Some dogs will eat other animals' poop – such as horses' – since the feces contain nutrients. But this behavior should be discouraged as there can also be harmful bacteria in the poop, PetMD says.

Some dogs will eat other animals' poop – such as horses' – since the feces contain nutrients. But this behavior should be discouraged as there can also be harmful bacteria in the poop, PetMD says.

So many dogs eat feces that veterinarians consider stool-eating normal. The tendency of some dogs to eat their own poop or that of other animals has a scientific name: canine conspecific coprophagy .

Eating poop could also cause animals to pick up diseases, gut parasites, or harmful bacteria. But, at least when it comes to natural threats, the benefits of coprophagy might outweigh the risks ...

Why is my dog eating poop? There are several reasons your pet might be eating poop. According to a 2018 study, 16 percent of dogs exhibit the crappy behavior; 51 percent of those pups were ...

As for why dogs eat the poop of other animals, like cats and rabbits … it's just tasty, Melissa Bain, a veterinary behaviorist at UC Davis Veterinary Medicine and co-author of the 2018 study, ...

Eating poop might seem repulsive to humans, but in the animal kingdom, this behaviour is not only common but also essential for survival in many species.

In other cases, your pup may even eat their own poop, or worse, the poop of another dog or animal. To any pet owner, this would be considered disgusting and cause concern. But why do dogs eat poop?