Why do dogs eat poop?
Dogs eat poop for a variety of reasons including –
- Nutritional imbalance – When a dog eats his own poop, it may be because the stool still has undigested minerals and nutrients.
- Stress – A dog may poop because of extreme anxiety (e.g. when left alone), and then eat up his own feces as a displacement behavior.
- Boredom – Lack of activity and interaction may cause a dog to start playing with his stool and sometimes eat it.
- Enjoyment – Many dogs like the taste of leavings from cats or other animals. My dogs also like smelling the stuff and scenting it with their tongue.
- Clean-up – Some dogs may eat poop inside the house to keep their living space clean. Dogs that are physically punished for potty training mistakes, may learn to eat their own poop to avoid our anger or strong discipline.
- Any combination of the above.
Whether eating feces is harmful to our dog will depend on whether it is contaminated with worms, fleas, or other parasites that may carry bacteria and viruses. The consequences of eating contaminated feces will also depend on the immune system and general health of our dog. Young puppies, for example, have developing immune systems, and may be more susceptible to bad stool; especially if they have not been fully vaccinated. To be safe, I only take my puppy out on hikes and neighborhood walks, after he has received all of his vaccination shots.
The most effective method to stop our dog from eating poop, will depend on the reason for his behavior, his temperament, as well as our own preferences.
1. Feed our dog a healthy and balanced diet.
The easiest balanced food to give our dog is dry kibble. Dry kibble is nutritionally balanced and results in less teeth tartar.
Make sure to get a high quality kibble, with good protein sources, and no unhealthy fillers.
Some well reviewed kibble brands include Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and Orijen.
2. Fixed feeding schedule and on-leash supervision.
If we keep our dog on a fixed eating schedule, it will help keep his poop schedule regular and predictable as well.
A fixed schedule makes it easier for us to supervise our dog, and prevent him from eating his own feces or those from our other dogs.
During poop time –
- I put the problem dog on a leash, and walk him out on-leash to do his business first.
- If he tries to eat his own feces, I no-mark him (Ack-ack) and lead him away from it. I get him to do some obedience commands, and then try again. If he does not try to pull towards the bad stuff, I praise him and reward him well.
- I keep sessions short, and end on a positive note.
- I make sure to clean up after him.
- If we have other dogs, only let them out after cleaning up.
- Make sure to keep the problem dog on-leash, so that we may supervise and prevent poop eating when our other dogs are out.
3. Keep our dogs busy and well-exercised.
Bored dogs will frequently develop behavioral issues and cause property damage.
It is important to walk our dog regularly (preferably every day), and to provide structured, interesting activities, to keep his mind sharp and engaged.
My dogs work for all of their food, either by performing dog obedience commands, or through interactive food toys. If we provide a lot of alternative activities for our dog, he will be less likely to find unacceptable entertainment on his own, including eating his own feces.
If we are busy in the short-term, and do not have the time to give our dog the attention that he needs, consider sending him to dog daycare or hiring a pet sitter.
4. Keep our dog’s environment clean.
Scoop up after our dog, as soon as he is done with his business. If we keep things clean, there will be less chance for him to engage in opportunistic poop eating.
During retraining, it is also important to supervise our dog closely, so that he does not practice any bad behavior on his own. We may have to go back to dog potty training basics, to fully stop him from eating his own poop.
5. Help our dog reduce stress.
Identify situations that cause extreme stress in our dog, and try to reduce the number of stressful encounters. In the meantime, practice managed desensitization exercises, to help reduce his stress response.
To desensitize my dog-
- I make sure that I am in control of the training environment. Then, I start by exposing him to very low levels of the stressful stimulus. Low enough that he is able to stay calm and learn.
- I treat and praise him for staying calm.
- I do some simple obedience commands (e.g. Sit), so that he is focused on me, and looks to me for direction while under stress.
- When my dog is comfortable with the low-level stimulus, I very slowly increase its intensity, and repeat the focus and training exercises.
If our dog starts to react badly, then we have moved forward too quickly. I move a few steps back, help my dog to calm down, and then do some simple focus exercises so that I can end on a positive note.
