Coprophagia (Eating Poop)

Bernie’s Perfect Poop may help stop your dog from eating poop

Photo of Bernie's Perfect Poop grass bits up close. When your dog eats poop, it isn’t just gross. It may be the sign of something missing from your dog’s diet. Bernie’s Perfect Poop may help stop your dog from eating poop (Coprophagia)

Good dog gut health is critical for your dog’s overall health. When your dog’s gut is healthy, your dog is healthier. If your dog is eating poop, it could be that he’s reaching back into his ancestral roots and trying to supplement his gut health.
Food and diet impact your dog’s nutrient absorption. Experts believe that dogs may often turn to eat their own poop (Coprophagia) because they’re not getting enough nutrients from the food they’re eating. A high-quality fiber like the Miscanthus grass found in Bernie’s Perfect Poop will help move food through your dog’s digestive system at just the right speed for maximum nutrient absorption. Combined with flaxseed and pumpkin, this fiber is just what your dog needs for proper digestion.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop combines prebiotics and probiotics to help create the perfectly balanced gut microbiome. If your dog’s gut health is out of whack, he may not be able to fuel his body’s cells appropriately. The right balance of good bacteria in his gut is key to optimal absorption of critical nutrients. When this is in balance, he won’t need to seek nutrition from poop.
Each cell in your dog’s body needs nourishment and nutrients. The biggest reason dogs may eat their poop is because they have enzyme deficiencies. When they aren’t able to break the nutrients from the food you give them down, their DNA will take them back to their wolf days and they’ll seek the nutrient supplementation from poop. Giving your dog Perfect Poop means you are giving them a proprietary blend of seven enzymes that will break their food down and ensure maximum absorption and metabolization. This means better overall health and less poop-eating as a subsidy.
Bernie’s Perfect Poop is a 4-in-1 combination of fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes. Good dog gut health is the key to a happier, healthier life for your dog, and that is especially important if your dog is eating poop eating to supplement its nutrition.

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What other pet parents say

Bought this because my jack russell mix was eating poo. I had read this was because they needed nutrients and that the probiotics help. My dogs love the flavor and smell. It seems to have done the trick and she doesn’t gravitate towards waste now. A little pricey but seems to be a good product.. – Sherry C.

What is coprophagia and what are the symptoms/signs?

In a few words, Coprophagia is when your dog eats poop. Whether it’s your cat’s poop, a rabbit’s poop or more often, his own poop, he eats it as he’d eat any other given meal. It’s the eating of stool, and there really aren’t a lot of signs other than your dog eating poop. It sounds gross to us, but it is actually fairly common in dogs. Experts believe anywhere from one in four to one in six dogs eats poop, and for a variety of different reasons.

Symptoms of Coprophagia include:

Your dog eats poop.
Your dog vomits up feces
Your dog’s breath smells like feces

Causes of poop eating dog (Coprophagia)

Experts don’t really have a ton of specific reasons a dog eats poop, but several often point to either behavioral issues or nutrient issues.

Sometimes, dogs are just bored. Yes, bored to the point that they’ll revert to their inner scavenger and eat poop. For something to do. Sometimes, it’s an act of cleanliness—especially in dogs who have longer fur/coats or feathers around their bums. Sometimes Mama Dogs will eat poop in their puppies’ den for the same reason—to keep the area clean and sometimes puppies will eat poop because it’s there and they’re exploring life. Sometimes, stressed dogs will chew and chew…and that includes eating poop if it’s around.

But more often, when a dog eats poop, it’s because they’re reverting to their ancestral wolf. The one who ate poop to prevent parasites from invading their dens. The one who ate poop because they were not getting enough from their diet and they were trying to take some nutrients back from the poop. Often the dog who eats poop is hungry—either not getting enough in a regular diet or parasites are taking some of that nutrition or prescription medication makes them ravenous. Sometimes, metabolic conditions like endocrine pancreatic insufficiency or Cushing’s or thyroid disease or Diabetes may cause them to be hungry and lacking in nutrients. Their ancestral DNA has them scavenge what they can for nutrition and that often can come from their poop.

