Coprophagia is a behavioural condition whereby puppies and dogs consume their stool. It is a common habit in some dogs which can be distressing for the pet owner and unhygienic for the pet.
It is necessary, however, to make some distinctions, for example between puppies and adult dogs, between faeces present in the living room or outside and between eating their stools or those of others. In addition, the puppies are very curious and explore the world in all its aspects, often eating excretions for pure curiosity but this behavior usually stops around the age of 4 months
The causes of coprophagia can be multiple such as:
- the pursuit of attention, the dog eats its excrement and the master tends to pay attention to it and consequently the dog will continue to have this behavior to attract attention. It is very unlikely that the dog is well cared for.
- Imitation, the dog sees the master who collects the excrements from the ground and accordingly wants to imitate him in collecting and keeping clean; Or simply see other dogs eat their stools and act accordingly.
- Maternal attitudes, after giving birth, mom ingests the excretions of the puppies for various reasons such as cleaning the dog, or licking the puppy to stimulate defecation.
- Domination, dogs subdued ingest the stools of other dominant dogs in the house, or submissive dogs who have to catch the bowl with other like and eat last time not finding much food.
- Taste, some dogs do it for taste, for pleasure, especially with some kind of cat stool or even other animals.
- Type of feeding, some people feed their dog incorrectly or with low quality food. As a result, dogs to overcome hunger or nutritional deficiencies feed themselves alone through autocoprophagia.
VetIQ® STOOL REPEL - COPROPHAGIA REMEDY
VetIQ Stool Repel tablets have been specially formulated to help deter this behaviour by making the dogs own stool unpalatable to eat. VetIQ Stool Repel contains Oleoresin Capsicum, a lachrymatory agent, which deters a puppy or dog from eating its own stool by causing a mild irritation to the eyes and a mild burning sensation if the stool is eaten. It also contains the enzyme, Alpha-Amylase which breaks down starches, improving the animal’s digestive performance.
VetIQ Stool Repel functions within the intestine by making your dog’s stool less tasty, therefore, it will not deter dogs from eating other dogs stool
- Helps eliminate stool eating
- Makes stool less palatable
- A natural formulation for puppies from 12 weeks
Instructions for use: Tasteable and highly digestible tablet, which can be administered whole or crushed on food. It is always necessary to have fresh drinking water. Additional food for pets.
- Dog / Puppy – Up to 5 kg – 1/2 tablet daily
- Dog / Puppy – 5 – 10 kg – 1 tablet daily
- Dog / Puppy – 10 – 20 kg – 2 tablets daily
- Dog – 20 – 30 kg – 1 1/2 tablets twice daily
- Dog – 30 – 40 kg – 2 tablets twice daily