French Bulldogs are usually friendly, loyal and active pets – so it can be quite disturbing to you to see your beloved furry friend eating poop. Fortunately, this is fairly common behavior among all dog breeds and is usually easily corrected. To help you understand why your French Bulldog is eating poop and what to do about it, we’ll provide some helpful information below.
What Causes a Dog to Eat its Own Poop?
While there is no single cause for coprophagia (or eating poop), there are several factors that can contribute to it. Most are either behavioral or health related:
Behavioral Reasons for Eating Poop
- Lack of mental stimulation or boredom: Dogs can develop this behavior if their days are filled with little to no stimulation. To combat this, be sure to provide plenty of play and regular walks.
- Imitation/dominance: If your Frenchie is living with another dog, they may be imitating others and trying to gain dominance, leading them to eat poop.
- Cleaning up after their puppies: If a female French Bulldog has recently given birth, she may be instinctively cleaning up her puppies’ feces the same way their mother did.
- Nutritional deficiency: Eating poop can be caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals in your Frenchie’s diet. Your vet can help determine if your pet’s diet should be adjusted.
- Undigested food: If your Frenchie’s poop contains undigested material, your pet may be trying to eat it to supplement their nutrition.
- Parasites: Intestinal parasites can cause your french bulldog to experience nausea, pain and weakness, leading to this behavior. Your vet can check and treat your pet if they have parasites.
How Can You Stop Your French Bulldog from Eating Poop?
If your French Bulldog has now been diagnosed as having coprophagia, don’t worry. Here are a few of the solutions you can use to combat this behavior:
- Clean up as soon as possible. Be sure to pick up after your pup as soon as you see them doing their business. You can also keep them on a leash to make sure you’re able to get to the area quickly.
- Increase activity and obedience training. Giving your Frenchie plenty of stimulation will help keep them entertained and prevent eating poop. Basic obedience training commands such “sit,” “stay” and “come” can also help you better control them when they’re outside.
- Consult your vet. If your Vet has ruled out any medical causes, they may also recommend using additives like pineapple juice in your dog’s food as bitter additives to discourage eating feces.
Coprophagia can be a difficult behavior to train a dog out of, but the good news is that there are solutions available. With the proper solutions and patience, you can help stop your French Bulldog from eating poop and restore peace of mind. As always, be sure to consult your Vet to discuss any additional solutions and to make sure there are no underlying health conditions present.
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