WARNING: For those of you with sensitive stomachs, read no further.
Four dogs.
1. On walks, Golden Retriever puppy Puck puts everything into his mouth. There is always a mad rush to force open his jaws to extricate the article. Despite his owner’s best efforts at distracting him, along with twigs, leaves, mulch, acorns, gum wrappers, and cigarette butts, Puck has been caught chomping on another dog’s poop. There are no volunteers to try and pry this out of his mouth.
2. Fox Terrier mix Quinn has a thing for popsicles. Little brown popsicles. Out in the yard on a cold morning, she paws tentatively at the frozen tidbits, glances up at the window to see if anyone is looking, then scarfs up a Tootsie Roll or two. Occasionally, she is spied with the prize and will
run away gleefully while being chased by her owner.
3. Cairn Terrier Mercedes races outside to make a speedy deposit, then just as quickly, whips around to snag a snack while it is freshest.
4. English Bulldog Finn lumbers into his backyard, and proceeds to comb every inch of the grass, sniffing delicately. He paws the dirt, rolls in the long grass, and hydrates the stockade fence. He woofs at a squirrel and taste tests a bit of bird seed on the ground. He finds an old turd and eats that, too.
All together now: a collective EWWWW!
What the heck is wrong with these dogs?!
There are lots of reasons dogs will feed on feces, so many in fact, that there’s a name for it: Coprophagia.
They might do it out of hunger, habit, boredom, stress, illness, lack of certain dietary nutrients, to keep clean, to hide evidence, or to get attention.
Whatever the motivation, take care of the obvious first:
Check with your vet to be sure your dog is healthy. Consider changing to a better quality dog food.
Remove temptation by going on a poop-hunt in your yard every day. Put food-based puzzle toys in the dog’s play area to keep him busy.
Walk your dog briskly so there is less opportunity for her to dine on the run.
And finally, a little crushed pineapple in your dog’s meal will taste great going down but not so wonderful coming out.
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