I am sure many you perplexed whenever you see your dog eat their own poop. Many of you will wonder why do dogs eat poop! To be honest, I myself have no idea why, and that is why I went about researching on this topic. Hence, in this article, we will be looking into the top reasons why do dogs eat poop.

Why Do Dogs Eat Poop

They are in fact many reasons at which why do dogs eat poop. First of all, you have to discard away your pre-notion that poop-eating is a disgusting thing. To humans, of course it is. Our body is not meant to be able to withstand the foulness of ingesting the human excrement. However, dog’s stomach is much more resilient than that. Some of them my regard that the poop is actually a delicacy. But what are the top reasons at which why do dogs eat poop? Let us find out.

DNA

When we say it is in their DNA, I don’t mean that they are programmed to eat poop. It is more of the fact that their body is naturally trained to be able to digest poop. Think about it, wild dogs consume their prey in the whole. This means that the intestines of the prey, which contains the poop, is being eaten whole too. Hence, they body is able to contain the digestive enzymes that is able to break down the food naturally into the nutrients that the dog needs.

However, for domesticated dogs, they lack the ability to obtain good nutrients from the food they digest as their body is not accustomed to breaking down food due to the fact that they are missing out on the digestive enzymes that the dogs in the past have. As a result, their poop usually do pack some nutrients in it. Hence, to the dogs, the poop does look like a delicacy.

Also, when there is a lack of digestive enzymes in your dog’s pancreas, it will cause a problem known as the pancreatic insufficiency. With this deficiency. it will be tougher for your dog to break down the regular food, hence their poop will be full of nutrients, which of course will result in them consuming it.

Not Being Fed On Time

This is one of the top reasons why dogs eat their own poop. This is actually a very sad thing, in the sense that it is totally preventable. So long as the owners feed their dogs on time, this factor can be eliminated. However, due to whatever reasons, some owners are unable to feed their dogs on time. This causes so much problems for their dogs. They will go hungry for hours. and when they are desperate, they might simply consume their own poop, which contains nutrients too. So please, do feed your dog on time. If you do foresee yourself being out from the house for long periods, then do consider getting the automatic dog feeder for your dog!

Seeking Attention

Again, this is also one of the reasons why dogs eat poop. When their owners stop to give them attention, they will be so desperate to gain their attention. And once they realize that when they eat their own poop, and that their owners will respond to that, they will keep on replicating it. This is because it causes a trigger mechanism. Eat poop, owners give them attention, they are happy. This is a vicious cycle. Hence, please do shower your dog with attention.

Believe It Or Not: Stress Reliever

While I don’t encourage humans to replicate this behavior, studies have shown that dogs indeed eat poops as a way to relieve stress. Don’t ask me how did the researchers come up with this information.

Being Bored

This is similar to the reason that they like to seek attention. When the dogs are physically and mentally stimulated enough, they will be bored. And when they are bored, they will simply do anything that is able to rid them of boredom. This is one of the reasons why I encourage most of you to purchase interactive dog toys for your dogs. This will keep them physically and mentally stimulated for long periods of time too. A happy and occupied dog will never

Being Ignorant

This is of course one of the more valid reasons at which why dogs eat poop. Unlike humans, they simply cannot differentiate what is nice and what is disgusting to them. Since they are so ignorant, sometimes it is really tough for us to reprimand them. Of course, it takes training to really stop your dog from being ignorant about it.

How Do You Stop Dogs From Eating Their Poop

There are several ways at which u can stop your dog from eating poop. Here are some of the ways.

Cleanliness

Please, in order for your dog not to eat their own poop, you will need to ensure that the environment is clean enough for them. Do not let your dog venture near dirty places too. This will somehow infuse a sense of cleanliness into your dog.

Stimulated

When I say stimulated, what I mean is that you should keep your dog actively engaged physically and mentally. When you keep your dogs physically and mentally engaged, they will not eat their poop. This is actually addressing the problem of the dog being bored. When the dog is mentally engaged, they wouldn’t think of eating poop at all. Also, when they are physically engaged, they wouldn’t have the strength nor the inclination to eat poop!

Deficiency

When it comes to deficiency, sometimes there might be deficiency in your dog’s diet that results in them eating poop. Hence, it will be good if you can check the quality of your dog’s poop. You should also monitor for mineral deficiency in your dog too.

Don’t Over Punish

Some experts have noted that punishments can be ineffective for dogs. This is especially so if the punishment is administered often or too harsh for a little problem. When you over punish the dog, the dog will not feel the affection for the owners. When this happens, it simply means that the owner is removing emotional deposits (yes this is true) from the dog. In time to come, this is very detrimental to the owner and dog relationship.

Feeding A Balanced Diet

This is perhaps the best way to solve the problem of your dog eating poop. When you managed to provide for your dog a balanced diet, your dog will not have nutritional deficiency, hence they will not eat their poop!