Hi Nathan,

Thanks for your question.

The condition you’re dealing with is coprophagia. It’s common and thought to occur as an evolutionary dietary strategy of some animals. There are nutrients that can be produced by the bacteria present in the hindgut which if eaten, can be absorbed in the foregut. This doesn’t necessarily mean your dog has a nutritional deficiency, but she could be manifesting the behaviour for other reasons. You could consider adding a probiotic to her diet, a vitamin mixture, or discuss possible behavioural concerns with your veterinarian. Most cases of coprophagia in dogs don’t result in an answer but it can be treated non-specifically anyways.

To stop coprophagia, most people use a product from their veterinarian (I cannot provide the name as my license does not allow me to support or endorse a product, service or treatment plan). It’s a powder you add to the food that is tasteless but when it gets digested, it comes out in the stool and makes the ‘poop’ taste awful. When your dog eats one of her own poops, it will taste horrible and a concept of ‘taste aversion’ will kick in. It should be enough to put her off of them for life as long she samples the poops while she is being given the product. Keep in mind, it won’t work if your dog is eating the poop of another dog that is not receiving the product.

Good luck.

Dr. Clayton Greenway