Help for the Owner’s of Poop Eaters

For 10 years we had the joy of raising baby doll sheep. My children loved the lambs each spring season. The sheep were free to roam our five acres of grass. We enjoyed the sheep but unfortunately we made a discovery that my wife was 100% repulsed by; our 7 year old Poodle, Rupert, developed a liking for eating the scattered sheep droppings that the sheep generously left behind.  For Rupert it was Easter every day as he enjoyed a treasure hunt in our yard. Neither one of us had had a pet that ate poop and realized how hard it was to let a pet that eats poop lick your children’s face or get too close. 

As the house Veterinarian I had the job of solving this nasty problem called Cophrophagia. Coprophagia is a term used to refer to the eating of feces, aka, poop.

Although we were unhappy with Rupert’s habit of eating the poop, Rupert on the other hand was very happy. Thus the challenge to put an end to it became apparent. I found a talk given by Benjamin Hart, DVM, PhD, DACVB, distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California –Davis, he spoke about some of the more inexplicable behaviors of companion animals in his talk: “Why do they do that? Purring, yawning, flipping out on catnip, and ……eating poop.”  Of course he left the last inexplicable behavior of eating poop to the last because of its gross factor.

"Hart cited a recent unpublished Web-based study, which included information from nearly 1,500 pet owners with dogs that had been seen eating feces daily or weekly, and at least 10 times.

According to the survey, the top five Poop-eating dogs were:

  1. Labrador retriever (10.4 percent);
  2. Golden retriever (5.8 percent);
  3. Basset hound (5.5 percent);
  4. German shepherd (5.3 percent);
  5. Shetland sheepdog (4.7 percent)….I believe the word sheep explains this one

About 10 percent of the dogs ate only their own poop, while 32 percent ate the poop of others, and nearly 50 percent of all dogs who ate poop would eat their own or that of other dogs. “Most dogs ate any ol’ stool,” Hart said.

Other findings included:

  • Females were more likely than males to engage in this behavior (60 percent vs. 40 percent)
  • The behavior does not reflect poor living sanitation: 82 percent of dogs in the survey almost never soiled their own house
  • Almost all dogs opted for fresh poop as opposed to old ones…the gross factor just reached a new level.
  • Coprophagia was more common in multi-dog households. In single-dog homes, only 20 percent of dogs had the habit, while in homes with three dogs, that rose to 33 percent.
  • Poop eaters are no harder to house train than any other dogs.
  • 85 percent of poop eaters will not eat their own poop, only that of other dogs.
  • Greedy eaters—dogs who steal food off tables—tend to also be poop eaters.
     

Hart wrote, "Our conclusion is that eating of fresh stools is a reflection of an innate predisposition of ancestral canids living in nature that protects pack members from intestinal parasites present in feces that could occasionally be dropped in the den/rest area." His study consisted of two separate surveys sent to about 3,000 dog owners."

I agree that there is an element of ancestral innate poop eating that can explain this behavior.  Other than being gross a dog that eats their own poop can be harmless. It’s when our canine friends eat the poop of other animals that it becomes more of a health concern.  This can result in the internalization of parasites, viruses, or toxins. Puppies are more likely to eat poop until about 9months of age but it is not too uncommon for older pets to suddenly start this nasty habit. 

The Question of Why, Answered…sort of: the eating of poop has long baffled many owners and veterinarians. It can be hard to determine the exact cause.

Possible Causes of Coprophagia:

  • Parasites
  • Diets deficient in nutrients and calories
  • Mal absorption syndromes
  • Diabetes, cushing’s disease, thyroid disease, and other conditions that might cause an increase in appetite
  • Drugs, such as steroids

Dr. Jerry Clein, the chief Veterinary Officer at the American Kennel Club, offers these possible causes:

“ In many cases, dogs start to eat their own poop because of some kind of environmental stress or behavioral triggers, including:

