subject: Why Dogs Eat Poop and What To Do About It [print this page] Why Dogs Eat Poop and What To Do About It
Dogs can be wonderful companions and enjoyed by both friends and family if trained properly. However, one issue that disturbs many pet owners is seeing their dogs eat poop. Many a time, you probably have posed the question of why dogs eat poop to yourself. Well! There are plenty of reasons, actually, for this kind of behavior.
It is well known that feces have traces of e-coli in them. It's a harmful bacterium and can cause various diseases to humans as well. So how can one still explain something as harmful as eating poop? Do not consume yourself with the question of why dogs eat poop, just rationally think about it.
If your dog happens to be a puppy then it's a fairly natural behavior. Puppies have a tendency to take everything in their mouths and do not yet have the general intelligence to distinguish poop from the more edible things. In case your dog is a puppy you need not worry much. It will overcome the habit in a short duration of time.
Dog mothers try keeping their areas as clean as possible even if it means eating the poop of her own children. There is another special explanation for why dogs eat poop. History suggests that prior to the culture of taming animals; dogs were scavengers and ate whatever they could find. Poop was easiest to find; in fact, poop eating or Copraphagia is still prevalent in rabbits and pigs. To an extent each animal has a fetish for it.
Poop eating may also be a direct result of some disease. Those dogs that are metabolically weak or are not able to absorb food properly start eating poop. This is an instinctive reaction which is not too conclusive. Some believe that it is a way to gain back the nutrients that they could not absorb. This can happen if the wall of villi is damaged in the intestine or the pancreas is not well developed in a dog.
You will also find that if many dogs live in a single area and one of them falls ill, others start eating its feces. This again is an instinctive defensive reaction so that the predators do not hunt down the sick dog by smelling the poop. Dogs miss the point here that they are not among the favorites of the food chain.
You should also understand that at times dog mixes and foods contain proteins and carbs that cannot be assimilated or broken down too well by their bodies. In fact, some of it is difficult for chewing too. In such cases, dogs sometimes eat poop to fight off hunger.
