Why do dogs eat shit?
1. Maternal behavior: After giving birth to a puppy, the bitch will lick the puppy's genitals and anus. In addition to irritating the puppy to urinate and defecate and eat it to keep the environment clean and clean, it can also prevent the smell from leaking to avoid being hunted by other animals. This is a normal maternal behavior.
2. Imitation behavior: The owner often cleans the kennel and the place where he lives. Over time, the dog cleanses the urine and defecation nearby. When the dog sees other dogs eating stool, it is an imitation behavior.
3. Inappropriate punishment: Dogs are physically punished by their owners after urinating or defecating, causing the dog to be afraid of being punished by their owners after defecation, so they eat the feces for fear of being punished by their owners after defecation, and the evidence is annihilated
4. Replacement behavior: Dogs eat stools, and some special smells in feces are loved by dogs, which are very attractive to fermented excrements from herbivorous animals. When they cannot eat such excrement, they eat their own or other feces instead.
5. Attract the owner's attention: Dogs eat shit because of internal medicine diseases, and the owner gets attention. After the internal medicine diseases are cured, they will be scolded by the owner, but continue to pay attention to it.
6. Acts of class hegemony: Secondary-rank dogs may have to eat higher-ranking shit in a group to show surrender
7. Feeding habits: Some dogs have to eat several meals a day, and after changing to one meal a day, they use stool to satisfy hunger, which causes such habits
8. The main reason for dogs to eat shit is that they lack certain vitamins in their bodies. It’s like cats like to eat mice (deficient in taurine, etc.). Cats will eat certain grass when they are sick. Once their dogs eat shit, it is recommended to go to the pet hospital for a look. There are special medicines or foods to treat.
What should a dog do if he likes to eat stool:
1. Cut off the opportunity:
After the dog has finished stool, clean it up immediately so that he will not have the chance to eat stool. When he cannot tell when he will stool, bring a mask to make it impossible to eat or may have to be locked in a cage. The space at the bottom of the cage must be enough to make the stool that the stool will not be stuck in the cage. When walking around the dog, he must use a dog chain to prevent the stool from being stopped later and let him eat the stool again. After defecation, he will walk away to praise him. If he wants to smell his stool, he will immediately stop it. In the environment where the dog lives, all the stool, including the stool of other dogs or animals, so that he will not have the chance to eat stool
2. Reprimand and stop it in time:
Dogs should be severely blocked when eating stool. Do not corporal punishment, otherwise they will get the opposite effect. Do not have any punishment actions after they have eaten the stool, because the dog no longer knows why you punished it?
3. Encouragement:
After defecation, praise the dog and encourage and lure him, so that he forgets to eat stool, and slowly change his habits.
4. Add the taste that the dog doesn't like:
After defecation, add very spicy chili peppers, very bitter medicines or taste that your dog doesn't like. This requires the owner to discover what your dog doesn't like. Each dog is different, so you may try it.
5. Use command to block:
This is useful for dogs who have obedience training. They must be able to understand your commands, such as not, sit down, come and other commands. When the dog has finished defecation, order him to take some obedience actions to remove his attention to prevent him from eating stools
6. Add substances that the dog does not like after digestion:
There are some products abroad that are added to the dog food that is eaten. If the dog eats his own stool, add it to his food. If it is his dog, it must be added to his food. I don’t know if there are similar products in the mainland, but the utility is still under evaluation. Some people provide MSG, garlic, pumpkin, etc. to add it to the feces after digestion of dog food. The dog doesn’t like to eat it. You can try and tell everyone the results
7. Add digestive aids:
Some people believe that adding digestive enzymes can help digestion and prevent feces caused by digestive problems. The effect in the study has not been confirmed. Combined with the above methods, one or several methods can be selected at the same time. If other symptoms appear at the same time, you must consider whether it may be caused by internal medicine diseases and take them to the hospital for examination to find the real cause for treatment.