Why Is My Puppy Eating Poop? - Dealing With Puppy Coprophagia

Why is my puppy eating poop?

It’s a question we should never have to ask ourselves. But for some of us, it’s simply unavoidable.

Now we all love our furry friends.

However, we can’t ignore the fact that some of the things they do like…

Licking their butts
Drinking from the crapper
Raiding the trash can

And even snacking on a picking they stumbled across on the street, disgusts the hell out of us.

I mean, when your pooch stoops to the point of feasting on its own fresh poop, the last thing you want is them running towards you and liking your face.

Not only is it disgusting but it’s why a good number of dog owners are always willing to re-home their pet friends, and in the worst case scenario, settle for euthanasia.

Otherwise referred to as Coprophagia, poop eating is a common phenomenon among dogs.

And many times there’s even a plausible explanation as to why dogs view their own stool as a delicacy they can’t resist.

Coprophagia in Puppys

If your pooch eats its feces, the first thing you need to do is have them checked by a veterinarian, as there’s a fair chance that the practice could be due to a medical condition that’s making your puppy feel like he’s excessively hungry.

Making him want to mouth anything edible within the vicinity.

A veterinarian will also help you figure out if the issue is somehow tied to the puppy’s behavior.

If this is the case, they can offer some solid advice and recommendations on how to handle it.

And as much as owners are disgusted by the view of their puppy feasting on their feces, it’s important to understand that this is nothing out of the ordinary.

What Causes Coprophagia In Puppies?

Most of the things that makes a puppy want to eat his stool can be broken down into physical, medical or behavioral issues.

Medical Causes

Coprophagia in your puppy can be caused some of the medical prescriptions that are causing him to get famished to point that they start viewing their own dung as a delightful delicacy.
Your puppy could also be having some intestinal parasites that are feeding on his essential nutrients.
You might also want to consider the fact that your puppy may also be suffering from Endocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI), a common disorder where the puppy’s digestive system fails to produce the much needed digestive enzymes.
This can come as a result of a failing pancreas — and when it happens, they can suffer from constant hunger pangs that push them to want to feed continuously.

Physical Causes

There’s a fair chance that you’re underfeeding your dog.
So instead of blaming your puppy for feasting even in the most disgusting bites within your vicinity, you should first ask yourself if you are to blame.
Another plausible explanation is that you could be feeding your puppy a low-quality diet.
And lastly, you may also have to come to term with the fact that your puppy is malnourished and take it as an urgent call for you to improve on the kind of diet you feed him.

Behavioral Causes

Your precious pooch might have developed the habit of feasting on their own stool while still a young puppy.
If you weren’t in their life from as early as 8 weeks, you might want to assume that they were at one point underfed, and ended picking up the habit.
Your puppy could also be doing this to catch your attention. Who said puppy’s aren’t smart?
And more often than NOT, your puppy could simply eat poop out of boredom.
Also when they have nothing to play with, and there’s poop in front of them, then they’ll pick on it and use it to satisfy their curiosity as a form of entertainment.
You’ve ignored your puppies kennel for quite some time. Come on, what did you expect given that puppies aren’t disgusted by the sight and smell of their own stool to the same degree as humans.

Diagnosing Coprophagia in Your Puppy

There might come a time when nothing you do stops your puppy from eating his own stool.

And when this happens, the most logical thing to do is book an appointment with your veterinarian in a bid to find the root cause of the problem.

While diagnosing your puppy, the first thing the veterinarian will do is go over the medical history with you.

Before they get down to diagnosing it medically, they want to first rule out the possibility of the issue stemming from a habit they picked up while earlier on.

Next, they’ll want to inquire about your puppy’s diet plan and how you actually feed them as there’s a fair chance that your puppy could be lacking important nutrients.

Activity

The diagnosis is never over until the vet makes necessary inquiries about the puppy’s daily activities and regular schedule.

What is his playtime?

Do you take him for a walk?

Are they socialized?

And most importantly, how do you crate them?

That will be followed by the vet running a physical examination.

They’ll measure his weight, temperature, blood pressure and pulse.

At some point, they may have to run a series of blood tests including a Serum Chemistry Panel (SRP) and Complete Blood Count (CBC).

The CBC test is carried out to determine if your puppy has the right number of platelets, as well as red and white blood cells.