  • Isolation: Studies have shown dogs who are kept alone in kennels or basements are more likely to eat poop than those dogs that live close to their people.
  • Restrictive confinement: Spending too much time confined in a small space can cause the problem. It's not unusual to see coprophagia in dogs rescued from crowded shelters.
  • Anxiety: often a result of a person using punishment or harsh methods during housetraining. According to this theory, dogs may eliminate and then eat their own poop to get rid of the evidence, but then they are punished more. It becomes a vicious cycle.
  • Attention-seeking: Dogs eat their own poop to get a reaction from their humans, which they inevitably will. So if you see your dog doing this, don't overreact.
  • Inappropriate association with real food: Dogs who are fed in close proximity to their feces may make a connection between the odors of food and those of poop and will be unable to tell the difference.
  • Scenting it on their mothers: Lindsay writes that in some cases, puppies will get confused by sniffing fecal odors on their mother's breath after she has cleaned them. Also, sometimes mothers may regurgitate food that is mixed with puppy fecal matter. He calls this an "appetitive inoculation," which may set a puppy up to develop this bad habit.
  • Living with a sick or elderly dog: Sometimes a healthy dog will consume stools from a weaker canine member of the household, especially in cases of fecal incontinence. Scientists hypothesize that this may be related to the instinct to protect the pack from predators.”

 

So how do you stop your dog from eating poop?

I recommend talking with your Veterinarian first, it will be important to rule out medical reasons for your pet’s coprophagia.

I have had success working with my own and other dogs with the following  suggestions:

  • Enzyme supplementation: The modern canine diet is higher in carbohydrates and lower in meat-based proteins and fats than the canine ancestral diet. A great enzyme supplement is Prozyme. Prozyme a unique, scientifically proven, all-natural enzymatic food supplement that allows greater absorption of the important nutrients found in a pet's food. I also recommend Probiotics, a natural way to improve your pet’s nutritional absorption. The Probiotic I recommend is Synacore or Advita.
  • Taste-aversion products: The theory is that certain tastes and smells are as disgusting to dogs as the idea of stool eating is to us and that spraying certain substances on poop will make it less appealing. Many of these products contain monosodium glutamate, chamomile, pepper-plant derivatives, yucca, garlic, and parsley. CoproBan, Cease Coprophagia soft chews or granules, Stop Stool Eating chewable tablets or soft chews and For Bid.  Another interesting poop eating aversion product is for those pets that like to snack on litter boxes, it’s called Outta My Box. This product comes in a 500 Count tub and you feed it to both your cat and dog.
 

Will Training help?

Yes, it can help some but the effectiveness of training is dependent on your pet’s ability to respond to your training.

The best place to start is by asking your Veterinarian for tips on training your pet

1.Remove the Temptation:

  • Become a home and yard poop picking up expert, so there will be no poop for your pet to eat.
  • Location and Reach, keep cat litter boxes empty of feces and out of your dog's reach.

2.Monitor the amount of time the dog spends alone, in a crate, or in a cage so that out of boredom they do not begin to eat their poop.

3.Positively train your dog with the following cues:

  • “come” – use to call them away from a potential item they may eat
  • “leave it” – use to command the dog to leave an item alone
  • “drop it” – use to get the dog to drop an item before swallowing

4.As an absolute last resort, you can try a Basket-muzzle when taking your pet for walks

  • This will eliminate the dog’s opportunities to quickly snatch up and swallow any poop but will still allow them to breath and drink

I hope that this information will help you in your efforts to decrease your pet’s consumption of poop, it can be a very frustrating habit to break but it is possible. To end this blog on a happy note, Rupert did stop eating sheep poop. But you may find this a hard thing to achieve, it will be important to talk to your Veterinarian and maybe an animal behaviorist. I wish you good luck!

To your Pet’s good health,

Barry Miller DVM

 

 

Source:

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/pica-eating-things-arent-food

http://www.aaha.org/blog/NewStat/post/2010/08/04/850131/Hart-explores-unexplained-beha.aspx

http://www.akc.org/content/health/articles/why-dogs-eat-poop/

Source:
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/pica-eating-things-arent-food

http://www.aaha.org/blog/NewStat/post/2010/08/04/850131/Hart-explores-unexplained-beha.aspx

http://www.akc.org/content/health/articles/why-dogs-eat-poop/