Poop Eating - The Causes and Tips to Resolve
by Friends of the Dog
by Friends of the Dog

There is a term which is used for this behaviour which is Corprophagia – sounds better than eating poo!
We need to bear in mind that a dog is essentially a scavenger and will take advantage of virtually any food sources it can find, although not all dogs consume faeces, or on a regular basis.
Many wild animals engage in this behaviour, especially when food resources may be scarce. The faeces may then become a source of missing nutrients and proteins which can help it to sustain life.
Although the thought of our beloved dogs eating their own or other dogs faeces is disgusting to us humans (especially when our dog then wants to give us a lick – the stink!) to dogs this is a totally natural behaviour.
A nursing mother will diligently keep her den clean by eating the faeces of her own offspring - this prevents disease, plus, does not encourage predators, it is not unusual for pups to engage in this behaviour either. However, most pups outgrow this habit as they mature, but not all.
Some dogs will keep on engaging in this behaviour and it seems that the more it occurs, the more it is reinforced, and can even become compulsive. When the behaviour is excessive, It is not unusual for a dog to follow another family dog around and consume the faeces the second it is deposited, making it very difficult for owners to engage in management in keeping the garden free from faeces unless the dogs are separated.
Dogs will consume the faeces of other animals and even human faeces and according to the ASPCA, a study undertaken on village dogs in Zimbabwe, found that faeces made up about 25% of the dog’s overall diet, the majority of which was human faeces. This article, titled ‘The impact of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) on wildlife welfare and conservation: a literature review.’ Is very interesting and can be read in full at the link below. http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/yom-tov/inbal/dogs.pdf
The most important tool in preventing this condition is management - stools must be picked up as soon as humanly possible, but not in a way that it will reinforce the habit. Sounds a bit strange, but you don’t want the dog to start rushing to eat the stool before it is picked up! Rather the dog is distracted away from the area in a casual manner and then somebody picks up the stool.
All dogs engaging in this behaviour should first and foremost be examined by the vet to ascertain that there are no medical reasons for the behaviour. If there is a medical reason, little or nothing you do from a behavioural point of view will have any effect.
The majority of dogs do not seem to be affected by this habit from a health point of view, but there can be health concerns. The dog could end up contracting worms, especially roundworms and even parvovirus is a possibility. Faeces that are not fresh, are a higher health hazard. If a dog does engage in this behaviour, please speak to your vet about deworming, and would apply to any other dogs in the home as well. As a matter of interest, you should deworm yourself about every 3 months, especially if children are in the home as well.
Some of the reasons why a dog may engage in this behaviour (in no specific order) on a regular basis are: -
What to do
The above gives you some ideas, however, if you are still battling, do get in the services of a professional behaviourist - nothing to be ashamed about asking for assistance.
We need to bear in mind that a dog is essentially a scavenger and will take advantage of virtually any food sources it can find, although not all dogs consume faeces, or on a regular basis.
Many wild animals engage in this behaviour, especially when food resources may be scarce. The faeces may then become a source of missing nutrients and proteins which can help it to sustain life.
Although the thought of our beloved dogs eating their own or other dogs faeces is disgusting to us humans (especially when our dog then wants to give us a lick – the stink!) to dogs this is a totally natural behaviour.
A nursing mother will diligently keep her den clean by eating the faeces of her own offspring - this prevents disease, plus, does not encourage predators, it is not unusual for pups to engage in this behaviour either. However, most pups outgrow this habit as they mature, but not all.
Some dogs will keep on engaging in this behaviour and it seems that the more it occurs, the more it is reinforced, and can even become compulsive. When the behaviour is excessive, It is not unusual for a dog to follow another family dog around and consume the faeces the second it is deposited, making it very difficult for owners to engage in management in keeping the garden free from faeces unless the dogs are separated.
Dogs will consume the faeces of other animals and even human faeces and according to the ASPCA, a study undertaken on village dogs in Zimbabwe, found that faeces made up about 25% of the dog’s overall diet, the majority of which was human faeces. This article, titled ‘The impact of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) on wildlife welfare and conservation: a literature review.’ Is very interesting and can be read in full at the link below. http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/zoology/members/yom-tov/inbal/dogs.pdf
The most important tool in preventing this condition is management - stools must be picked up as soon as humanly possible, but not in a way that it will reinforce the habit. Sounds a bit strange, but you don’t want the dog to start rushing to eat the stool before it is picked up! Rather the dog is distracted away from the area in a casual manner and then somebody picks up the stool.
All dogs engaging in this behaviour should first and foremost be examined by the vet to ascertain that there are no medical reasons for the behaviour. If there is a medical reason, little or nothing you do from a behavioural point of view will have any effect.
The majority of dogs do not seem to be affected by this habit from a health point of view, but there can be health concerns. The dog could end up contracting worms, especially roundworms and even parvovirus is a possibility. Faeces that are not fresh, are a higher health hazard. If a dog does engage in this behaviour, please speak to your vet about deworming, and would apply to any other dogs in the home as well. As a matter of interest, you should deworm yourself about every 3 months, especially if children are in the home as well.
