Dog

[MWB]

I just saw a purebred, spayed, 8 year old German Shepard poo then promptly turn around and eat it !!!!!!!

What the.........................???

[donn1901]

it must really like its food :-) lol...

[Roger9]

It's called copraphagia and is not uncommon.
Two theories for it, one that the faeces still contains protein wnd the other that it is a sign of stress or a feeling of inattention from owner.

[lankeela]

Its only recycled dog food!

[gelda]

Aggree Lankeela, it's very common I see dogs doing it every day, my brother's dogs have a feast every morning when they go out so very often they are made to go without their breakfast! It never seems to do them any harm. when I first started dog walking some 40 years ago it used to make me feel really sick but after a while I got used to it. as you say it's only recycled dog food.

[tiggerblue10]

A few years ago a dog used to come into my garden and eat my cats poo from the litter tray. It had litter stuck to it as well. Is this normal?!!!

[Illyria54]

I'm sure it was just a one off, but GSD's can suffer from a condition known as Pancreatic Enzyme Insufficiency (PEI), this means that they can't digest their food properly, if it continues it could be more serious.

[fredpuli47]

Healthy dogs do this. They can be quite fussy: a particularly favoured 'food supplement' is horse dung !

One theory is that their eating their own is a throwback to puppy days. The dam eats the faeces of her young, so it may seem natural, to a grown dog , to do the same. Aaaaah, sweet !

[foggiest]

Dogs mostly do this when they are suffering from malnutrition. If they are on a poor brand of dog food (cheap brands are made up of mostly corn, sprayed with flavor - no nutritional value) then their bodies crave protein, vitamins, etc. Without anything else to satisfy themselves they feel encouraged to eat their poop in hopes the second time around they might get something they missed. Not going to happen, but it's a vicious cycle. Change them to a better food & unless it's become a habit the behavior will stop.

What�s Really in Pet Food?
http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&mor e=1

Just to mention too:
Illyria54, you have the name of EPI right, just out of order. It's actually called Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) My male shepherd has this disease. However I wouldn't think of EPI in this case. Not unless soft, smelly (undigested food adds higher odor) yellow stools, loss of large amounts of fur (dog starts shedding very badly) & weight loss were also involved.
http://epi-research-fund.com/

cheers,
http://thegsd.info/