Why do dogs eat feces?

Often happens, the owner walks with his faithful dog, they play together and look very happy with the walk. But suddenly the dog finds in the grass a very suspicious treat and with appetite begins to eat it in front of amazed passers-by. Involuntarily the question arises, why do dogs eat feces?

Disease or habit?

Eating feces has its official name: coprophagy. This word sounds much more presentable, but the meaning of this does not change. There are several reasons why a dog eats feces:

1. Historically, the ancestors of domestic dogs enjoyed carrion with pleasure. Therefore, until now four-legged friends of a person can remember about their origin and eat some unpleasant thing, including feces.
2. The dog thus tries to avoid punishment. Perhaps the owner scolded her for such misconduct. Now the animal hastens to destroy the evidence of its guilt, for this the dog eats its feces.
3. Dogs love it when they play with them. Therefore, they are looking for a way to attract attention, one of them is to eat the feces right during the walk. The owner will react, probably, will start to persuade so to not do any more, will call to itself. For the owner, this situation is a nuisance, for the dog - a game.
4. A dog that recently became a mother, tries to do everything to protect their kids. To remove feces, which can attract predators with its smell, is one of the ways to take care of puppies.
5. It is proved that dogs can eat horse manure to get rid of some types of worms .
6. Puppies are easier to digest food by using ready-made bacteria from the stomach of their brethren.
7. Having looked at how the owner carefully removes the products of his pet's livelihoods, the dog can decide to help him and clean up himself.
8. In the dog's body, certain minerals or vitamins may not suffice, which she tries to fill with the most accessible way for her.

Since there are many reasons for unwanted behavior in a dog, it is possible to fight this habit in different ways.

What if the dog eats its feces?

It is possible to exclude the dog from such behavior, but it must be remembered that the process of re-education always takes a long time and does not suffer haste. Ways to save the dog from an unpleasant habit:

1. First of all, you need to consult a veterinarian. If the dog lacks any substances, they can easily be filled with special supplements or simply by changing the diet of the animal.
2. When the dog has found a "delicacy" and started eating it, it is necessary to approach it from behind, to command "not", then loudly clap your hands and give the command "next".
3. You can change the style of walking, spend more time training and games, use a leash and muzzle.
4. Another way is to sprinkle a bunch of canine "delicacies" with pepper or horseradish. The dog just does not like what she ate. In pet stores you can buy special food additives that spoil the taste of the products of life so that even a dog with strange gastronomic preferences will not eat them.

If the dog eats cat feces

But if eating feces is a mildly unpleasant process, but not dangerous, then things are completely different with the lives of cats. Dogs like to eat what cats leave in their tray, since cat feces contain a lot of protein. This is explained simply: there is a lot of protein in the feed for cats, since it is useful for them. But dogs can not, but, as you know, the most delicious is always that they do not allow food. So it turns out that cat feces to dogs are harmful to health. Therefore, if a cat and a dog live together in a house, it is better to put the tray so that it is convenient for him to reach only the rightful owner for certain needs. If the dog can not reach the tray, then it will not be able to eat its contents.

If the dog has an unpleasant habit of excrement, first of all you need to understand why she does it. Then overcome the bad habit will be much easier.