting protein and this is found in Pineapples. I'm no nutritionist but perhaps ingestion of pineapple has provided the enzyme necessary for a higher absorption of protein - the dog, its protein requirements having been satiated, ceases seeking self-supplementation of this nutrient by returning to ingest his/her own faeces. This is merely my own hypothesis, but the point being a number of people have found this method lending them some success in correcting their dog's coprophagic behaviour.

One dog eating another dog's faeces.

If it is the case that a dog is eating the faeces of another dog in particular (ie on a regular basis) and no other (eg. in a multi-dog household) then it may pay to have the dog (the one whose faeces are being eaten) Vet-checked for ill-health or parasitic infestation.

Disclaimer.

This article is not full in its content and is designed to provide a brief overview of what Coprophagia is; what potential causes there may be for the behaviour; and what owners might do to remedy the behaviour. Pro-K9 hopes you have found the information contained in this article to be of some assistance and perhaps lent you some guidance towards finding out more on the subject as far as it relates to your dog.

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