Why do puppies eat poop?

Although it might not excite you to see your puppy eating poop – whether its own or someone else’s – it is, however, a completely natural behavior that is also observed in wild dogs or wolves in the wild.

Therefore, it can also be difficult to determine precisely why your puppy behaves this way. However, one thing is certain, and that is that you should stop this behavior before it becomes a habit with the dog.

Reasons why dogs eat poop: Lack of nutrients

One of the reasons that puppies or dogs in general choose to eat poop is that they lack nutrients. This could be vitamins and minerals, especially if the puppy or dog favors poop from herbivores, but it can also be because they lack proteins, which they can find in the poop from carnivorous species.

Therefore, it is important that you get help to review the dog’s feeding plan, possibly together with a veterinarian, so you are completely sure that your puppy gets all the nutrients it needs, and that the food is adjusted in accordance with age and growth.

Removing traces

In nature, it’s best not to smell too much if you’re a defenseless puppy. Therefore, it is not unnatural that in the puppy’s first months of life, there is a tendency to eat its own feces, thus removing traces from the surroundings, and making the little puppy less visible to potential threats from other animals.

The power of habit is strong

Some puppies do not only eat feces during the early period but continue with this behavior throughout their lives. Here, it can be a habit, or possibly just because it is something that the dog finds tastes good. It could also be because the dog’s metabolism is “hungry” due to a lack of nutrients in the mother’s womb.

Our team may have used AI to assist in the creation of this content, which has been reviewed by our editors.