VETERINARY MEDICINE: Why your dog is eating poop.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Why your dog is eating poop. Dogs are energetic and always on the move,looking at stuff,digging,running around and all other stuff.Most dog owners can tolerate the fast paced life of these hairy creatures but detests the poop eating habit,yes habit! can be corrected. VETERINARY MEDICINE: Why your dog is eating poop.Dogs eat poop for various reasons such as 1) nutritional deficiencies. 2) social behavior. 3) Restlessness/boredom .4) environment .5)starvation. The poop eating habit of dogs though disgusting , may be a signal to the owner that the diet is not complete/balanced,the management techniques are wrong and house training is inadequate. Dog food must be a balanced ration of carbohydrate,protein,fats/oil with minerals and vitamins,hence dogs on incomplete rations are deficient in certain elements needed for growth and proper body functioning and maintenance of body systems.The dog will try to makeup for the inadequacy by eating up the poop with the intention of getting more nutrients. Dog training should include house training, dogs should have a schedule when they are taken out to poop and where the training is excellent ,dogs are prevented from eating poop.Dogs that are kept tied up for long periods without any supervision,can also resort to poop eating when hungry or out of sheer boredom. VETERINARY MEDICINE: Why your dog is eating poop. The environment also plays a role in the poop eating behavior; rural dwellers in certain countries encourage their dogs to eat poop, when humans poop they give it to their dogs,some others even allow the dog lick the bum of the child to clean it.Dogs living in such environment eating poop is normal,and since dogs learn by observation it spreads to the pack they run with and they also pass the habit down to their pups as the bitch normally eats poop of her pups to keep the kennel clean. Social behavior also contribute to dog eating poop, dogs in a pack that eats poop will also assume its normal and will follow suit while dogs running with another pack that eats poop will also pick up the habit. Dogs that are starved, or given small rations at longer intervals tend to look for alternate sources of food,this dog eating poop is not limited to their own but to poop of other animals.Dogs pick up certain habits out of boredom ; poop eating can also fall in this category. The prevention of this habit will depend on the underlining cause,and if this is corrected ,the dog will stop eating poop.