While conducting desensitization exercises, it is important to keep sessions short, fun, and rewarding for our dog. In this way, he will begin to re-associate the bad stimulus with positive experiences.
6. Teach our dog the ‘Leave-it’ command.
- First, I get some yummy treats that my dog likes.
- I put one treat in my hand, and make sure my dog knows it is there.
- I close my hand into a fist, and hold it still.
- My dog will naturally nose all over my hand, while trying to get to the treat. I say Leave-it, and wait for him to briefly stop nosing my hand.
- As soon as he stops, I mark the behavior (Yes), and treat him from my other hand.
As our dog learns the command, we can slowly lengthen the time he has to leave our hand alone, before we mark and treat him.
Once we are comfortable with this exercise, we can practice the Leave-it command with a treat on the floor. Make sure that we are fast, or have our dog on a lead. In this way, we may stop him if he decides to lunge for the treat. If necessary, we can also cover the treat with our hand.
As soon as our dog leaves the treat alone, mark and treat him from our other hand. It is important NOT to give him the treat that is on the floor. This may inadvertently teach him that he gets rewarded with whatever is on the ground, which is often not the case in real-world situations.
Keep practicing this until we have a really solid Leave-it command. Now, we can use it when our dog gets tempted by animal leavings during walks.
Note that independent minded dogs may choose to eat the feces anyway, if they decide that our reward is of lesser value. If this happens, I try upgrading my rewards, and make sure that my dog does not get within striking distance of the bad stuff. In addition, I quickly march my dog home and end the walk, if he manages to sneak in some poop eating. This teaches him that if he eats the stuff, the nice and interesting walk ends. That is usually enough of a deterrent to stop any roadside temptations.
7. Make the dog poop taste bad.
Adding meat tenderizer containing papain, in small quantities to our dog’s food, will sometimes prevent poop eating. Make sure it does not contain other additives such as MSG or salt. Some people also suggest adding pumpkin, pineapple, or stool deterrent supplements as alternatives. Our vet can also give our dog medicine, that will make his stool taste extremely bitter.
Only use one additive at a time, so that our dog’s digestive system does not become overly unbalanced.
Remember to consult with our vet, before using any of these additives. Adding too much, may give our dog digestive issues. Some dogs may also be allergic to the added ingredients.
Instead of adding to our dog’s food, we may also coat our dog’s poop with taste deterrents such as Bitter Apple.
Note that taste deterrents are added to the feces, and *not* to the food.
However, stool deterrents only work when our dog is eating his own feces, or those from other dogs in the house. Results are usually much better and longer lasting, when we correct the source of the poop eating behavior, through the other methods listed above.
I was just in the garden when a friend walked in with his two dogs. One of them just ate dog poo and cat poo in the garden. It made me feel sick aha. I’ll have to send him to this page for tips. Thank you in particular for the how to on the ‘leave-it’ command.
OK anyone ever heard of a dog eating another dogs poop as the other dog is pooping. Caught the puppy on more then one occasion trying to eat our other female adult dogs poop as it comes out. If we are out there the puppy knows the leave it command and is obedient but the problem is we are not always out there with them when we let them out. They are not outside dogs and are usually only out for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. I realized though that this has to be the reason the puppy comes in smelling like poop in her face. It is really gross, not to mention unhealthy for the dogs! Any suggestions?!
Hello Hopps,
Eating poop is natural behavior for dogs, so it is necessary for us to teach them that not eating poop is a more rewarding behavior.
For my Siberian Husky – supervision and consistency were key to breaking her poop eating habit. I was always there to supervise and made sure she didn’t eat the stuff. She would get rewarded for not eating poop, and if she did eat poop she would be marched straight home or brought right into the house. She likes being outside – especially for walks – so that is a big downer for her and is very effective at stopping the poop eating habit.
If we cannot supervise, consider only letting one dog out at a time, and picking up the poop before letting the other dog out. In this way, the puppy will not be practicing the behavior and it will not become a habit.
Has anyone tried the suggestions of feeding some pumpkin or a little MSG which is supposed to make the poop UN attractive smelling?
