Between Showers

Why do dogs sometimes eat poop?

Coprophagia, or “poop eating”, is a behavior often observed in dogs. Hofmeister, Cumming, and Dhein (2001) wrote that this behavior in dogs has not been well-researched and prepared a study.[1] In a preliminary paper, they write that there are various hypotheses for this behavior in canines, although none have been proven:

* Dogs might want attention from their caretakers.
* They might have anxiety or stress or worry about being punished for bad behaviors.
* They had been punished for having defecated in the past, and attempt to clean up out of fear of being punished again.
* Dog are, by nature, scavengers, and this might be within the range of scavenger behavior.
* They may be trying to prevent the scent from attracting predators.
* The texture and temperature of fresh feces approximates that of regurgitated food, which is how mothers in the wild provide solid food to their pups.
* Feces (particularly cat feces) contain protein; overfeeding can also increase the quantity of undigested matter in the feces.
* The coprophagia may be due to assorted health problems, including:
* Pancreatitis
* Intestinal infections
* Food allergies, leading to malabsorption
* The dogs might be hungry, such as when eating routines are changed, food is withheld, or nutrients are not properly absorbed.
* Carnivores may sometimes eat or roll in the feces of their prey to ingest and exude scents that mask their own.

Another hypothesis is that dogs want to investigate the diet of their opponents and get more acquainted with their smell.

Some veterinarians recommend adding meat tenderizer to dog food, as this makes the feces taste excessively bad to dogs. Several companies produce food additives that can also be added to the animal’s food to make feces taste bad. Often, these food additives will contain Capsicum Oleoresin, which gives off a repugnant odor making the fecal matter undesirable to the dog.