Causes may include:	Can Perfect Poop Help?
Nutrient malabsorption	Yes
Poor digestion	Yes
Unhealthy Gut	Yes
Endocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI)	Yes
Diabetes,Cushing’s disease, thyroid disease	Yes
Poor diet	Yes
Prescription medicines	Yes
Parasites
Underfeeding
Behavioral issues:
– Maternal instincts – Eating puppy poop to clean the den
– Anxiety issues – poop eating is a coping mechanism
– Attention seeking
Boredom
– Curiosity
– Isolation coping mechanism (left in crate/kennel too long)
– History of abuse: Dogs that were abused are most likely not being fed so are used to eating feces for food and nutrition

Illustration of Bernie sitting and smiling.

Warning: If your dog has coprophagia

Poop eating (Coprophagia) can become a habit for habit’s sake if you don’t address it. It can also open your dog up to parasites, and may signal bigger health issues. If your dog won’t stop eating feces after attempted treatments, you should consult with your veterinarian so you can look into possible Coprophagia causes.

More information about coprophagia in dogs

Good dog gut health is pivotal to overall physical health in your dog. Good nutrition is what fuels your dog’s mind and body. A strong microbiome keeps all systems of his body doing what they should. If your dog is not getting the nutrients his body needs, he’ll resort to whatever he needs to do to supplement—and that includes eating poop.

Fiber may help with coprophagia in dogs

Fiber is an important supplement when it comes to stopping your dog from eating poop. If your dog is getting enough fiber, he’ll feel fuller and be less apt to fill his tummy with his waste. The premium fiber mix of Miscanthus grass, flaxseed and pumpkin seed that’s found in Bernie’s Perfect Poop will allow your dog’s food to go through his digestive tract at the appropriate speed and for maximum nutrient absorption. He’ll feel fuller for longer, and he won’t be driven to stop a rumbly tummy with his own poop. Or anyone’s poop, for that matter.

Prebiotics and probiotics may help with canine coprophagia.

Prebiotics and probiotics are key supplements to helping your dog’s gut health be at its best. When your dog’s gut is healthy, he’s able to absorb the nutrients his body needs. Prebiotics and Probiotics balance out your dog’s digestive tract bacteria and microbiome. The prebiotic in Perfect Poop is Inulin, which acts as a fertilizer to feed the good bacteria in your dog’s lower digestive tract. When the good bacteria in your dog’s digestive tract gets the right nutrition, they thrive and keep any additional harmful bacteria at bay. This means there’s nothing that is competing for nutrient absorption and your dog won’t be driven to supplement. A balanced microbiome also puts your dog’s gut health first, and that leads to better overall health. Good dog gut health is the key to overall health, and can even make a difference if your dog’s poop eating is behavioral due to anxiety or stress. A healthy gut lets your dog produce appropriate levels of feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters, and the prebiotics and probiotics in your dog’s gut are key factors in this.

Enzymes may help your dog stop eating poop

When it comes to how to stop your dog from eating poop, most likely the easiest way is to ensure you are giving them the best enzymatic supplements you can. High-quality supplements like those found in Bernie’s Perfect Poop will help your dog’s digestive tract break food down better. If he’s able to break food down better, he can fuel his body and absorb nutrients better. If he’s getting the nutrients his body needs from his food, he won’t seek them out in poop. Digestive enzymes are microscopic molecules of protein that are found all over your dog’s body. Each enzyme has an active site that helps break down food molecules into usable parts. This is how your dog is better able to metabolize the nutrients of his food, and they can also help dogs who crave eating dog poop due to metabolic or endocrinological issues.
Digestive enzymes like those found in Bernie’s allow your dog’s gut to be his healthiest and most robust. The stronger his gut health, the better the gut can serve all the body’s organs. And the less he’ll want to eat poop.

Other ways to help

Give your dog plenty of exercise and toys to ward off boredom
Feed smaller, consistent meals of the right proportion
Keep dog’s potty area clean; scoop poop immediately
Teach “Leave It” so they learn good poop behavior
Consider food additives that make poop taste bad to dogs
Give plenty of attention

Additional reading

Related terms

Canine coprophagia
Canine poop eating
Dog poop eating
Feces eating dog
Stool eating dog
Dog stool eating
Dog feces eating
Dog coprophagia