So humans, here is what all this poop eating is really all about.
First of all, it depends on what kind of poop your dog is eating. If Fido is a mom, she will often eat her pups poop to clean them. If Fido is a pup, then eating poop is natural, they will often mimic Mom. Sometimes the baby needs to build up the probiotics in its intestines so it can digest food more effectively. This can be somewhat avoided by adding probiotics into the diet. If the kid continues to eat dog poop, then I would say that perhaps the food you are feeding is not being digested the first time through because it was basically made of fillers, so Fido is trying to get some nutrition into his body= try sending it through a second time. A good food poop will turn white and fall apart in a day of so, a bad food…well, you as the human had better pick it up right away, because to them it equals food.
If the poop being eaten is say….A Hounds Favorite..Horse poop, then the reason is different…its taste wonderful to them!
In my barn eating poop isn’t screamed at anymore (as long as I don’t see them doing it-it makes me sick!) Our horses do not get chemically wormed and are parasite free, so the chances of getting sick are slim. But when they go into the woods, which is every day, I do take a fit (which generally means calling them with great enthusiasm)if they go anyplace near deer poop or most any other kind of poop. The wild critters can be full of parasites and that could hurt them. So that being said, they just get on with it as fast as possible. Lydia loved to roll in it…She found a bear pile one day-Great way to make your human Scream!
There can be a lot of other reason for poop eating, like…
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Intestinal parasites
- Increased hunger
- Neurological disease
- Vitamin deficiency
- Malnutrition
- Thyroid disease
- Diabetes
- Anemia
