Try Home Remedies
Stool eaters typically suffer from a hydrochloric acid deficiency which can be addressed through several home remedies. You can put a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (for every 25 pounds of body weight) into your dog’s food. Alternatively, you can put digestive aids like raw zucchini and meat tenderizer in the food.
Poop Eating Is Normal for Dogs and Puppies
For some species, such as rabbits, eating poop is a totally normal way of obtaining key nutrients. In fact, if you prevent rabbits from doing this, they will develop health problems, and young rabbits will fail to thrive. Fortunately, dogs do not need to get nutrition this way. Poop eating, however, is a normal, natural canine behavior at some life stages.
Mother dogs will lick their puppies to urge them to eliminate, and clean up their poop by eating it, for about the first three weeks after birth. Puppies will also naturally engage in this behavior, eating their own poop (autocoprophagia), poop from other dogs (allocoprophagia), as well as poop from cats and other animals. Some dogs find horse manure and goose droppings particularly appealing. Eating their own poop is harmless, but consuming poop from other animals may cause health problems if the stool is contaminated with parasites, viruses, or toxins. In most cases, this behavior will fade before the puppy is about nine months old.
Clean Up After Your Dog
The most obvious way to prevent your dog from eating poop is by ensuring you pick up the droppings immediately after they are done. It is also vital to ensure that your dog is well secured and carefully supervised during walks. Dogs that eat poop are more likely to eat other non-food items, which may harm them.
Stop Your Dog from Eating Poop (Coprophagia) : New Remedies
Ah, yes. Coprophagia. Otherwise known as the act of eating feces, whether its one’s own or another creature’s. It’s common, it’s gross, and it can be harmful to dogs. So why do dogs eat poop?
Believe it or not, the jury’s still out on what drives dogs to eat stool. However, there is an endless number of theories as to why your dog might be doing it:
“Consider adding some extra challenge to your dog’s life in the form of environmental enrichment and increased physical activity,” says Just Right Behaviorist Dr. Annie Valuska. “This could not only significantly reduce the unwanted behavior but strengthen the bond between you and your dog as well!”
A study conducted by Dr. Hart from the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of California, Davis found that: