What Is Coprophagia?
Coprophagia is the technical term for eating faeces. Dogs may eat their own stools, the stools of other dogs, cat droppings from a litter tray, or the dung of larger animals such as rabbits, horses, and deer. While it is understandably repulsive to most dog owners, it is a surprisingly common behaviour — studies suggest that up to 16 per cent of dogs engage in it regularly. Understanding why it happens is the first step towards stopping it.
Medical Causes to Rule Out First
Before assuming coprophagia is purely a behavioural issue, it is important to eliminate medical causes. Some health conditions make a dog hungry, poorly nourished, or driven to eat unusual substances.
- Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) — the pancreas fails to produce enough digestive enzymes, so nutrients pass through largely unabsorbed. The dog's stools still smell and taste like food to them. EPI is particularly common in German Shepherds and Border Collies.
- Malabsorption disorders — conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease can reduce the absorption of nutrients, leaving the dog chronically undernourished despite eating normally.
- Intestinal parasites — worm infestations compete for nutrients and can trigger unusual appetite behaviours.
- Nutritional deficiency — a diet low in certain vitamins or minerals may drive dogs to seek them out elsewhere.
- Underfeeding or genuine hunger — a dog that is not receiving enough calories may eat stools out of simple hunger.
- Cushing's disease (hyperadrenocorticism) — this condition causes increased appetite and can lead to dogs eating things they would not otherwise touch.
- Steroid medications — dogs on corticosteroids often have significantly increased appetites and may engage in coprophagia as a result.
If your dog has recently developed this behaviour or is losing weight alongside it, a veterinary check including blood tests and a faecal examination is the right starting point.
Behavioural Causes
Once medical causes have been ruled out, the behaviour is almost certainly rooted in psychology, routine, or environment.
Puppies and Normal Exploration
Puppies frequently eat stools as part of their normal exploratory behaviour. They investigate the world through taste and smell, and stools are simply another interesting object. The majority of puppies grow out of this habit naturally by six months of age. If it persists beyond this point, intervention becomes more worthwhile.
Mother Dogs
Female dogs with nursing puppies instinctively eat their puppies' faeces to keep the nest clean and to stimulate the puppies' digestion. This is entirely normal maternal behaviour and is not a cause for concern.
Attention-Seeking
If a dog has previously eaten stools and received a strong reaction — shouting, chasing, animated distress from the owner — they may repeat the behaviour because it reliably produces attention. Even negative attention can be rewarding for a dog that craves interaction.
Anxiety, Stress, and Boredom
Dogs that are anxious, understimulated, or spend long periods alone may engage in coprophagia as a displacement activity. It is more common in dogs that are confined to small spaces for extended periods.
Learnt Behaviour
Dogs that live with other dogs who eat stools can pick up the habit through observation. Once established in a multi-dog household, it can be particularly difficult to address.
Why Do Dogs Eat Cat Faeces in Particular?
Cat stools are especially appealing to many dogs. Cats are obligate carnivores with shorter digestive tracts than dogs, which means their faeces contain relatively high amounts of protein and fat that have not been fully digested. To a dog's nose and palate, cat droppings can smell remarkably like food. This explains why the litter tray is such a persistent target for dogs in multi-pet households.
Prevention Strategies
Managing coprophagia requires a combination of environmental management, training, and — where relevant — dietary improvement.
- Pick up garden stools immediately after your dog defecates, before they have an opportunity to return to them
- Place cat litter trays in rooms the dog cannot access, or use a litter tray with a covered hood and a small entrance the cat can use but the dog cannot
- Keep your dog on a lead near horse paddocks, rabbit hutches, and woodland where deer droppings are present
- Teach and reinforce a reliable "leave it" command — when your dog approaches a stool and looks away on command, reward generously
- Use puzzle feeders and enrichment toys to address boredom, particularly if your dog spends time alone during the day
- Ensure your dog is being fed an adequate quantity of a high-quality, nutritionally complete diet
Supplements Marketed for Coprophagia
Several products are sold specifically to reduce coprophagia, including meat tenderiser powders such as Adolph's, and commercial deterrents such as For-Bid and Deter. These are added to the dog's food and are intended to make the resulting stools taste unpleasant. The scientific evidence for their effectiveness is limited, but they are generally safe and some owners report good results. They only work if the dog is eating its own stools rather than those of other animals.
When to Visit the Vet
Book a veterinary appointment if the behaviour is new or has appeared suddenly, if your dog is also showing signs of weight loss, poor coat condition, or digestive upset, or if you suspect EPI — particularly in German Shepherds, Collies, or other herding breeds. A vet can carry out a simple blood test called a trypsin-like immunoreactivity (TLI) test to confirm or rule out EPI, which is a highly treatable condition once diagnosed.
Hygiene Advice
While coprophagia is rarely dangerous to the dog itself, it does carry some hygiene risks for the owner. Worm your dog regularly with a broad-spectrum wormer to reduce the risk of parasite transmission. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling your dog or picking up stools, and avoid letting a dog that has recently eaten faeces lick your face or hands. With consistent management and patience, most dogs can be redirected away from this habit over time.