Virtually every dog eats its own poop to one extent or another. It’s part of the nature of being a dog – and not something that you can really try and prevent.
But we can research and find out exactly why do dogs eat their poop, so that we know if it’s something to be concerned about or not. And just as a bit of cheat, it usually isn’t.
The biggest reason dogs eat their own poop is for nutritional reasons. Dogs do not digest everything they eat – some of the food is passed, undigested, through their bodies, so if they are not being fed enough, or they aren’t getting enough nutrition from the food they are being fed, they very likely will end up eating their own waste to try and make up for it.
So if it’s something you notice them doing after a change in their diet, then you may want to try switching back to see if that makes any difference. You may also want to check the pet food storage container to see if it’s possible that the food is getting stale because it is not sealed tightly.
Another reason they do this is to keep their surrounding areas clean. Dogs have a pack mentality, and if the area that their pack is living in ends up with some poop in it, they will eat it to clean it up. You’ll also see mother dogs doing this with their puppies – if the pups don’t make it out of the den, they will eat their poop to clean the place up. Many people report that their dog seems to want to clean up their accidents too as they know that they shouldn’t be doing their business on the large area rug.
Finally, it may be a behavioral problem. If you dog is under a lot of stress, or is feeling unhappy about something, they may react by eating their poop. Like with the diet, if there have been changes in their lifestyle and you notice them eating their waste, you may want to investigate.
Dogs have reasons for eating their own poop. Knowing these reasons may lead you to discover some sort of stress or food problem they are having. If you would like to read on, and find out why does poop stink, then continue in good health!
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