Coprophagia is the ingestion of feces. After giving birth, a mother dog (bitch) keeps her pups clean. The mother dog stimulates elimination of urine and feces with her tongue and ingests her pups' waste. This keeps the nest clean, prevents disease and removes odors that could attract predators.
Newborn pups cannot voluntarily relax their sphincters until later in life. Young puppies may begin eating their stools when their mother no longer performs the task. Coprophagia in pups may persist beyond an acceptable phase or the pups may become coprophagic when placed in a new home. Some dogs appear to enjoy this activity, making it all the more disgusting to their owners. Various solutions have been used to discourage coprophagia in dogs. Application of foul-tasting substances to feces is not advised. Even if you are willing to do this, it may fail. Some dogs acquire a liking for the additives, while others may persist despite the unpleasant flavor. Inconsistent application of bad-tasting substances may further complicate matters, as the dog learns that it sometimes can avoid the punishing taste. Addition of substances that induce vomiting may fail for many of these reasons. Feeding digestive (pancreatic) enzymes to the coprophagic dog may affect the consistency of its stools, rendering them unattractive, but even this method is not reliable.
The best way to correct coprophagia is to prevent access to fecal material. If stool is not available, your dog cannot eat it. Diligently leash walk your dog, moving quickly away from the stool as soon as possible. You may wish to reward your pet for good behavior with a food treat. In extreme cases, a very determined dog may need to be muzzled during walks. It may be helpful to discontinue yard access for awhile. Immediately and routinely remove stool deposits from your yard. Provide wide variety of appropriate objects for your dog to chew. Increase the time you spend playing with and exercising your pet.
Some dogs learn that eating stools is a way to get your attention, even though the attention often consists of scolding. As difficult as it may be, ignore your pet if you catch it in the act, and concentrate instead on preventing it the next time.
Some dogs develop a taste for the stool of other dogs and, occasionally, for the stool of cats. The same corrective approach applies to this type of coprophagia. Prevent access to the feces of other animals by using vigilance during leash walks. Make your cat's litter box inaccessible to your dog by decreasing the size of the opening of a covered box, applying a hooded litter cover, placing the box on an elevated surface, or placing the box in a room with a cat door or leaving the door open just enough to allow the cat access.
Sorry this is so long but at least we can understand why they do it. |