What can you put on dog food to keep them from eating their poop? Tips and Tricks

Pumpkin is a great addition to your dog’s food if they are eating their own poop. Pumpkin is high in fiber, which can help to make your dog’s feces less appealing. Adding a few spoonfuls of canned pumpkin to your dog’s food each day can help to discourage them from eating their own poop.

Adding citrus fruits to your dog’s diet is a great way to stop them from eating their own poop. Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruits are all great choices. These fruits are high in citric acid, which can help to make the feces less appealing. Feeding your dog a few slices of citrus fruit each day can help to keep them from eating their own poop.

Another way to deter your dog from eating their own poop is to give them a digestive enzyme supplement. These supplements help break down the food in your dog’s stomach and make it less appealing for them to eat. Such supplements, for example, papaya enzymes, can be found at most health food stores.

Adding green veggies to your dog’s diet is a great way to stop them from eating their own poop. Veggies such as broccoli, spinach, and kale are all great choices. These greens are high in fiber, which can help to make the feces less appealing. Feeding your dog a few handfuls of green veggies each day can help to keep them from eating their own poop.

Another great way to stop your dog from eating poop is to give them probiotics. Probiotics help to promote a healthy gut flora, which can help to discourage your dog from eating their own feces. You can find probiotics in many different forms, including powders, liquids, and capsules. Choose a probiotic that is specifically designed for dogs and give it to them according to the instructions on the package.

If you have a poop-eating dog, here are a variety of products that can help stop your dog from finding and eating poop

Watching your dog eat poop is both an uncomfortable and disturbing sight, but it’s actually more common in dogs than you may think. Eating poop, also known as coprophagy, is a gross but frequent problem that dog owners face. Dogs can eat poop for a variety of reasons, including a deficiency in their diet, enjoying the taste of poop, or due to anxiety.

The AKC independently selected each product featured in this article. If you purchase a product through this article, we may receive a portion of the sale. While we do our best to update links often, please note that prices and deals are subject to change.

Believe us when we say you’re not alone in this issue. A 2018 study done by veterinary researchers at the University of California Davis found that 16 percent of dogs have been seen eating their own feces. It found that over 80 percent of the dogs who eat poop preferred to eat fresh poop that was less than two days old. But even if poop eating behavior is natural it’s not something we want to encourage.

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Why Does My Dog Eat Poop

Before getting into the details of how to stop a dog from eating poop, let’s determine why they do it in the first place. Sure, it’s not the most appetizing behavior, but there are particular reasons coprophagia—the scientific name for poop eating—is so common in dogs.

Believe it or not, some canines simply enjoy the way feces tastes. While there’s no particular explanation as to why they might like it, many experts believe that they can still smell traces of undigested food in their stool, which appeals to their sense of smell.

But even if they enjoy the flavor, it’s not the healthiest of diets. Poop can contain harmful toxins and parasites that can make your dog sick, so it’s not something you want them to be consuming ever.

In some cases, eating poop can signify that your dog lacks certain nutrients in their diet. If they’ve got vitamin and mineral deficiencies, they might crave things they wouldn’t normally eat—like poop.

But even those with well-rounded diets can still be tempted to sample some stool from time to time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s anything wrong with their diet. They might just be curious or have a powerful sense of smell.

For wild dogs, eating poop is a perfectly natural behavior. Their ancestors were omnivorous explorers who would eat just about anything they could find—including feces. The scarcity of food in the wild meant that they had to take advantage of every possible source of nutrition, no matter how unappealing to us it might seem.

Not to mention that mothers tend to clean the ‘nest’ by eating the feces of their young. This helps keep them healthy and free from diseases.

While our domesticated pups don’t have to worry about food scarcity, they still have those instinctual urges to eat fecal matter.

Pet owners often get frustrated when they see that their little friend has pooped all over the dog crate or in the middle of the living room. In some cases, they might even resort to physical punishment in an attempt to discourage the behavior.

This is something you should never do.

Sure, it might scare them off for a little while, but it could also make them more likely to eat poop to avoid potential punishment. Dogs are very adept at associating certain behaviors with negative outcomes, so if they think pooping will result in being hit or yelled at, they might start eating it instead.

Not having much to do can lead to all sorts of behavioral problems in dogs, including coprophagia. If they’re not fully stimulated, they might get restless and look for ways to entertain themselves.

If sinking their teeth into a turd sounds fun to them, then that’s probably what they’ll do. Boredom is often the root cause of many problem behaviors in dogs, so it’s essential to ensure that they have enough toys and attention.

Stop Your Dog from Eating Poop (Coprophagia) : New Remedies

Watching your dog eat poop is both an uncomfortable and disturbing sight, but it’s actually more common in dogs than you may think. Eating poop, also known as coprophagy, is a gross but frequent problem that dog owners face. Dogs can eat poop for a variety of reasons, including a deficiency in their diet, enjoying the taste of poop, or due to anxiety.

Believe us when we say you’re not alone in this issue. A 2018 study done by veterinary researchers at the University of California Davis found that 16 percent of dogs have been seen eating their own feces. It found that over 80 percent of the dogs who eat poop preferred to eat fresh poop that was less than two days old. But even if poop eating behavior is natural it’s not something we want to encourage.

If you have a poop-eating dog, here are a variety of products that can help stop your dog from finding and eating poop

The AKC independently selected each product featured in this article. If you purchase a product through this article, we may receive a portion of the sale. While we do our best to update links often, please note that prices and deals are subject to change.

By creating an account, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy.