"When You Know Why Dogs Eat Poop, You'll Be Shocked!"

There are actually many reasons why dogs eat poop. In this short little article, I'm going to explain five reasons why your dog is consuming fresh, stinky turds!

First, some dogs will eat poop because they are bored. They have nothing else to do, so they goggle up chunks of poop.

This might sound crazy, but kids do this kind of stuff all the time. They do eat dirt. They pee all over the floor. They pick up poopie. Dogs are animals and they do crazy stuff, kind of like little kids. It's not that nutty.

Oh, and this behavior might be a sign of neglect or loneliness. Dogs need love and attention. If they don't get it, they get especially odd sometimes. Think about it.

Next, some dogs eat poop because they are nervious or anxious. Thye might be upset or angry. In other words, canine emotions can drive bizarre behavior. Yes, stress makes some dogs eat poop.

Third, another reason why dogs eat poop is to hide the evidence from you. If they poop and they know they shouldn't, such as when they are in their crates or on your nice carpet, they will eat up the evidence to prevent your anger. (Or course, you almost always find out so it doesn't work.)

Fourth, if your dog watch you pick up fresh, hot turds he might learn to do the same thing. Poop eating in dogs (also known as coprophagia) can be caused by "training" that you are doing. That is, you might be showing your dog how to handle poop.

When you pick it up, examine it, and pay attention, you are training up your dog to give his poop a lot of attention. This is one reason why some trainers teach people to not give the poop much attention.

Just handle it quickly and discretely and move on. Makes sense if you think about it. Your dog's poop isn't worth much attention, I hope!

Fifth, it is possible that your dog has seen other dogs eat poop. If they see other dogs eating poopies, they might learn to eat poops too. Doggie see, doggie doo. (Pun intended!)

So, the reason why dogs eat poop might be exactly because other dogs are eating the brown stuff. Frustrating, for sure!

I'll end this article by saying that if you're reading this article you probably also want to stop this behavior. Hey, I don't blame you at all!

There are two basic ways to handle coprophagia. You can handle it through some smart training. There are many training videos and books online, available for a modest cost. You can often "train away" the issue.

The other way to handle the dog poop eating problem is to give your dog pills. When they poop, and they get interested in their own poop, they will be disgusted. That's because the pills make the poop very nasty. (Remember, dogs don't think their own poop is all that bad.) The anti-poop eating pills can work wonders.

There are plenty of resources available online. Just look around this site for recommendations!