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.

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 ...

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 .

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 ...

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.

Perfectly normal animals at times eat poop. A baby koala (top left) starting its life of eating chemically defended leaves may pick up helpful gut microbes from mom’s droppings.

Most animals—humans included—separate the place where they defecate from the place where they eat. But river otters eat, mate, and play where they go to the bathroom. Katrina Lohan knows this ...