Dear Paws to Talk,
I am the proud owner of an adorable mutt named Pickles. Sometimes when we are out on a walk or socializing with other dogs I notice that some of Pickles’ 4-legged friends eat poop. I am thankful that Pickles doesn’t do this. Do you? Why do dogs eat poop?
-A Human
Howl Human,
Well, this question put us off our kibble. We don’t eat poop so we are not experts on why canines do it. We have seen this happen too.
We spent time asking some our friends why they do this. At first, they were perplexed as to why we were asking this. We don’t think they realized what they were doing might be odd. Maybe we need to work on our reporter skills?
We kept asking around and got some answers. One young dog who wishes to remain anonymous said that he doesn’t always feel fulfilled by his kibble so sometimes he eats poop to supplement his diet. DiDi has a week stomach and almost lost it during this conversation.
Another dog we spoke to who also wanted to remain anonymous, said that she does it because it is a part of her natural instincts. Her breed descends from wolves. She did have sharp teeth, maybe she was a wolf?
It seems like there is not a clear answer as to why dogs to this. We recommend that humans who have dogs eating poop take them to a vet just to make sure everything is ok. If the dog is healthy, maybe he or she needs more toys to distract them from this habit?
We’re glad we don’t eat poop. It sounds complicated.
Woof,
Bella and DiDi
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