Why do Dogs Eat Poop? Yep, We’re Gonna go There!

Have ya ever had a pup that just insisted on eatin’ poop?  As gross and disgustin’ as it seems to you humanz, dogs sometimes have a different idea on the subject. I mean, after all, the darn cat told us they were Tootsie Rolls! Turns out My Lady wuz right an’ you really can’t trust a cat! While my Lady calls it ‘Gross’, and a few other choice words, the lady in the white coat has a fancy Greek word for why dogs eat poop. She calls it Coprophagia.

Much to my Lady’s disgust, one of my brothers has chosen poop as his favorite delicacy! My Lady throws a hissy fit ever time she sees him do it, but it hasn’t stopped him yet! She went on a long and windin’ road to try and find answers. So, what did she find out? The short answer for ‘why do dogs eat poop’ is no one really knows for sure.

Most folks know that momma dogs clean up their babies poop in the den by eatin’ eat. Out in the wild, this is a protection against predators that might smell the babies and hurt em even though momma dogs still clean up their babies and their bed. All this seems to make sense cause there’s a reason, but what if ya got a full-grown dog that just does it cause they want to? Sounds crazy right?

Humanz have a number of different ideas about why some dogs eat poop. Let’s take a look at a few of them:

Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

1)  Most humanz think it’s cuz there are vitamins or nutrients missin’ in our diet that we are tryin’ ta get from other animals. Rabbit poop is loaded with good stuff that the rabbit doesn’t need that we do.

2)  Some people think it’s due to not gettin’ enough food. No one has done any studies to prove that, but it’s really common in puppy mill dogs that have to fight for food.

3)  Sometimes it’s a behavior thing, if’n a dog gets punished for poopin’ where he shouldn’t, he will try to conceal the evidence by eatin’ it.

4)  Sometimes it’s an old dog teachin’ a new trick to a young ‘un – you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but puppies will do ANYTHING you tell ‘em too.

5)  Sometimes it’s just cuz we’re bored!

In searchin’ for the reason dogs eat poop, my Lady found some ideas to help keep us from doin’ it’.

1)  First, clean up the poop in the yard! Ya also need to put the cat’s litter box where we can’t get to it. If it ain’t there, we can’t eat it, right?

2)  Second, make sure we’re gettin’ a balanced diet with all the nutrients and enzymes that we need.

3)  Have the lady in the white coat check us over real good. She also needs to make sure we ain’t got no critters in our gut that ain’t supposed to be there like worms and bacteria.

4)  When in doubt – play with me! If’n I get too much time alone, I’m bound to come up with crazy stuff ta keep me occupied.

5)  If all else fails, and it bothers ya a lot, there are powders you can buy on the interwebs to sprinkle on poop that make us not wanna eat it. Sometimes this work and sometimes not. Some dogs will just eat it anyway.

Takin’ all that in, my Lady took my brother to see the lady in the white coat. She poked, prodded, and checked him out from one end to the other. Seems there’s nothin’ physically wrong with the big lug. Then they talked about his diet and the lady in the white coat was satisfied that it was one of the best diets he could have. He gets exercise and ain’t no way he can be bored with six of us playin’ and runnin’ with him all day. The lady in the white coat pronounced him sound and fit as a fiddle! I can see him just a sittin’ there lookin’ at em with that goofy look on his face. Yep, he’s a goofball! I guess ya figured that much out! Anyone goes ’round eatin’ poop gotta be goofy!

Meanwhile, this all seems like a lotta work, so I’m a thinkin’ maybe you should just let us eat the poop! We promise we won’t lick your face right after! WOOF! 🙂