canis - Articles
Coprophagia
Synonym(s): coprophagy
Introduction
- Eating cat or livestock feces often normal
- Behavior often highly unacceptable to owner.
- Fairly common in young, kennelled or understimulated dogs.
- Occurs particularly in neutered animals and those with increased appetite.
- Dogs are attracted to feces by smell.
- Feces from dogs and cats fed on tinned food may be more attractive due to undigested flavor enhancers.
- It is normal for bitch to eat puppies feces.
Presenting signs
- Feces from herbivores, eg horses, cattle, or cats eaten - often normal behavior.
- Feces from other dogs eaten, usually out on walks.
- Dog's own feces eaten.
- Warm feces only eaten, usually the dog's own or those of another dog in the household.
Acute presentation
- Depends on the owner's reaction upon observation of problem behavior.
- Some owners may be sufficiently revolted to request euthanasia.
Age predisposition
- Likely to begin in adolescence/young adulthood.
Pathogenesis
Etiology
- Often occurs in understimulated individuals with unsatisfied appetites being left for long periods in the presence of feces.
- For those animals with increased appetites, opportunistic scavenging leads to location of feces by scent.
- Individuals quickly learn to search likely locations for feces and it becomes a self-rewarding habit.
- May be the consequence of 'nose-rubbing' to house-train puppy - nose-rubbing initiates taste for feces.
- Punishment for house soiling may also encourage the behavior - animal removes the evidence of the problem - the consequence of instrumental learning.
Predisposing factors
General- Neutering (since it increases appetite).
- Insufficient food given.
- Drug-induced increased appetite.
- Disease-induced malabsorption Maldigestion Malabsorption.
Pathophysiology
- Can be due to unsatisfied appetite. This can be caused by dietary imbalance or disease which impairs normal digestion of food, although pica Pica more likely.
Timecourse
- Usually begins in adolescence as individual begins to explore and requires more food to stay satiated.
- Gradually becomes a deep-rooted habit if allowed to develop as the animal matures and as the behavior pattern becomes learned.
Diagnosis
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Treatment
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Prevention
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Outcomes
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Further Reading
Publications
Refereed papers
- Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
- Wells D (2003) Comparison of two treatments for preventing dogs eating their own faeces. Vet Rec 153 (2), 51-53 PubMed.
- McKeown D, Luescher U A & Machum M (1988) Coprophagia - food for thought. Can Vet J 29 (10), 849-850 PubMed.
Other sources of information
- Landsberg G, Hunthausen W & Ackerman L (1997)Handbook of behavior problems of the dog and cat.pp 112-114.
- Overall K L (1997)Clinical Behavioral Medicine for small animals.pp 245-246.
- Askew H (1996)Treatment of Behavior Problems in dogs and cats. pp 270-271.
- Houpt K A (1982)Ingestive behavior problems in dogs and cats.Vet Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice12, 6683-6692.
Organisation(s)
- Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors, PO BOX 46, Worcester WR8 9YS, UK. Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1386 751151; Email: apbc@petbcent.demon.co.uk; Website: http://www.apbc.co.uk.