# Coprophagia or Dung Eating **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 1999, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919 "1999-08-16T20:30:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Byzantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 1999, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/1 "1999-08-16T20:30:00Z")
My dog has been engaging in this disgusting habit since she was a puppy and I’ve gotten a lot of information on why dogs do this but no information on how to make them stop doing it. Nothing, not even morning breath from hell, can compare to a dog with cat poo breath. I’ve moved the cat box to a place where she can’t get at it but I have 3 cats and they do go outside. Any ideas? * * * You can count the number of apples in one tree but never the number of trees in one apple. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Thin_Skin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 1999, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/2 "1999-08-16T21:02:00Z")
I talked to my vet about this once. He suggested we sprinkle cayenne pepper on the cat scats as soon as possible. He said it sometimes helps. Turned out in our case it didn’t. I guess our dog is cajun. He seemed to prefer it. We thought about renaming him to Justin. Seriously, the vet indicated that there’s no great harm in this. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 1999, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/3 "1999-08-16T22:45:00Z")
In general, why do dogs love disgustingly smelly things? I knew two farm dogs that would kill and eat skunks. The skunks would spray them of course; the dogs simply didn’t care. So much for one defense mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![Byzantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 1999, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/4 "1999-08-17T00:29:00Z")
I’m not worried about her getting sick from it but man, she always wants to kiss me after she’s done it. Perhaps to ‘share’ the joy of this? Yuck! I’ll try the pepper thing; hopefully she won’t think I’m encouraging her by spicing it up! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 1999, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/5 "1999-08-17T00:41:00Z")
Actually, Your pup kissing you is potentially worse for you than eating poop is for her. I know, I know. 🙂 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![joemill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@joemill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemill)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 1999, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/6 "1999-08-30T03:33:00Z")
My dog used to eat the cat’s poop out of the litter box when he was little. I was alarmed and asked my vet why the dog would do this. He mentioned something about the “undigested proteins” in the poop made it attractive to the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 1999, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/7 "1999-08-30T04:34:00Z")
The causing of a sudden and powerful feeling of fear is the usual cure for this problem in old-time career government bureaucrats. They might wet their pants, though. Should work similarly for dogs. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 1999, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/8 "1999-08-30T13:10:00Z")
Is it possible your dog is the reincarnation of Babs Johnson, The Filthiest Person Alive? ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 1999, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/9 "1999-08-30T14:33:00Z")
Reminds me of a haiku I saw, supposedly written by a dog: I love my master. Thus I perfume myself with This long-dead woodchuck. * * * Live a Lush Life Da Chef ---
**Author:** ![BunnyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BunnyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyGirl)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 1999, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/10 "1999-08-30T15:06:00Z")
We had a dog that did this. Vet said because the cat food was much richer than dog food, the poop was too. We’d catch him grabbing a “snack” with gravel all over his face…ewwww! FInally put it in a closet with bi-fold doors and blocked it open only enough for the cats to get in there. Grossed my husband out completely! ---
**Author:** ![RoboDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@RoboDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoboDude)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 1999, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/11 "1999-08-31T15:31:00Z")
The Foster & Smith catalog has certain products specifically designed to discourage this behavior. There are products available that, when added to food, somehow make turds taste horrible. ---
**Author:** ![StStella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@StStella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StStella)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 1999, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/12 "1999-08-31T15:41:00Z")
Byzentine, I feel your pain. I have two dogs and two dogs and my male dog is always snacking out of the litter box. We’ve tried turning it towards the wall, putting it in the corner and putting a lid over the top. My dog is big, but he still manages to fit his fat, lab head in there. Then he comes up stairs (cat bin is in basement) and right up in your face. His breath is so bad, you can smell it from across the room. One day, during the winter, he came in from outside and plunked himself down on the floor and started chewing on something crunchy. Turned out to be frozen dog poop- a poopsicle! Any way, my female dog does NOT do this, although she LOVES to roll in deer poop. As we live out in the country, this is very accessible. Since she’s a huge St Bernard, baths are NOT easy. There are products that you can put in both dog and cat food that supposedly stops dogs from eating both kinds of poo. Unfortunately, they don’t work for my dog. ---
**Author:** ![StStella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@StStella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StStella)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 1999, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/13 "1999-08-31T15:41:00Z")
Darn it! That was supposed to be two dogs and two CATS. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 1999, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coprophagia-or-dung-eating/2919/14 "1999-08-31T15:43:00Z")
" somehow make turds taste horrible." Oh my, I couldn’t miss this one. Are you saying they have a nice taste? I wonder how the determined that? Maybe they tasted them before & after putting the stuff on? Anyway, sounds to me that the canine isn’t getting the best food. Choose a food that is mostly meat or chicken. Most cheap canine foods are just corn and canines can’t process corn so it goes in one side & out the other and they have to eat a lot of it. Get them an expensive meat based food, they eat a lot less of it & it tastes better to them than cat doodoo. Also get something for them to chew on, bones, etc.