If dogs eat feces, and the pet owner discovers their dog has this habit, it can really be a headache. Because when you think about the usual intimate interactions with your dog, hugging and cuddling, and yet the dog eats poop, it really feels heartbreaking. So today, the editor of Boqi.com will talk about what causes dogs to eat feces. Let’s take a look below.

1. Owner’s Misunderstanding

Sometimes the owner is afraid the dog will eat feces, so they quickly clean up the poop or hide it, but this action makes the dog mistakenly think you are competing with them for treasure! The dog thinks the owner is playing a game with them, so it wants to eat it before the owner cleans it up!

2. Incorrect Training Methods

Owners have probably encountered situations where dogs defecate randomly! Although it may be frustrating, owners must avoid bad punishment methods, such as forcing the dog to smell the feces or pulling the neck harshly… these behaviors can cause psychological trauma for the dog! This incorrect teaching method may bring negative emotions to the dog’s heart. To avoid punishment, the dog eats its own feces to prevent being treated this way again…

3. Dog’s Natural Instincts

Some dog breeds with hunting instincts, such as hounds, after being domesticated by humans, no longer need to hunt for survival in the wild! But the hunting instincts still live in the dog’s heart… so there may be some behavior imagining that they successfully hunted, like putting some prey’s feces in their mouths to satisfy their natural instincts.

4. Dog’s Bad Mood

If we humans are in a bad mood, we may do some deviant things… dogs are also dogs and may behave similarly! When dogs have some negative emotions, such as feeling neglected, fear, anxiety, these can be possible reasons for dogs eating feces! Of course, it could also be that the dog is just bored and wants to find something else to do… The best cure is for the owner to frequently take the pet out to play, so the pet clearly knows you love them very much!

5. A Way Dogs Clean Themselves

No matter what, feces is not very clean… so some clean-loving dogs, if the owner doesn’t clean up quickly enough, will have to do it themselves! (For the dog’s health, owners, please clean up diligently~)

Through this article, everyone now knows what causes dogs to eat feces, so since you know, pet owners should avoid it and take proper preventive measures.