If this is your first time raising a dog, you might be surprised to know that it’s quite common for them to eat poop. But even if it’s completely natural for them, it’s naturally going to gross you out. The good news is you can actually put a stop to this annoying habit without hurting your dog in any way.
Read our guide and find out what to put in dog food to stop eating poop and protect them from health issues.
Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?
Let’s address the biggest question each first-time dog owner has — why do dogs eat poop? This phenomenon even has a scientific name — it’s called Coprophagia. For mother dogs, it’s normal behavior to eat the poop of their puppies just to keep their environment clean during the lactation stage and make up for nutritional deficiencies.
The young puppies soon pick up this behavior and start to eat their own poop. The habit lingers in many dogs, even at later stages, where they continue to eat poop from other dogs or even other species of animals such as horses, cats, and geese.
While eating their own poop is usually harmless, if they eat the droppings of other animals that might have been contaminated with parasites or viruses, it could lead to severe health complications. And again— it’s really gross!
What to Put in Dog Food to Stop Eating Poop?
If you want your dog to stop eating their own poop, you’ll need to add something to its meal that makes its droppings taste terrible to them.
For starters, you can add apple cider vinegar to their meals. The acidic nature of the vinegar will drastically alter the taste of their droppings, making them severely repulsive to it. To reduce the appeal of poop, you can also add mineral supplements to their diets, such as Zinc and Copper.
Another way to make their feces less appealing is by adding enough fiber to their diet. You can add raw veggies like kale, broccoli, and spinach, canned pumpkin, digestive enzymes, and cooked grains like rice, oats, and quinoa to make their poop taste bad and unappealing.
5 Natural Ways to Keep Your Dog From Eating Poop
If you want to take a few extra steps to get your dog to stop eating their poop as soon as possible, here are 5 hacks you can use.
1. Prevention Is Important
If you don’t want your dog to eat their own poop, just pick it up as soon as they drop— a no-brainer! Always carry a plastic bag and poop scooper with you when you take your dog out on a walk.
As soon as they defecate, they immediately pick it up and throw it away. It’s not only your responsibility to keep the streets clean, but it also benefits your dog and helps them ease out of their gross poop-eating habit.
Also, make sure to always keep them on a leash. This way, if you find them approaching another animal’s droppings, you can quickly guide them away from it.
2. Feed Them Quality Dog Food
The most important thing to prevent dogs from eating their own waste is to feed them a balanced diet and quality dog food. Dogs, like most other animals, are designed to survive on their own. And if you are not feeding them enough nutrients, they’ll surely try to find it on their own, no matter how gross it is to you.
So the next time you pick up your dog’s food, make sure it’s rich in nutrients such as protein, calcium, and all the minerals required for healthy bodily functions. Also, try to avoid poor-quality diets with ingredients such as by-products, fillers, or artificial items — they can make your dog more attracted to their own waste.
3. Add Meat Tenderizers to the Meals
The more delicious you make their meals, the less likely they are to eat their poop. Since dogs always have a soft spot for meat, try adding meat tenderizers to their meal to make the meat soft and appealing.
The ultimate goal is to make their food tasty. Even if you are serving packaged dog food, take it to your vet to find quality ones with good taste. If a few extra bucks keep your dog happy and away from poop, it’s totally worth it.
4. Keep Them Stress-free
Sometimes dogs will eat their own poop just out of stress and separation anxiety. As you might know, dogs are prone to anxiety, and even a little change in their environment can drive them crazy. And during these times, feces act as their comfort food.
So try to figure out their common anxiety triggers and keep them away from them. It’ll not only help you contain this gross habit but is also important for their overall well-being.
5. Train Your Dog to Step Away From Poop
Another great hack to get out of this vicious cycle is to train them that it’s a bad habit. Teach them the “leave it” command along with treats or negative deterrents such as electric collars or loud noise makers.
Here’s what you will need to do — every time you see your dog approaching their poop, you are going to say “leave it” and lure them away with a nice treat or scare them away with the noise maker. If you are using an electric collar, make sure it’s on the lowest setting, otherwise, you might end up hurting or emotionally traumatizing them.
Also, make sure you use these negative deterrents only when they try to eat their poop and not to scare them away as soon as they finish defecating. In that case, your dog will begin to associate pooping with a bad thing and will eat it up just to hide evidence.
Bottom Line
Most puppies grow out of this gross habit within the first year. But if you want to teach them early, a combination of these techniques will do it. It’ll only take a few days to make them averse to their droppings if you are using the right deterrents. It might seem hard, but we urge you to keep going — it’s the best thing for both you and your dog.
