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Is your dog eating poop? There’s no denying that it’s pretty gross. It’s probably a behavior that you wish would stop. Luckily, there are some ways you can help your dog stop, including home remedies. Here’s everything you need to know. Why do dogs eat poop? There are a lot of really fun things that come with having a dog! A dog is a companion for life, and you probably love your dog a lot. But there are also probably some things that your dog does that are pretty confusing. Also, there’s plenty that your dog does that you'll find super gross. One of the less pleasant parts of owning a dog is when they start getting into this kind of trouble. If your dog is eating poop, you’re probably looking for a way to get him to stop. There are several ways you can teach your dog that eating poop isn’t a good thing for him to be doing. Before you use a home remedy to stop your dog from eating poop, check in with your vet to exclude parasites or malnutrition. If not, you can put hot sauce, vinegar, or lemon juice on poop to make it taste awful for your dog. Feeding him pumpkin, pineapple or meat tenderizer has the same effect. But before we can dive into all that, we need to talk about why your dog is eating poop in the first place! You might also be interested in some other articles about unwanted dog behavior: How to Stop a Dog from Eating Everything on WalksHow to Stop a Dog from Chewing on ThingsHow to Stop Your Dog Guarding Food Missing Nutrients It’s important for your dog to get all the nutrients he needs in his diet. This will help to keep him happy and healthy. Dogs are more intuitive than you might realize. Their bodies will tell them when they’re lacking some of the important nutrients that they need. If your dog is missing out on some important elements of his diet, he might try and find them elsewhere. Unfortunately, one place he might start looking is poop. You should always make sure to read the label on your dog’s food to make sure it has everything he needs to stay healthy. These related articles can also offer you some food advice: Why Is My Dog Refusing to Eat Dog Food?7 Tips to Stop a Dog from Begging for FoodBest Dog Food Delivery Service for Fresh Cooked Food Parasites Another, related reason that your dog could be eating poop is because he has parasites. There are lots of different kinds of parasites that can infect your dog. But some will affect the amount of nutrition your dog is able to absorb from his food and could encourage your dog to eat poop. Parasites can also cause a lot of other side effects. This includes diarrhea, vomiting, changes in weight, and other symptoms. If you think your dog might be infected with parasites, it’s important to get him to your vet right away. They’ll check him out and determine if parasites are what’s causing the issue. Your vet can also help your dog’s body get rid of these parasites. This will stop him from eating poop and potentially getting even more sick from doing that. It’s in the genes Genetics have a lot to do with your dog’s behavior. Your dog’s ancestors did many things in the wild that your dog doesn’t need to do since he’s domesticated. But that doesn’t mean that those instincts aren’t still driving your dog’s behavior! These instincts could be exactly what’s encouraging your dog to eat poop. But what exactly is it about your dog’s instincts that’s making him do this? In the wild, dogs often found food as scavengers. That means that they’d have to eat whatever they were able to find on the ground. Even though we think it’s disgusting, for your dog it’s just his genetics telling him to eat what he can! He likes the flavor Yes, it’s definitely gross. But some dogs genuinely do enjoy the taste of poop! To us humans, it’s certainly not going to an appealing idea. But there are a few things that might encourage this behavior. If you feed your dog close to where he poops, he might start associating those two smells. That could encourage him to eat his poop. The issue could also be that when he was a puppy, his mother ate his poop to help keep him clean. She may then have regurgitated some food with the poop mixed in it. Your dog’s incredibly strong sense of smell may also allow him to identify certain scents in his poop. And some of those scents might smell pretty good to him! Boredom Have you ever heard it said that a tired dog is a happy dog? This saying means that a dog that’s tired and doesn’t have any excess energy is going to be a well-behaved and calm dog. It’s a dog that isn’t going to try and find some kind of amusement elsewhere—usually by getting into trouble! If your dog is bored, though, he’s going to try and come up with other ways to entertain himself. And one thing that he might do to pass the time is eat his poop. So what can you do? The answer is easy. Just make sure that you’re giving your dog enough to do during the day! There are lots of great ways you can entertain your dog. And if boredom is the main reason, they might stop your dog eating poop quickly! If you need some ideas, you’ll want to take a look at these related articles: How Many Walks Should a Dog Have a Day?11 Tips to Tire Out a Dog (Quickly)10 Brain Games for Dogs to Play at Home Stress or Anxiety Dogs tend to act out and do unusual things when they’re feeling stressed or anxious. If your dog is dealing with stress, then he might look for ways to try and soothe himself. One thing that he might start doing is eating his poop. A dog that’s stressed or anxious can be difficult to deal with. It’s important to find out why your dog is feeling this way and find a way to help him relax. Once you do this, you might find that your dog