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When australian shepherds eat poop it’s one of the more disgusting things you can see your pup do.
Why on earth would they do such a thing? Is it normal for australian shepherds to eat poop or is something wrong?
Why Do Australian Shepherds Eat Poop:
If your australian shepherd is feeling deprived of attention they may eat poop to get a reaction out of you and get your attention. Australian shepherds can also develop the bad habit of eating poop if they tried it once in the past and found out they enjoy it.
In this post you’ll discover:
- 9 real reasons why australian shepherds eat poop
- When your aussies poop eating is something to worry about
- 5 tips to help stop your australian shepherd from continuing to eat poop (Tip #4 can help break the habit ASAP!)
- And much more
Let’s jump right in.
Table of Contents
9 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Eat Poop
1) For Attention
Unfortunately, your aussie might not be too concerned about whether they’re getting positive or negative attention.
So long as they’re getting attention in general, in their mind it’s better than getting no attention at all.
Which means you might find your australian shepherd eating poop to get you to interact with them.
Especially if every time in the past when they’ve done it you gave a big reaction.
Like running over to them to get them to stop or yelling their name and starting to talk to them.
While these are perfectly normal reactions, it might be one of the reasons why they continue to do it.
2) To Clean Up
Australian shepherds naturally want to keep spaces that they feel are their own, clean.
Which means if they have an accident somewhere where they feel it’s their space, they may eat their own poop to keep it clean and hygienic.
This behavior is most commonly seen if they poop inside their crate.
They’ll eat it to tidy up because they don’t want their living space to be unhygienic and get themselves sick.
Another reason why your aussie would eat poop to clean up is because they may have seen their mother do it when they lived with their litter in the first few weeks of their life.
If you have other pets in the house they might also want to clean up other accidents as well, which they can become rather obsessive and compulsive about.
3) Problems With Their Diet
If your aussie’s diet is lacking in nutrients and they’re experiencing deficiencies, they might eat their own poop as they’ll feel hungry more often than not.
Their diet might also be lacking in fiber, which poop contains a high amount of.
These problems can come from eating low quality dog food or because they’re allergic to one of their food’s ingredients.
If they have an intolerance to one of their food’s ingredients it will affect their body’s ability to absorb its nutrients properly.
Related Reading: Are Australian Shepherds High Maintenance? (Explained!)
4) Overly Anxious
Some dogs are overly anxious because of genetics, poor socialization or experiences they’ve gone through.
If you have an australian shepherd who is suffering from anxiety that isn’t being addressed then they might eat their own poop because it makes them feel better.
This is why you see this behavior in dogs who’ve developed separation anxiety, for example.
It’s their way of coping with stress because they feel as if they don’t have any control over the situation.
If your aussie has gone through any big life changes recently it’s likely the cause for their sudden poop eating and higher than usual levels of anxiety.
Related Reading: Australian Shepherd Anxiety: Symptoms, Causes & Solutions
5) Keeping Loved Ones Safe?
This might sound odd, but there’s actually a couple instinctual reasons why your australian shepherd would eat poop because they’re trying to keep their family safe.
Both aren’t necessary now that they live in your home, but might be something they feel compelled to do.
In a wolf pack, if a sick member of the pack were to poop near their den, the healthier members of the pack would eat the poop to stop the spread of the sickness.
Another reason would be to help protect their loved ones from predators.
They’d eat poop, either their own or a loved ones, to stop predators from being able to pick up on the scent and find where their family lives.
6) They Simply Enjoy It
This is one of the more uncommon reasons for why your aussie may be eating poop, but it’s also the most simple.
Some dogs simply enjoy eating poop.
There’s no rhyme or reason to it, they just find the taste of it rather satisfying.
This is more commonly seen in puppies, but can continue on into adulthood if you don’t train them out of it.
If you’re seeing this behavior in an older dog who has no underlying medical problems, then it’s likely they simply enjoy the taste of it.
(Our tips below can help break this habit)
7) Hiding The Evidence
If your australian shepherd has pooped somewhere they shouldn’t or had an accident, they may eat their own poop to cover up the evidence.