Some of the reasons why a dog may engage in this behaviour (in no specific order) on a regular basis are: -
- Boredom and frustration. The dog is not receiving enough physical, social and mental stimulation and has found something else to occupy itself.
- Owner inadvertently reinforcing the behaviour by shouting at the dog while eating the faeces - remember, attention to a dog is attention, whether negative or positive!
- A dog living in sub-standard living conditions may eat faeces to get more food and also to consume any nutrients contained in the food.
- It is thought to have a hereditary component as it is more common in some breeds such as the German shepherd - http://www.dogdaysnw.com/doc/GSD_hereditary_diseases.pdf
- Worm infestation.
- Some medications, especially steroids, could contribute to this behaviour.
- If the dog eats very fast, even though you are feeding a good quality food, this may lead to digestive problems whereby the dog is receiving the correct nutrients but is unable to digest what it needs and then looks to eating faeces to replace same.
- Stress Related – any changes in the home lately - new addition to home (either human or animal) - owner been away on leave etc. We don’t realize it but often events such as these really impact on our dogs and can cause changes in behaviour.
- If the dog only engages in this behaviour when you are out, there could be an element of separation anxiety creeping in. We have known dogs that in addition to destructive behaviour started eating faces during the owner’s absence as well.
- Learned Behaviour – it has really become a habit (and often reinforced by owner shouting or some other stressful association)
- It has been suggested that dogs which were severely reprimanded for inappropriate elimination in the home, were more prone to develop this habit – eating the evidence, so to speak.
- In much of the research it appears that it may be linked to taste, as some dogs in a multi dog home, will only eat the faeces of certain dogs, who were eating different food than the other dogs.
- In a good article by Dr Sophia Yin, it was suggested that dogs in multi dog homes were more likely to eat faeces : - http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/coprophagia-the-scoop-on-poop-eating-in-dogs
What to do
- First and foremost – if the behaviour is excessive, then we really would suggest speaking to your vet, and if dog is on any meds, see if these could contribute by causing excessive hunger. Depending on how severe it is, and if associated with stress, your vet may suggest the use of some medication to reduce stress.
- Management –management, is always a very important aspect - keep the dog in an area where it cannot have access to faeces and clean up any faeces as soon as possible, without getting into competition with the dog for this resource – put the dog in another area while you do this. If the dog is one that will immediately consume the faeces of another dog, then the dogs must have separate toilet areas and all faeces to be picked up immediately.
- If your dog is doing this out of boredom, increase walks, even if only 5 minutes a day where the dog can sniff and smell to its hearts content - a wonderful way to supply both mental and physical stimulation. Supply mental stimulation by way of leaving scent trails around the garden, toys that can be stuffed and left safely, chew toys etc (first make sure if other dogs that there will be no reactive behaviour over this valuable resource). One of the products we have found to be excellent to entertain a dog, is the Foobler, plus it supplies some extra kibble. It has about 6 compartments that you fill up with kibble or treats. The beauty of the Foobler, is that it can be set up to dispense the kibble or treats at certain time intervals. When the food is ready to be released, a bell will chime.
- Really examine if you are giving the dog sufficient social stimulation, especially if an outside dog, and seldom in the home.
- Additives – additives such as grated pineapple and enzyme products purchased from the vet can be added to the food which results in the faeces being unpalatable to the dog although personally we cannot imagine anything as unpalatable as dog poo!
- Adding in a Tablespoon or two of over cooked brown rice can assist in bulking up the dog’s diet – check with vet first if advisable and make sure no grain intolerances or allergies - does not work with all dogs, but worth trying.
- The faeces left in the garden can have substances such as Tabasco, Avert etc put on it to make it unappealing to the faeces eater. These stools would have to be ‘doctored’ before the dog had access to them and in order to stop the behaviour, the stools would have to be ‘doctored’ each and every time.
- Feed the dog a well-balanced, good quality dog food ensuring all vitamins, enzymes etc are contained in the food. Feed twice daily (3 times if possible) and do try to keep meal times at the same time. If an 'only' dog, you can leave breakfast inside a Slo Feeder, which will help to keep the dog mentally stimulated while eating, as it makes it harder to get the food - perfect for dogs that tend to guzzle their food as well.
- Don’t add components such as table scraps to the dog’s food. Feed the same product and same amount daily. Don’t chop and change dog foods.
- The guidelines on the back of a packet of dog food are exactly that – guidelines. Some dogs, depending on their activity levels may need more or less food than other dogs, and you may (inadvertently of course), be feeding your dog less than it requires.
- If the food has a very high fat content, this could be link to this behaviour as the stools will be more palatable. Good quality foods are seldom guilty of this.
- Distraction - If you see the dog sniffing and heading in the direction of some faeces, call the dog in a happy, high pitched tone of voice and provide distraction such as throwing the ball, interacting with the dog etc. Here one needs to be careful as some dogs may view the distraction as the owner giving attention and engage in the behaviour in order to receive more attention!
- Always a good idea to teach the Leave Cue.
- Recall - teach the dog a really good recall so that if you see it heading to munch some lovely faeces (to the dog at least), you can instantly call it back and give a good reward for coming to you.
The above gives you some ideas, however, if you are still battling, do get in the services of a professional behaviourist - nothing to be ashamed about asking for assistance.