Why do dogs eat poop?

2022-07-19

The most troublesome problem for many dog ​​owners is the dog eating poop. They often get angry because their dog eats poop and beat the dog. So why does the dog eat poop?

Reasons why dogs eat feces:

1. Maternal behavior: Newborn dogs will not defecate. They rely on bitches to lick their anus to stimulate defecation and will lick their feces to keep the environment clean. It also prevents odor leakage and avoids attracting other hunting animals. The female dog will lick the puppy's genitals and anus after giving birth. In addition to stimulating the puppy to eat while keeping the environment clean, it can also prevent odors from leaking out and avoid being hunted by other animals. This is normal maternal behavior.

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2. Imitation behavior: The owner often cleans the kennel and the place where he lives. Over time, the dog will also clean up urine and urination near him. When a dog sees other dogs eating poop, it also learns to eat, which is an imitative behavior.

3. Improper punishment: The dog is punished by the owner after urinating, biting or destroying something, and the owner beats and scolds the dog, making the dog afraid, it will eat the feces and erase the evidence.

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4. Alternative behavior: It is a natural instinct for dogs to eat feces. Some of the peculiar smells in feces are liked by dogs, and they are very attractive to the fermented feces of herbivores. When they can't eat the poop, they eat it. Replace with your own or another stool. Dog eating poop is a primitive genetic behavior. Before they were domesticated, they reused feces to improve their survival.

5. Attract the owner's attention: The dog eats feces due to internal diseases, and the owner punishes it to attract attention. After recovering from a medical illness, he will be scolded by the master for eating feces, but he must continue to do so to gain the master's continuous attention.

6. The lack of trace elements in dogs can also cause dogs to have the habit of eating feces. It is recommended to feed nutrient-rich food, maintain nutritional balance, and appropriately supplement trace elements.