Coprophagia – does your pet have a pooblem?

Did you know that nearly 1 in 6 dogs regularly eat (dog) faeces^*? This habit of eating faeces (known as coprophagia), is understandably not pleasant and it can be a challenging one to resolve!

Why oh why?! There are numerous reasons dogs might indulge in this delightful(!) activity. It can be normal in some circumstances, or due to an underlying medical problem. However, in the vast majority of cases it is considered a behavioural problem.

How to break the dirty habit? It is recommended to seek veterinary advice to establish if there are any medical causes for the behaviour.

For Coprophagia that is considered behavioural there are several strategies you can implement:

1. Use COPRO-NIL™, a faecal taste modifier to break the pattern of behaviour
2. Don’t punish your dog if they do eat faeces -this can make the problem worse!
3. Avoid temptation – it’s hard to give something up if there are constant reminders, so keep the garden free of faeces and your dog on a short lead on walks.
4. Behaviour training – to resolve the behavioural pattern in the long term. Click here to see our step by step guidelines for general advice, toilet training, recall and ‘leave it’ cue training guides.
5. Address any underlying behavioural concerns – Coprophagia might be part of a wider behavioural issue, seek qualified advice and consider supportive nutraceuticals, such as AlphaziumTT.

Coprophagia, like any habit, cannot be broken overnight, it can take several weeks or even months to resolve. It’s important to remember the 3P’s; praise, patience and practice!

* Hart, B. L., Hart, L. A., Thigpen, A. P., Tran, A., & Bain, M. J. (2018). The paradox of canine conspecific coprophagy. Veterinary medicine and science, 4(2), 106–114.