Coprophagia in Dogs: Causes and Solutions from a Veterinary Perspective
Coprophagia, the scientific term for eating feces, is a common and distressing behavior for many dog owners. While repulsive to us, it’s a behavior with multifaceted origins. As a veterinarian, my first priority is to emphasize that this is rarely a sign of “badness” but rather a symptom of an underlying issue—medical, behavioral, or nutritional. Successfully addressing it requires patience, investigation, and a multi-pronged approach.
Why Does This Happen? Understanding the “Why” is Key to the “How” to Stop
The causes can be categorized into three main areas:
1. Medical and Nutritional Causes:
This is always our first area to rule out. Several health issues can drive this behavior:
- Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) or Malabsorption Syndromes: If a dog cannot properly digest its food, the feces may still contain large amounts of undigested nutrients, making it appealing.
- Parasites: Intestinal worms can “steal” nutrients, leaving the dog in a state of deficiency and seeking them elsewhere.
- Endocrine Diseases: Conditions like diabetes, Cushing’s disease, or thyroid disorders can cause extreme hunger (polyphagia).
- Nutritional Deficiency: While less common with modern commercial diets, a poor-quality diet, an unbalanced homemade diet, or simply underfeeding can lead to this behavior. Deficiencies in specific vitamins (especially B vitamins) or minerals have been implicated.
2. Natural and Instinctive Behaviors:
- Maternal Behavior: It is completely normal for a mother dog to ingest the feces of her newborn puppies to keep the den clean.
- Natural Scavenging: Dogs are scavengers by evolution. To some, feces may simply represent a potential food source.
- Avoiding Predation: In the wild, consuming feces can help eliminate scent trails from predators. An anxious dog may exhibit this instinct.
3. Behavioral and Environmental Causes:
- Attention-Seeking: If a dog learns that eating poop results in a big, dramatic reaction from its owner (even a negative one), it may repeat the behavior for attention.
- Boredom or Stress: Dogs with insufficient mental and physical stimulation may engage in coprophagia as a way to occupy themselves, similar to other destructive behaviors.
- Inappropriate Association with Cleanliness: A puppy who was harshly punished for indoor accidents may later eat its own feces to “hide the evidence” and avoid scolding.
- Access and Opportunity: Simply put, if poop is available, some dogs will eat it. This can be their own, another dog’s (often particularly attractive to them), or that of other species like cats or herbivores (horse, rabbit manure), which may smell undigested of food.
A Veterinary Action Plan: How to Make It Stop
There is no single magic bullet. Curbing this habit requires consistency and addressing the root cause.
Step 1: The Essential Veterinary Visit
Schedule a comprehensive check-up. Your vet will likely recommend:
- A fecal examination to check for parasites.
- A blood chemistry panel and complete blood count (CBC) to screen for underlying metabolic diseases, diabetes, or other issues.
- A thorough discussion about your dog’s diet, feeding schedule, and portion sizes.
Step 2: Immediate Management & Environmental Control
This is the most immediately effective step: remove the opportunity.
- Become a Prompt Poop-Scooper: Clean your yard immediately after every defecation. On walks, keep your dog on a leash and move him away immediately after he goes, using a command like “let’s go!”
- Supervise or Restrict Access: Do not let your dog into the yard unsupervised. Use a leash for bathroom breaks until the habit is broken. For multi-pet households, keep litter boxes immaculately clean or use a baby gate to block access.
Step 3: Dietary and Nutritional Interventions
- Upgrade the Diet: Feed a high-quality, balanced commercial diet recommended by your vet. Ensure you are feeding the correct amount.
- Consider Additives: Certain products can be added to your dog’s food that make the resulting feces taste unappealing. These often contain ingredients like monosodium glutamate (MSG) or yucca schidigera. Important: These are only effective if your dog is eating its own stool.
- Add Digestive Enzymes or Probiotics: If maldigestion is suspected, these supplements can improve nutrient absorption, leaving less appealing waste behind.
Step 4: Consistent Behavioral Training
- Teach a Solid “Leave It” Command: This is the cornerstone of behavioral management. Train your dog to reliably turn away from an object (starting with treats) on command. This gives you direct control during walks or in the yard.
- Redirect and Reward: When your dog shows interest in feces, use your “leave it” command. The moment he disengages, immediately reward him with a high-value treat (like chicken or cheese). You must make not eating the poop more rewarding than eating it.
- Increase Mental & Physical Enrichment: A tired and mentally stimulated dog is less likely to seek out odd behaviors. Increase daily exercise, introduce puzzle feeders, and practice short training sessions.
- Avoid Punishment: Yelling or punishing your dog after he has eaten poop is confusing and can increase anxiety, potentially worsening the problem. The key is prevention and positive reinforcement.
Final Prognosis
For many dogs, especially those where the habit is purely behavioral or opportunistic, a combination of vigilant environmental control, dietary management, and positive reinforcement training can significantly reduce or eliminate the behavior. However, for some dogs with deep-seated compulsive tendencies, it may be a lifelong management issue rather than an absolute cure.
The critical takeaway is this: start with your veterinarian. Ruling out medical causes is not just the first step—it is the most important one. With a clean bill of health, you can confidently implement the behavioral and management strategies to help your dog overcome this unpleasant habit.
