Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

For a species that tends to be portrayed as noble, intelligent, and distinguished, some dogs sure like to eat feces. Their snacks extend from feces to foreign feces, litter boxes, and even their own waste. Some have been known To mutilate their bodies and devour the number two as it emerges, refusing to let the waste go to waste.

Why do some dogs turn to fecal voids while others turn their noses up at them? There is no one definitive answer, but there are some very reasonable suggestions.

Benjamin Hunt, Ph.D., a veterinary behaviorist and professor at the University of California, Davis, published a study in 2012 that included 3,000 pet owners. His research discovered that 16% of the dogs sampled had practiced eating feces at least five times. Of these, almost all of them devoured another dog’s deposits. Interestingly, more than half of the offenders were identified as “greedy eaters” who snatched food from tables. Hunt also learned that households with multiple dogs were more likely to encounter this behavior, perhaps because her backyard doubled as a poo buffet.

These poop chewers likely have one thing in common: mommy issues. “Pups don’t have the reflexes at birth to start urinating or defecating on their own, and they need their mothers to stimulate them,” says Nick Dodman, a professor at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Its mother licks its bottom, eats everything it produces, and cleans out the “nest” of large deposits the only way she can. “Pups are welcomed by their mothers eating feces. That’s what the world does for them.”

While some outgrow this behavior, other dogs continue to eat, usually preferring fresh feces to old offerings. (In Hunt’s study, most poop tastings occurred less than 24 hours after excrement.) Dodman theorizes that low-residue diets tend to produce softer, tastier bowel movements, and that switching to a high-fiber menu may lead to defecation aversion. “The texture is completely different. Instead of delicious toothpaste, it’s more like cardboard.”

Of course, this won’t stop your pet from eating someone else’s leftovers. “It’s like trying to quit cigarettes,” Dodman says.

If a change in diet doesn’t work, it’s best to pick up litter more often so you’re not tempted – or get a poodle. Of all the animals in Hunt’s sample, the breed had no documented habit of snacking.

Additional sources:
“Coprophagia specific to dogs; who, when, and why dogs eat feces”PDF)”