What makes puppies eat feces?

Our question this week was:

Dr. Debra – What makes puppies eat feces?

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Billie Yoder

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. You wrote asking why does your puppy eat feces. That is a common question and behavior of puppies. Puppies, just like babies, commonly explore their environments with their mouths. They often eat and chew on things as they figure out “life”.

The technical name for eating feces is “coprophagia”. It is a normal behavior that they generally outgrow.

An article that might be helpful to you is Coprophagia in Dogs. This article has tips and information about the how and what you can try to do to prevent it.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra

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