feels less inclined to eat his own poop! Are you looking for some tips and help on dealing with a stressed dog? Make sure that you take a look at these articles: How to Calm a Stressed Dog Naturally—11 Tips9 Signs Your Dog Is Stressed How to stop a dog from eating poop, home remedy There are ways to get your dog to stop eating poop. But first you need to understand why your dog is eating poop in the first place. Once you’ve figured out why your dog is eating poop, you can look into the following tips. These will help you teach your dog that there are better things for him to do than eat his poop. 1. Get him checked at the vet If your dog is eating poop, one of the first things you’re going to want to do is take him to the vet. Your dog might be eating poop because it’s an instinctual thing or just a bad habit he’s picked up. But there’s also the potential for the issue to be a medical one. In these cases, you’ll want to make sure you get to the vet. They’ll take a look at your dog to see if your dog is eating poop because of a medical problem. If there are parasites in your dog’s digestive tract that are making him do this, they’ll be able to tell. They can also prescribe medication to help get rid of the parasites and keep your dog nice and healthy. 2. Restrict his access to poop It’s going to be pretty hard for your dog to eat poop if he can’t access it! Sometimes dealing with bad dog behavior means having to prevent it from happening in the first place. If your dog is eating poop, you might need to be a little more diligent. As soon as he does his business outside, make sure that you clean up his poop. You should also make sure that you are supervising your dog when he’s outside. You might want to teach your dog the “leave it” command. This will help you get your dog away from poop while he’s outside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylr6scuE2zY 3. Put hot sauce or lemon juice on the poop If your dog is eating poop, one of the best things you can do for him is supervise him while he’s outside. Doing this is one of the best ways to prevent your dog from eating poop. Cleaning up the poop and restricting your dog’s access to it altogether will also help. But sometimes it’s not possible to clean it up in time. If you’re in a hurry, you might need to use a deterrent instead of removing the poop completely. A deterrent is something that will make the poop unappealing to your dog. As a home remedy, you can try putting hot sauce or lemon juice on the poop to make it less tasty. 4. Take a vinegar spray on walks Does your dog eat poop when you’re on walks? This can be a really frustrating habit. You might want to invest in buying a spray bottle to take with you on your walks. Now, this isn’t to spray your dog. Spraying your dog can make your dog feel anxious and even threatened by you. And that’s definitely not something you want! Fill this spray bottle with some vinegar. On your walk, spray the poop that your dog is trying to eat. This will make the poop less appealing, and your dog likely won’t want to eat it. Here are a few related articles on walking your dog that you might find helpful: Why Does My Dog Jump and Bite While Walking?How to Stop a Dog from Eating Everything on WalksHow to Deal with an Over Excited Dog on a Walk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1uW3qWMKeI 5. Add supplements for missing nutrients to his food If the issue is that your dog is eating poop to get some missing nutrients, then your vet can help. They’ll be able to help you identify what nutrients your dog is missing. You should make sure that you take the ingredients list on your dog’s food with you, to help your vet determine what’s lacking. They can also recommend specific supplements to ensure that your dog is getting all the nutrients that he needs. Once your dog starts getting in these important nutrients, you should find that he stops eating his poop. 6. Add pineapple, pumpkin or meat tenderizer to his food There are a few things that you can add directly to your dog’s diet that will deter him from eating poop. These are things that won’t bother him to eat. But after they're digested, these home remedies make his poop far less appealing to him! You could add pineapple, pumpkin, or even meat tenderizer to his diet. Doing this will make his poop taste far worse to him. This could be all you need to do to get him to stop eating it! FAQ about dogs eating poop Now you know why dogs eat poop, and you know some helpful tips to get him to stop. But you may still have some questions. Why do dogs eat their own poop? Dogs eat their own poop for a variety of reasons. Your dog might just like the smell or taste of it, for one thing. It could also be an issue of boredom. In the wild, dogs would eat their own poop to try and eliminate any signs that they were there. This would help keep them safe from other animals that might try to attack them. If your dog is eating his own poop, make sure to try out the above tips to get him to stop. Can eating poop kill your dog? Eating poop isn’t necessarily going to kill your dog. But it’s certainly not going to make him healthy. Poop doesn’t have the nutrients that your dog needs to keep his body in good condition. And there could certainly be parasites in some poop than can make your dog really sick. This is why it’s important to make sure that you find ways to stop your dog from eating poop. Conclusion Dogs do a lot of things that can be pretty confusing—and even gross—to us! Eating poop is one of them. But there are ways to prevent your dog from eating poop. Try out the above tips to keep your dog healthy and well-behaved.

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