The odd things dogs eat

There are many reasons why dogs eat their own feces.  One is actually tied to the puppies before they are even born.  Just as a pregnant woman might crave odd combinations of foods, so can a puppy be preprogrammed to be hungry before it is even born.

Sometimes when the momma dog is still pregnant, she may not be receiving good quality food and vitamins and may not have been vaccinated properly or at all.  Sometimes the mother is vaccinated while she is still pregnant and in earlier stages of gestation, vaccinations can actually cause things from nutritional insufficiencies all the way to birth defects.

In nature, the mother has to keep her den or lair clean to prevent infection and disease from affecting her puppies.  As the puppies urinate and defecate, a good momma will clean up the area to prevent bacteria and also to let other predators know where the vulnerable puppies are located.  A mother who does not clean up after her puppies risks losing them to disease or predators so sometimes corprophagia is linked to a mother’s maternal instinct.

Coprophagia can be caused by the inability of the dog or puppy to absorb all the nutrients in the food it is eating, even the best quality food.  We believe that there are many breeds and combinations of breeds that are more likely to experience coprophagia and even puppy pica.  Sometimes it is just due to normal teething that occurs between four and eighteen months depending.