Coprophagia In Dogs Poop-Eating Dogs Require Tough Love To Break The Habit
“Generally a dog’s desire to eat feces is not usually caused by any serious dietary or health issues.” We love our furry, canine companions for their loyalty, devotion and unconditional love. However, no pet owner loves a “poop-eating dog”. For those unfortunate humans, being greeted and licked by the offending animal offers no reward, especially when you know exactly where that tongue has been. Most dog parents can take comfort in that they are not alone in battling this problem. Though pet owners find it disgusting, feces-eating in dogs emerges as an extremely common behavior, but also presents many challenges in stopping the habit. What’s In A Name? Poop-eating is called by its own medical term, Coprophagy (pronounced cop- row-fage-ee-uh). It comes from the Greek terms copro for feces and phagy for eating. Dogs are not alone in this habit as a wide variety of animals from many species eat their own feces or others for several reasons. Among them are pigs, rabbits, hamsters, elephants, pandas, koalas and hippos.
For elephants, pandas, koalas and hippos, their young are born with sterile intestines and must eat their mother’s feces to add the needed bacteria to start their own digestive systems. Gorillas and chimpanzees also eat fecal matter as well as reports in human patients with schizophrenia, depression and pica (eating non-food items). Coprophagy is also an expected duty of female dogs and cats as they stimulate urination and defecation in their litters by licking the appropriate areas. They eat and drink the urine and feces to keep the nesting area clean and distract predators away from any scent. Many Theories Generally, a dog’s desire to eat feces is not usually caused by any serious dietary or health issues. In fact, many veterinarians and researchers speculate it may just come from, well, being a dog. Many experts believe coprophagy can be traced back to a canine’s ancestral past, descending from wolves and coyotes, and its scavenger roots, if food is in short supply. Typically normal behavior in domestic dogs, it likely evolved from scavenging and
nest-cleaning behaviors from canines thousands of years ago since they most likely lived near human settlements to take advantage of the food sources available there, including human waste. Some researchers suggest part of the attraction by wolves and dogs to poop-eating stems from replenishing B vitamins, which they find in the feces of plant-eating animals. Risk Factors Though poop-eating emerges as a common behavior for many domestic dogs, certain situations can create more compulsion to engage in coprophagy.
• Inadequate diet or hunger • Malnutrition
• Enzyme/vitamin deficiency, due to lack of pancreatic enzymes; poop, especially rabbit poop, is a rich source • Access to feces and a lack of other outlets for play and exploration • Overeating (polyphagia) due to diabetes, thyroid disorders • Anxiety • Severe parasite infestations • Behavioral response from over kenneling for extended periods
Missouri Pet Breeders Association | Page 23
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