There are a number of possibilities which experts have concluded why a dog would eat its own feces. However, all these are but speculated beliefs at the end of the day as none of them have been aptly proven.
Behavior of boredom or curiosity
Some dogs are known to drink water from the toilet bowl and eat their own feces when left alone at home. It could be that they are bored, curious, restless and being ignored. Buy them some toys or chewies to kill their time while you are out at work. Spend quality time with them when you are back home. This is the basic responsibility of any dog owner.
An expression of stress and anxiety
Certain dogs get stressed up when they are brought to a new environment, be it a park, beach or house. So they eat their own feces. Consult the vet. There is a vitamin that vet can prescribed to calm dogs with anxiety issues
Another reason dogs do that could also be out of insecurity. So they eat their feces in order to cover up their “tracks” of where they have been.
As a result of ill-discipline of the dog owner themselves
Besides the reason of being a considerate citizen for the society and public hygiene, dog owners ought to clean up their dogs’ feces because it is the best way to prevent any dog from developing the habit of eating their own feces. Do it BEFORE it gets the opportunity to eat the feces! It is as simple as that and should apply in the home context
Wrong manner of training by the dog owner
Some owners rub their dogs’ noses into the feces in their attempt to point out to the dog that they have done it at the wrong place. This is a wrong way to teach. The dog may misinterpret it as this is what is expected of them and dogs usually try to please their master.
Nutritional deficiency – vitamins or mineral that is lacking in their diet
Dogs will grow out of this behavior with good nutrition given. Buy them better grade dog kibbles with the essentials vitamins and minerals reflected on the packing.
Another reason the dog could be eating their own feces is because it is hungry and you have not fed him enough. This happens especially to young dogs that are in the growing stage.
Wrong lifestyle skills
This is more common with younger dogs but when your dog becomes socialized with the matured dogs, it will learn that it is “improper.
For whatever reason your dog may be eating its feces, the important thing is to know that any normal dog should not be doing it as it is not healthy for any animals (except rabbits and other rodents) to eat its own feces. It is also unhygienic given the fact that we often let our pets lick us.
We should train them by saying a firm “No!” or showing them it is not alright to do this when we catch them in the act.
