How To Fix Your Dogs Bad Habbit Of Eating Poop

Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

Your dog may eat poop for a variety of reasons, including:

• A lack of nutrition in their diet that causes them to seek out other nutritional sources.
• Boredom or stress – Many dogs eat when they are nervous.
• Being a puppy – Puppies like to try new things that smell like they might be food.
• Hiding evidence – Dogs that are punished incorrectly for pooping indoors rarely learn not to poop indoors. Instead, they will eat it in order to hide the evidence that the pooping occurred.

Because the causes of poop eating are so different, they should be treated very differently.

Solutions for Poop Eating

• If your dog eats poop due to a lack of nutrition, this can be a huge sign that you need to change your dog’s diet. If your dog is eating other animal’s poop, there is a good chance it is still not receiving some of the nutrients it needs and is simply looking for sources elsewhere that smell like food (to a dog, feces smells like food – dogs do not suffer from nausea due to poor smells like humans). If your dog is eating its own feces, especially while full grown, there is also a chance that it is seriously missing some nutrients and is essentially “re-eating” its food in order to get the nutrients it is missing. This should be a huge red flag, and you should consider drastically altering your dog’s diet.

• If your dog eats poop as a way of hiding evidence, it means that you likely punished your dog incorrectly for pooping indoors. Do not punish your dog for pooping indoors unless you catch it in the act, and even then do not do anything more than a harsh word. If you punish your dog for poop it made 30 minutes earlier, your dog will smell the poop but not realize that the punishment is for the act of pooping, and not the poop itself. Instead, it will eat the poop to hide the mistake.

• If your dog eats poop because it is a puppy, simply stop your dog from eating it by gently yanking your dog away or removing your dog (or the poop) from the area. Puppies are still learning what they can and can’t eat, and poop is a part of that process.

• If your dog eats out of boredom or stress, you need to make sure your dog is getting enough physical and mental stimulation every day.

In general, eating poop is a self-reinforcing behavior. They eat the poop, they get some nutrients, and it naturally rewards them for eating the poop. The best thing to do in all cases is to get the poop or your dog away from the situation, and address any of the problems above if necessary.

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