Oh boy! You just took home your new Muffin, and turns out this Muffin question doesn’t taste that sweet anymore? Well… let’s dive in this stinky question.
The definition of Coprophagia is; the consumption of feces.
Dogs may be coprophagic, possibly to rebalance their microbiome or to ingest missing nutrients. This (-let’s call it- “activity”) is not unusual in the animal world. Of course this fact will not make us happier, but the following tips might could help somewhat in prevention and training.
How to stop my dog from doing this?
- Like it or not, you will have to watch your new family member like a hawk for a good while, and every time he/she finished with number 2 business, immediately clean it up!
- You will have to train your dog to “Leave it”. If your new addition to the family doesn’t know the command “Leave it” yet, well … now is the perfect time to teach him.
- Avoid using punishment, you will only scare him, and make him anxious. Instead of punishment, give him his favorite treats right after he finished his business, making him focus this way on something different. Hopefully he will prefer the yummy treats over eating his own waste.
- Keep them busy! This advice is for those who work long hours and are not able to control their dogs. Sometimes Boredom is one of the reasons they keep having this not so pleasant habit. Dog Puzzles or (interactive) Treat Dispensers are the way to go, and hopefully keep everything a bit more… sanitary.
- Since dry, canned and most of the times even raw dog food most likely lacks enzymes your dog needs to a healthy digestive system, you probably should consider the use of Enzyme supplement. Look for high quality daily supplement containing Bromelain and Papain, and using human-grade ingredients.
- Feed your Dog a balanced diet. Check the guidelines on your dogs food, and make sure he is not underfed. Consult with your vet, to make sure he is getting enough food.
- Check for other problems. From time to time is useful to deworm your dog according to your veterinarian recommendation.
- The “Stop Eating Poop Products”. These products are meant to deter dogs from eating their poops, by making it taste bad. Based on my experience and another couple hundreds of reviews I had the luck to read on amazon, eBay etc…. they don’t really work. Instead of those, try to add, some pineapple juice, canned pumpkin (NOT PIE FILLING), or apple cider vinegar to his food, to deter him from eating his own poop.