I have 2 English Cockers. One is on chemo drugs (doing well) but, the other has started to eat the chemo-dog poop.
I got the pills from the pet store and am feeding them to the chemo dog – hoping his poop will no longer be attractive. No real change yet.
Also…the dog that is eating the poop THEN goes and eats a pinecone. Since it’s winter, and no grass, I think he’s doing that to make himself throw up – – which he does. It’s a real cycle…eat brother’s poop, eat pinecone, throw up.
Our purebred German Shepherd Bexx has started to be a poo eater. He gets a very nutritious kibble made for large breed adult dogs, so my feelings are it’s stress-related. He recently became our boy when his previous owner was shipped out to Afghanistan & wanted to place him with a good home (that’s us!) We love him to death, but the poop thing is definitely gross. And it isn’t just his own…he chooses one out of the catbox if he gets there before I can scoop it as if he’s selecting a sausage (ugh). We think it is probably likely a combination of seperation anxiety and need for more stimulation. My husband and I take care of his walkies to do his business (and police the eating!) but we have recently told our 18 year old daughter that she wanted him too and has to step up. Our 11 year old goes down after dinner (he sleeps downstairs with my husband & I) faithfully to play with him. But he’s a big boy and he only just turned 2….he has a LOT of energy, and I think he needs more stimulation and exercise. So the older daughter will now be taking him out each day (Unless it’s really horrible weather) for 30 minutes to an hour….not to toilet him but to PLAY with him. We’ll keep you posted on how it turns out!
That sounds like a really good plan. Walking and playing are also great ways to bond with the dog.
Interactive food toys are also very helpful in keeping my dogs engaged. I don’t give them any food in a bowl, instead, I put all their food in toys so they have to work for it. š
And a big Kudos to you for helping Bexx out and supporting our troops at the same time! Woof! Woof!
My English Cocker Spaniel puppy (now 3 1/2 months old) tends to be a pooper scooper herself ;-((
It has happened that I scold her (not too much to traumatize her forever..!) so may be she’s cleaning up the evidence. I was told the other day by another dog owner that one shouldn’t clean up poo or pee in front of the dog, as they may consider this luxury to be able to do their thing and then have it cleaned up after them; or because they think they need to do the same if you’re not around.
I have 2 kids, but having a puppy defintely has its challenges as well! We love our little Rusty girl and we persevere so that she won’t be a pooper and a poop eater her whole life!!
Good luck to all and have fun with your dog!
That is indeed very good advice. When accidents happened during potty training, I would lead my dog out to the backyard, and then come back inside to clean up the stuff.
One very important thing during potty training is to reward the dog for doing the right thing. When they make mistakes in the house, I would calmly non-mark them (ack-ack) then take them outside.
When they go outside, I praise them very well and reward them with treats and a fun game. In this way they learn that it is going *inside the house* that is undesirable and that pooping outside is fine and a very good and rewarding thing.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-potty-training-facts-and-myths
Thanks for dropping by. Your dog sounds adorable and I am sure she will quickly learn what to do.
Ellie ( 2yr old rat terrier (terror) loves other dogs poop!! It is her most disgusting habit. I have tried the rx meds, given to both my dogs, but it didn’t turn her off at all. Have tried pineapple, pumpkin, meat tenderizer, hot sauce….nothing helps. Just have to be meticulous about the yard. I love to take them to dog parks, but hate that other people do not pick up after their dogs. I spend most of my time there chasing Ellie. I have been dubbed “the poop police”. Too bad people don’t just follow the rules and clean up after their dog!!
I really agree with you there. I used to take my dogs to enclosed parks as well, and many people there were the same way. They would also get angry at me when I tried to tell them that their dog just pooped :-/
Nowadays I just go to the larger hiking parks. There is still poop there but it is easier to avoid because there is a lower density of dogs.
When I walk Shania in the neighborhood – she will sometimes try to sneak a few poops in when she thinks I am not looking – so I started watching her like a hawk and every time she did, I just walked her quickly home, while ignoring her. She has been poop free for a couple of months now š Fingers crossed.
Hugs and kisses to Ellie.
