Why Do Dogs Eat Poop?

Causes of Copraphagy

That confusing “C” word in the above heading is the official medical terminology for fecal feasting, and it sounds slightly more sterile, so it’s a more than a little preferable to other popular vernacular: e.g. crap snacking, turd tasting, or wolfing down waste. So we’ll refrain from that sort of language from here on out.

Copraphagy in dogs is possibly a evolutionary remnant from their scavenging days as more wolf-like kinds of canines. It can also be a learned behavior. Where would dogs that eat poop pick up such a habit?

From you.

This is by way of misunderstanding your actions, of course. When a dog sees you cleaning up, it might mistake your intentions. Or perhaps you’ve scolded it in the past for committing a dumping on your duvet. Copraphagy might be their (not so) clever way of removing evidence of the crime.  It could also be that they saw another dog doing the deed and is imitating it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all. 
Stop Your Dog From Eating Poop

There are a few options for keeping dog breath to a healthier level of stench. You could treat your dog’s food with a chemical to make its stools less palatable. Commercial products such as 4-BID are available for this specific purpose. Or you could cut out the middle man and sprinkle some cayenne pepper on the stool directly. Of course, if you’re going to go to that much trouble, you might as well just pick up the offending fecal matter and throw it away. That, in fact, might be the easiest solution. 

같은 집에 고양이가 있다면 개를 쓰레기 상자에 넣는 것을 제한하고 싶을 것입니다. 고양이와 같은 크기의 개가 있다면 이것은 까다로울 수 있습니다. 베이비 게이트 또는 그와 비슷한 것을 넣어보십시오. 고양이가 개를 너무 쉽게 우회 할 수있는 상태에서 그 고양이가 여전히 빠져 나갈 수있는 한. "Shaming"을 시도해 볼 수도 있습니다.
Whatever you do, don’t scold a dog that eats poop. It may associate the unwanted behavior with your attention. It’s like the old saying, that there’s no such thing as bad press. When it comes to a caretaker’s attention, dog’s may be willing to take a tongue lashing in order to be your focus for a few moments.

In the end it will just take some effort, and perhaps a little creativity to break a cacography inclined animal. Until then, invest in breath mints.