Introduction
Poop eating (also known as coprophagia) is common among many animals, not just dogs. It is not well understood why some dogs eat stool. Some dogs may have a genetic susceptibility to coprophagia. In these cases, stool eating starts around four to 10 months of age and generally stops after one year.
Coprophagic dogs can be divided into two groups: those that eat their own stools and those that eat the stools of other animals. Knowing which group your dog falls into will help you determine the most suitable course of action. For example, dogs that eat the stools of other animals are unlikely to be cured of this habit except by preventing access to stools.
Causes of Coprophagia
It is believed that one of the most common causes of coprophagia is a result of an extension of the oral phase that all puppies go through. When a puppy enters a teething and oral phase they will eat and chew on almost everything, stool included. Most dogs lose interest in eating their own stool as they mature, but for some reason other dogs continue this behavior even when they grow up.
In some cases dogs are thought to eat their own stool as a result of boredom. As gross as it may sound, chewing and digesting ones own stool could just be another way of passing the time for an extremely bored dog.
There are some medical conditions that can cause coprophagia. Dogs may eat their own stool if they are unable to properly digest their food; eating their stool in this case may be a way of trying to pass the food once more through the body for further digestion. Some dogs may also have a mental problem that causes compulsive disorders, and coprophagia may be one manifestation of this type of disorder.
If you notice that your dog is eating its own stool, have your dog checked out by a veterinarian to make sure that the behavior is not caused by a medical condition. Keeping your dog’s environment free of stool may also help your dog to forget about eating its own stool and focus more on toys and chewies.