Thanks, Shibashake. I have 2 dogs…Ellie and Sadie…They are great! Ellie is the only one with this issue. And they LOVE the off leash parks because they get to “play” with other friends. It’s a win-win…except for the poop thing. It is sad, too, because the county parks here supply all the clean up bags. People just don’t get it. Maybe Ellie is just trying to assist with the clean up. BLEH!
Actually there may be a lot of truth in that š When mother wolves are nursing their young in the den they will often eat up feces and such from their young to keep their den clean. Mother dogs will do that too if they need to.
You should recruit other dog owners to help do poop patrol. If you can get official like looking t-shirts, you can probably scare people into picking up after their dogs.
There was this one park that I went to that had a team of volunteers doing this and it was an extremely clean park. Whenever people saw their bright-yellow shirts around, they would get a lot more diligent about picking up dog poop – lol.
I found an advantage to Wally’s poop fetish.
He finds it so I can avoid stepping on it. So at least I don’t have a “surprise” stuck to my shoe. Last time that happened, he kept sniffing my shoes the whole time.
Maybe I can make this his “job” – some dogs hunt game or flush out birds. Mine gets to be a poop stalker. Er…yeah.
Suppose it would be possible, but again, it’s the every-once-in-a-while that really hurts.
You ever find a poop-laden field? Maybe I should ask for people to leave their poop in a box so I can collect it. I imagine THAT would get some strange looks LOL
Shiba..Ignorning the last comment. That is really disgusting. Sure this person is just not a serious dog lover! I know I have talked to other dog owners about holding people accountable for their clean up and it seems to be catching on. I do intend to put an editorial in the paper…we are a very small town and have 3 off-leash dog parks that are county owned in close proximity. People do not realize what a gift it is to have access to these. All they ask is that 1.) Your dogs shots are current 2.) You pay the $20 annual membership fee (for bags and such) and 3.) You clean up after your dog. I worry that the owners that do not follow #3 are surely not following 1&2. It is on the honor system, so it becomes the members responsibility to be the police. It is hard, because the park is all about the dogs…but have to reinforce their dogs are NOT safe with ill-maintained pets. I guess most do not appreciate what a gift a nice off leash park is.
Heh – well if you mean my comment – I hardly think I’m NOT a serious dog lover.
In fact – if I had the poop in a box, I’d lay it around, then train Wally to “leave it!” about 100 times – like I did with food off the kitchen floor.
It was a joke on how I could get consistency with training the leave it behavior with poop.
And he actually does find it. He’ll be sniffing around and come up on it. Of course, I don’t let him eat it, but I’d like him to not even TRY to eat it. Just bark at it or something.
Yeah I agree. Most won’t realize it until it is gone. Sadly it is human nature to be need driven and to ignore all the rest. That is why most of the time the only training that most dog owners are willing to do is potty training š
Btw. KB was just kidding. He is a silly fellow but he knows a lot about dogs. š If you have some time, check out some of his dog articles – they contain a lot of good information, are funny, and really shows a lot of heart.
lol KB – you are such a trouble maker. š
Actually I like that poop training. I have been thinking of teaching that to my Shiba. He is a very clean dog and never shows any interest in eating dog poop, but sometimes he will sniff out my other dog’s poop in the backyard which helps me significantly in the collection department. He is very lazy though, so he will only do it very occasionally.
This also reminds me of the training they do with drug sniffing dogs. Would be a fun training exercise!
Glad to see you are back KB. I am actually going to reduce my HP time in the coming weeks. Going to spruce up my home website and start moving my articles over. I am more than a bit peeved over the whole second Hub Challenge thing :-/ But it has taught me some really important lessons.
LOL well I’m like a dog who’s bored. I’ve gotta get into something! š Since I can’t dig holes – I make crazy comments.
I was laughing (thank goodness no one was around) earlier because Wally stopped in his tracks, sniffed around, and found some poop that was buried under some wood chips (they are brand new so it’s probably a beacon for every dog to claim the “new territory” that just appeared.) Thing is, it’s under playground equipment. I praised him for finding it, then told him leave it – praised him for running like 8 feet from it (dramatic dog, I tell you he’s a diva LOL) and picked it up.