They might not want you to find out about what they did and then eat it to hide the smell from any human noses that could possibly find it.
8) Unintentionally Not Being Fed Enough
This isn’t necessarily the same thing as them eating poop because they’re experiencing nutrient deficiencies, but can lead to that.
If you’re unintentionally underfeeding your aussie, it’s possible they’ll eat their own poop to try and get the calories they’re missing.
This is why you might notice this behavior more in puppies because they have higher energy requirements than adults do.
9) Possible Health Condition
In rare cases, your aussie may actually have a medical condition that causes them to eat poop.
Things like hyperthyroidism, diabetes, or Cushing’s disease can all cause your pup to be more hungry than usual which can result in them eating poop.
This should be rare, but it’s important to note.
If your aussie is starting to move into their senior years and you think this might be the case then it’s a good idea to take them to the vet.
Top 5 Tips To Stop Australian Shepherds From Eating Poop
1) Eliminate The Opportunity
This is the best possible way to stop an aussie from eating their own poop, but also requires some diligence on your part.
While I’m sure you pick up your australian shepherd’s poop each time they go on a walk, you may let poop in your backyard sit there for a little while.
You’d want to start picking up their poop each time they go in your backyard as well.
You’d also have to be on the lookout for other animal’s poop while walking your pup.
The better you can keep your aussie away from poop the better chance they’ll have to drop this gross habit.
Another way to eliminate their opportunity is to control their poop schedule.
Which might sound like wizardry, but I assure it’s not that hard.
If you do your best to feed your pup at the same time every day, you’ll effectively make them poop at roughly the same time every day.
This means less accidents when you’re not home and less opportunities for them to be around poop unsupervised.
Of course when they aren’t feeling well this might change, but for most days you’ll have a good idea of when they need to poop and it should help give them less opportunities to eat their poop.
2) Try a Diet Change
As mentioned earlier, your dog might eat their own poop because they’re missing nutrients in their diet.
A simple change in their dog food may be all you need to do to fix the problem.
Whether it’s because they’re currently being fed low quality kibble or if they’re allergic to one of their food’s ingredients.
When you change up their main source of food there’s a chance it helps them feel more full and get proper nutrient absorption.
This means less poop eating and a lot more happiness for everyone involved.
*Important Note: Whenever changing up your aussie’s dog food, always do so gradually over the course of a week. Randomly changing to a new food one day will negatively affect their stomach and likely cause them to have diarrhea until their body adjusts to their new food.
3) Give Them More Attention
This one may come as a surprise to some, but giving your australian shepherd more attention can help stop them from eating their own poop.
It’s possible they only eat poop because no one is paying enough attention to them.
After all, they’re the true leaders of your home and should be getting attention each moment of every day.
…Just kidding, but it’s possible they’re eating their poop because they feel they haven’t gotten enough attention lately.
So plan a little more cuddle time each day or start taking them for extra long walks a little more often.
You’d be surprised what a little extra attention can do for their behavior.
If you give them more love and affection, they’ll hopefully stop finding ways to be mischievous to get your attention.
4) Stool Repellent
It may sound weird, but you might have to make your aussie’s poop taste worse.
Who knew it could taste good in the first place…
There are some products designed specifically to make their poop taste bad to them.
So if they do decide to eat it next time, this should hopefully dissuade them from continuing the behavior.
Vetrinex Labs Poop Eating Deterrent is one of the better stool repellents you can find on amazon. You can check it out by clicking here.
5) Take Them To See a Veterinarian
If no matter what you do your australian shepherd continues to eat poop then it’s time to go see the veterinarian.
They will be able to check for any possible viruses or diseases that might be impacting your pup’s behavior.
Handled correctly, these underlying issues should sometimes come with a quick fix.
However it may also become necessary for you to get your dog some prescription medication until they’re back to normal.
Other posts you might find interesting:
8 Best Dog Beds for Australian Shepherds | Beds That Last
11 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Are So Needy & Clingy
19 Ways Australian Shepherds Show Their Affection
Australian Shepherds Easy To Crate Train? The Truth + Tips