Through this, the vet will be in a position to determine if your puppy is suffering from a bacterial infection or if he’s by any chance anemic.

SRP, on the other hand, is used to determine if the dog is experiencing any form of organ failure.

This is in reference to the pancreas and other related organs.

Lastly, the vet will be performing urinalysis, in addition to running a series of other fecal tests, including a fecal fat test (which actually measures the amount of fat in the dog’s stool – responsible for making the stool taste blubbery), and fecal exam (which checks the stool for parasites).

After running the dog through all these diagnostic tests, the vet should be able to narrow down the possible causes of coprophagia in your dog, and even reveal some underlying health issues the dog may be suffering from.

Why Is My Puppy Eating Poop – Dealing With Puppy Coprophagia

Fixing Behavioral Coprophagia

One good thing with coprophagia is that it can actually be fixed or treated.

Meaning you don’t have to put up with the practice of your puppy digging into his own stool to feed.

It’s simple logic – if the idea of your puppy feeding on its stool disgusts you, then make sure there’s no poop around for him to feed on.

Start by blocking any access to stool, first by making sure that any feces are instantly cleaned.

This will require you to keep a close watch over your puppy while he’s out playing just in case he stumbles upon his own poop and gets tempted to ingest it.

The next thing you do is keep an accurate track of your puppy’s bowel movement.

If you’re NOT crating, then you should at least know when and where your puppy takes a dookie.

So every time you suspect he wants to eliminate, accompany him to the rightful spot and make sure you’ve cleared the mess immediately he’s done.

Using Commands

The safest approach would be to use simple commands.

After he’s done eliminating, call him to you and make him sit down for a treat.

Then while he’s eating, you can go ahead and clean up the mess.

Any attempt your puppy makes to sniff his stool should be interrupted on the act with a strong command, followed by a gentle prompt such as using the leash to restrain him.

This works even better if you have your dog on a head halter.

Once your puppy gets used to the idea of running back to you after a stool for a special treat, he will gradually start accepting the new behavior and adopting it as the new habit.

You want your puppy to know that you do not approve the behavior of them sniffing on their stool, and should they continue disobeying you, they’ll be losing on the new treat you always bring with you.

Treating Medical Coprophagia

If after diagnosis your vet finds out that your puppy is actually suffering from a medical problem that’s pushing him to eat his own poop, then they should be able to help you treat the underlying cause.

This can include a change of diet, especially one that involves feeding your puppy a more digestible diet.

At some point, you may be required to replace their current protein source with a different source.

If your puppy is on a more restricted calorie diet, then try bulking it up with a high fiber formula diet.

Some cases of coprophagia in puppies are better off treated with an enzyme supplement.

You can get one from your local vet and use it to improve their diet for better digestion and nutrient absorption.

To be more specific, try getting an enzyme supplement that tenderizes the meat or one that can be added on the food to make it easy to digest, thus resulting in a stool that’s less palatable.

It is, however, important to moisten the food while adding the additives to them and afterward allowing the food to sit for about 15 minutes for enhanced effectiveness.

Some vets may suggest that you try adding other solutions including yogurt papaya, breath mints or cottage cheese to the food.

All these solutions are supposed to make the food less tasteful, and while there’s no harm in trying them out, there’s no proven record of them actually working.

Normally, puppies don’t get turned off that easily by unpleasant tastes. So unless the added solution is repulsively noxious and odorless (so as NOT to be detected), then you can’t be sure your pooch will be revolted enough to stay away from it.

Recovery from Coprophagia

If your puppy’s poop eating habit is as a result of a medical condition, your vet will proceed to treat the problem behind the practice.

But that doesn’t in any way mark the end of it.

You’ll probably be required to go back for follow-ups and regular checkups as your vet will usually want to monitor the progress and be sure that they treated the real problem.

For behavioral causes, as the owner, you’re required to exercise a high degree of patience. Give your puppy time to get used to the new behavior and fully adopt it as a habit that’s well ingrained in them.

Final Thoughts

There’ll come a time when the dog will break the habit, and that’s where your patience comes in.

Instead of giving up on him, add him more time – go back to where you started and walk them again through the routine over and over again until you’re finally able to get them to fully drop the revolting poop-eating practice.

Do you have anything to add about puppy coprophagia? Let me know in the comments below…