Another reason dogs tear apart tissues, toilet paper, and napkins is that those products hold a scent (and a taste) after being used. Advertisement A dog’s sense of smell is their biggest advantage.

Finton added that a dog's sense of smell is "between 10,000 and 100,000 times more prominent than that of a human," explaining that smell is one of the ways dogs interpret the world around them.

Dogs may eat toilet paper because of a medical condition called "pica," an eating disorder that makes dogs (and even humans) crave non-edible substances, often due to anemia or zinc deficiency.