Why Does My Dog… Eat Poop?
Published on July 15, 2011
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Dog eats poop. Pet owner gags. Dog eats poop again. Pet owner runs screaming from the room.
Yes, it’s disgusting. Yes, it’s potentially unhealthy. And, yes, it’s fairly common in the animal world.
A pup will eat his own poop for a number of reasons:
- He thinks it smells and tastes good. (Dogs are notoriously poor arbiters of taste.)
- He’s hungry.
- He may be missing key nutrients in his diet or suffer malabsorption.
- He likes to keep his territory or bedding clean.
- He has fun playing with it. (This is especially true for dogs that are mouthy.)
- He’s bored.
- He knows that removing the evidence means no punishment for inappropriate elimination.
- He knows that fewer predators will give him grief if there is no physical evidence of his having been around.
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