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My dog keeps eating her poop. What are the best ways to stop it?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female | spayed | 10 lbs

Mia keeps eating her poop. I have given her more vitamin A and B but she won't stop. How else can I stop her from doing that?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on February 1st, 2018

Restrict her access to areas where there is feces. Walk her on a leash to prevent her from reaching feces. Pick it up immediately after she has completed her business. You can also use a product called For-Bid. It is a powdered food additive that imparts a bitter taste to stool to prevent a dog from eating it. The additional vitamins will likely have no effect on this behavior. Dogs will eat stool out of boredom, curiosity or to correct a nutritional deficiency. Be sure to feed a balanced diet. Review her diet with your veterinarian if necessary.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 25th, 2018

    This behavior is called coprophagia. No one is really sure why they do this although there are some theories. Usually puppies will outgrow this behavior by the time they reach 10-12 months of age. The only 100% way to prevent this is to pick up the stools before she can eat them. There are some things you can add to her food to make the stool "taste bad" so she won't want to eat it but I am not sure if they are available in India. You can call your local vet to see what products are available to you or you can add meat tenderizer to her food as it works similarly. Here is a link to an article about this behavior for you to read. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/dog-behavior-problems-coprophagia Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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    Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

    Published on March 16th, 2018

    There are a number of reasons that dogs will eat stools. Since I don't have more information on Kasey's situation, I am going to attach a handout below that details a number of these reasons. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1613 If Kasey is eating her own stools, I would recommend one of the food additives such as For-Bid ( http://www.for-bid.com/ ). Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on February 8th, 2018

    For helping to eliminate purely behavioral causes of coprophagy, a three step method can be used: 1. Decreaseattractivequalityoffeces • Change in diet can oftentimes be beneficial, switching to a brand with a lower protein content to lower the amount of protein excreted into the feces (which the dog finds palatable). • Commercially available products added to food can decrease the palatability of the feces. Examples include: For-bid®; Deter®; and meat tenderizers. Consult with your veterinarian as to the proper dose to use. 2. Preventexpressionofbehavior • Being present and scooping up the feces immediately is a good way to prevent this behavior. • Keeping the dog on leash when taking him/her out to eliminate can help the owner physically prevent the dog from engaging in coprophagy. • Controlled feeding time allows the owner to predict time of defecation and be more vigilant when watching the dog. • Preventing access to other pet’s litterboxes or cleaning them frequently. • Spray collars, such as citronella can be used to deter the dog as well. • “Booby-trapping” feces, by adding hot sauce or “bitter apple” flavor INTO the feces, so the dog associates bad tastes with its feces. • Not rewarding the behavior by ignoring the dog when it consumes its feces, despite how difficult it may be for the owner. 3. Rewardpost-eliminationbehavior • Positive reinforcement immediately after good behavior (so owner must be present). Keep the dog on leash, and if the dog does not go for its feces, reward it with food and praise. Also, if the dog does try to reach for its feces, divert its attention to another simple task (such as asking to “sit” or “shake paw”) and reward it for performing the task. Health Concerns: As with all pets, regardless of whether or not the dog is coprophagic, owners should be careful about washing their hands at appropriate times, such as before eating, after handling feces, etc. Cleanliness is the first line of defense against potential disease transmission, which can include intestinal parasites. Coprophagy can be very distasteful to owners and can be a public health concern. If this occurs, consider seeing your local veterinarian to rule out any possible diseases as the cause and to develop a plan to help eliminate the behavior.

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