I gave it one more try with the latest EADT – but I think I just got my confirmation. Pretty much a token pat on the head and be on your way now doggie!
Fewest visits yet – just now in double digits so…yeah. I read that hub you wrote on the hub challenge.
Anyway, I’d like to see your site when it’s spruced š Can I search “shibashake” on the automagical googling device, or will that just show me 1000 pictures of Shiba Inus? š
Speaking of which, there was a stray one a few days ago. Took everything in my power not to pick her up and take her. So adorable š
Sorry I took offense. Your comment was something my sister would post late at night when she cannot sleep, and wants to mess with someone!! I spent a lot of money on training for my cocker..obedience and agility. She minds pretty well…when she wants to. Ellie is just playful. If she grabs a “jewel”, it becomes a game of keep away. I am determined…I will perservere!! Ellie will not win this poop war!! I did put my comments about people cleaning up after their dogs at the park in the paper. We will see what happens. I am sure that most will take the “take what you want and leave the rest” approach, and turn on their selective listening skills. What can I say….we are flawed, at best. Have a blessed day!!
LOL! Yeah I am not much into digging holes either.
LOL you are too funny! Actually I am doing mostly backend functionality stuff so there won’t be much visible interface changes.
Things I am working on – (1) Comment areas for my articles (just finished YAY!) (2) Transfer my HubPages comments over when I move my articles – (starting work), and (3) Some polling capabilities. It is a fun programming project and will give me lots of new things to write about as well as keep me away from digging holes š
I think that is a great positive step!
People are just bad about pickup – even in my neighborhood, people leave it all over the place. Sometimes there is a whole trail on the sidewalk – UGH!
I was toying with the idea of placing some wireless cameras outside my house to detect who these people are. Then I will just post their pictures up in the neighborhood – lol. A few posters and I think people will shape up really quickly.
LOL – I’m putting my money on you š
Especially if you put POOP FIEND as the title on the top, their picture and the “evidence” in the middle and on the bottom say:
Beware, if you see this POOP FIEND approach with his (or her as the case may be) dog or dogs, watch where you step or better yet, shoo them along to the next neighborhood.
Heck, create a website. There’s a “registry” for everything else – you could create a poop fiend registry. Could turn into a nationwide database of poop leaving fiends.
Could call it “shibahatespoop.com” or “shibapoopfiends.com”
And since you’ll have a camera – you could even post vids of the fiends caught in the act.
I love the camera idea. Most of the people in my neighborhood are avid bag carriers. Makes me proud. We don’t have a lot of rule breakers here. It is just in the places where my girls can stretch their legs and run free. I guess every good things comes with a price. Maybe I should just start snapping people’s pics at the park and posting, there. Caption: “Step in something?? Let this person know how you feel about that!” or maybe “Things piling up around here? Thank this person!” Perhaps I have become just a little too obsessed with this issue. What can I say…I guess I am just always amazed at how people who claim to be avid dog lovers do not have any respect for other people, their property and their dogs…I mean…really…isn’t this really what the bottom line is.
Yeah, I mean when I saw (well when Wally found) that poop near the playground equipment, that was like “WTF?” Why would anyone even let their dog GO there? I call Wally off places I don’t want him to poop even off-leash. Goodness.
And the trash can was, literally, a foot away from where it was left.
I found some trash (also by the playground *sigh*) to pick up the poop with. Wally was sniffing it like he knew it was about to be thrown out. It was like “let me at least sniff what it could have tasted like”. So I let him get a good sniff and then threw it out.
Of course, as much I can understand the angst over left-behind poop, it’s causing Wally and I problems because they assume it was Wally. I walk him 3-5 times a day so they see us a LOT and some think “Well it has to be him, I see him all the time.” I almost made a sign to put around him saying “I don’t know what poop you’re talking about, but it wasn’t me! My master picks up my poop!)
