Why do dogs eat their own poop? It’s actually because you don’t care about your dog.

Jul 26,2025
5Min

Dogs love to eat poop because of their nature

As far as animal nature is concerned, newborn animals cannot urinate and defecate on their own. They must rely on their mother to urinate and urinate while licking food. In addition to keeping the environment clean, It can also prevent the smell from leaking out and avoid attracting prey from other animals to protect your own safety. Therefore, sometimes when dogs feel threatened, they often eat their own feces to increase their sense of security.

Dogs like to eat poop because of behavioral reactions

In terms of behavioral reactions, if parents give incorrect training to dogs, it is easy for dogs to have wrong reactions. It is more common when a dog defecates indiscriminately and is excessively scolded or improperly punished by its owner, leading to the misconception that the dog will be punished if it is seen by the owner after defecating, and the dog will eat the poop after defecation.
After their dogs defecate, some parents will rush to clean up the poop because of environmental hygiene. However, because they act too hastily, the dog mistakenly thinks that the parents want to take away its "treasure", or that this is A game that causes dogs to compete with their owners for "poop" and eat it first.
Some dogs hope to gain the attention of their owners, or some dogs eat poop because they are too bored. At these times, owners need to reflect on themselves, whether they usually care too little about their dogs.

Dogs love to eat poop because of physiological reactions

If the dog’s nutrition is unbalanced, it will lead to a lack of trace elements and cause pica in dogs. Dogs with pica will not only swallow feces, but may also chew dirt, wall coverings and other objects. At this time, some trace elements should be added to the dog’s food to correct pica.
Some dogs also have problems with their digestion and absorption function, so their poop will contain a lot of protein, carbohydrates and other nutrients. Dogs with sensitive noses will think that their poop is food and eat it.
There are also some parents who follow the advice of dog dealers or others and only feed their dogs one meal a day, or impose food restrictions on their dogs. When a dog feels hungry, if it cannot find food, it may swallow its own feces to satisfy its hunger.

What to do if your dog likes to eat poop

1. Take the dog to the hospital for examination by a veterinarian to see if there are parasites. If so, the dog will be dewormed according to the type of parasites detected. It is best to check several times to avoid misjudgment due to the window period when insects are ovulating.
2. Probiotics should be always available at home and given to dogs on an irregular basis.
3. Feed your dog dog food with a reputable brand. It is a larger brand and the nutritional ratio of the mixture can be trusted. It is best not to give other human food or snacks to ensure that the dog can get correct and balanced nutrition.
4. Do not place the dog in the place where it defecates.Discipline it loudly or beat it when it defecates, so that it will not be afraid of being seen and eat it.
5. Give your dog ample play time every day, and you may even consider raising a puppy to accompany each other so that it will not be bored and can only eat poop.
6. If you find that your dog has the habit of eating feces, you can add some trace elements to your dog to get rid of pica.
7. This is the most important and troublesome task. After the dog defecates, the dog should be moved to another place first, and then the poop should be cleaned and deodorized. Spend more time playing with it to consume its energy and divert its attention.
There are many reasons for the habit of eating poop. There is no guarantee that any method is effective. You need to constantly try different methods to find the one that suits your dog. This may be a long process, so please be patient!
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