My Dog is a POOP EATER!

One of the things I love is getting questions from other dog owners. Discussion and the sharing of knowledge is the best way for us humans to better understand, and therefore become better owners of our pooches. This weeks letter is about a behavior that most of us have seen, and are probably just as confused about:

Hello. My name is Baily, and I am a poop eater!

My soon to be 9 month old Chihuahua has this bad habit of eating other dogs poo, and also cat poo.  He seems obsessed with it, and I know he loves great food too.
I've done research on it and can't quit figure out his problem.  he's not bored or neglected.  I've added plain yogurt to his and my other dogs diet, and he's on a good quality dog food.  

Any advise?

Thank you, 

Bailey's mom

 OK, so, your dog is a poop eater. This behavior has a name, and it is coprophagy. As with all things, there are a number of opinions on this behavior, however from my research the general consensus seems to be that this is generally not a problem or harmful to your dog. 

Why do dogs eat poop? Well, dogs evolved from wolves that were 'not so scared' of the humans in their area. eventually they began to scavenge off human garbage and yes, this included eating of human poop. Your dog is NOT a wolf, has a good dies, and does not NEED to eat it, but some will argue that he is 'pre-programmed' to do so. 

Again, GENERALLY speaking this behavior is not harmful, however there could be health related reasons he is doing it. A very small percentage of the poop eaters have malabsorbtion syndromes. This is a condition in which the dog is not absorbing the nutrients he requires from his own diet, so he is trying to get it second hand (or butt if you will.) This is RARE and if you are really concerned about this or ANY of your dogs behavior, then consult your Vet. 

Is this BAD for my dog?  This depends on whose poop your dog is eating. In your case it is another of you own dogs that you know has had all it's shots, has no worms or other health issues so the rist is very very low. The health issues arise when they eat strange dog's poop. This is how parasites, worms, and numerous other health issues are spread, so this practice should be discouraged with vigilance on the part of the owner.

How to STOP your dog eating poop? If you want to try and stop this behavior you can try a couple of additives to the other dogs food.Meat tenderizer is harmeless to yoru dogs, however the papaya enzimes in the tenderizer are fine for the dog that eats the food, but it makes the poopie nasty and unappetizing to Baily. Adding Pineapple to their diet will accomplish this as well. 

Thank you For your letters, and please keep the coming! Submit them to capawblehands@gmail.com and remember to visit us at www.capawblehands.org. 

Now, go love on your dogs!