Wally even got injured once because I was training him to jump over a log and some guy basically assaulted me with “evidence” of my dog pooping and leaving it behind. It was some big nasty pile that a 10 lb dog can’t possibly make. I was so mad I picked Wally up, show the guy his butt and said “You tell me. Could something that big and huge come out of a butt this little?” The guy slinked off in shame.
So yeah, the cameras would be great.
Agree with you 100%. People are just lazy and will try to get away with whatever they can get away with. I know there are some people who will only pick-up if they see other people around. One time someone told me that they usually take their dogs behind cars and such to poop so that they don’t have to pick up afterwards.
You know, I bet many of my neighbors think the same thing about me – lol. One time I just moved off the sidewalk to make way for this lady who was coming at me with 2 small kids, and a baby in a stroller. She started shouting at me for moving into her lawn. Jeez. I calmly explained to her that I was making way for her and she apologized to me afterwards.
It is really too bad with these poop fiends. They give everyone with dogs a bad name.
Wally is wierd. He won’t eat his own poop. He hardly gives it another sniff (he kinda “points” at it like he’s saying – Here it is!)
But another dog’s poop? Just tonight I had to get him off another dogs poop. The “fresher” it is, the more attracting it is to him, and it smelled…”fresh”.
I almost wish I could walk through a poop-laden field and then I’d have opportunities to really train him off it. But when we stumble across it once in a while – it’s hard to get consistency. It would be MUCH easier if it were his own poop that interested him.
lol kb – that is a good point.
You could take him to some hiking dog parks. There is usually a lot of poop around, in the ones that I go to š I just go early in the morning so that there aren’t too many other dogs around.
My dogs don’t really like dog poop – cat poop on the other hand they love. Also goat, horse, and of course bird.
lol – so many bad habits, and yet we love them š
my coco oh how I love her’ but”’ I don’t know how to make her stop eating poo”’ I have two other yorkie’s females, and one boxer, female,,, then came my coco’, from the breeders home is were I feel she picked up this yuk habbit”’ my other sweetie pies do not do this’ I have tryed all the obove way’s, but nothing has helped. does any one have any tip’s?,,,
Hi Diann, Poop eating can easily become a habit if a dog gets to do it without any human supervision. That may have been the case at her breeder’s place. It is however, always possible to break a dog of a habit, but that will take more time and repetition. Because it is now an ingrained habit, supervision is very important, similar to potty training.
Just like potty training, I would take my dog out when she needs to do her business, wait until she does it, praise her for doing it, and then praise and treat her for doing successful leave-it commands. I hold the lead so that I can stop her from eating the poop if need be. When I cannot supervise, then I crate her.
We can also do leave-it command training sessions by carefully setting up the environment. For example, I put a lead on my dog and walk her to some poop which I have placed as bait. When I get close, I give her the leave-it command. I treat and praise as soon as she leaves it on her own (i.e. she turns away from the poop on her own). This is important because if I pull her away, she will not understand what she is getting treated for and what behavior I want from her. As she gets better at this I can let her get closer and closer to the poop. I use very high priority treats, especially initially. I only give her those special treats doing leave-it training sessions.
During the training period, it is important to prevent her from eating any poop so that she does not continue practicing the habit. With consistency, my dog learned that poop eating is an undesirable behavior, and not doing it gets her better stuff.
We live in a rural area. Lots of people walk their dogs along the country roads. My pup is interested in sampling cat– or other critter poop. She pees on other dog’s poop, and ignores her own.
lol – my pups love cat and grass flavored poop. I am trying to break them of that habit. I usually let them smell, but when it looks like the are a bit too interested, I tell them to “leave it”. Most of the time they are pretty good; but sometimes they will try to sneak one in. I end the walk and march them home when they do that.
Thanks for dropping by Rochelle.
My dog did this as a puppy (her own poop) – the vet said that it was stress-related as she adapted to her new home. He prescribed a small dollop of margerine with her meals for a coule of weeks. Somehow that worked. She’s never eaten it since and she’s now 12.
Good advice here.
That is really interesting. Was the margarine used to enhance the taste of her food? or did it contain something to help with stress and digestion? I briefly looked up margarine and it seems that the fatty acids may help to carry certain vitamins.Ā Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing.Ā