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Stopping a dog from eating his stool

Sunday, September 19, 2010
posted by Jim Murphy

dog-lickingThis is an unpleasant topic but if you have a dog, you can relate.  Dogs will eat just about anything including their own feces or the feces of other animals.  I know that this sounds disgusting but it’s  common enough to be given a medical name: Coprophagy.  This is a natural act. Newborn puppies haven’t learned to urinate or defecate on their own so their mother licks them to stimulate elimination.  When an adult dog eats it’s own stool, it is usually a sign of loneliness or boredom. This is not usually a problem for the dog but poses an aesthetic problem for the dog owner.  You know what I mean when you’ve witnessed this and then your sweet dog tries to lick you face!!

You can try to break the habit but relieving your dogs boredom. Take him for longer walks, give him plenty of exercise and make sure that he has a wide variety of dog toys to play with.  Feed him more than once a day and give him treats every now and then so he has something to look forward to.

To prevent this problem, make sure that you pick up after your dog right away or if he is in a public place, you may want to consider a muzzle. If you own a cat, keep him away from the cat litter.  Good luck!



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