Dogs Truly Have No Shame: The Case of Rasputin the Poop-Eater

Rasputin ate poop! I was walking him last night when he stopped, as he often does. I thought he was sniffing around or maybe munching on some grass as dogs sometimes do. But no, he was eating a turd!

As soon as we got home and I washed my hands, I googled "Why do dogs eat poop?" An enlightening article popped up. It appears that there are a great many reasons why dogs eat poop, though, unlike Rasputin, it is generally their own poop.

First off, the condition is known as coprophagia. Some of the more endearing reasons are that the dog is trying to keep its environs tidy or that it is mimicking the behavior of its owner--she picks up poop, so the dog wishes to do the same, only it does not have a plastic poop bag or a pooper skooper to do the job, only its mouth. The latter is known as allelomimetic behavior. Another cute reason: Dogs are just naturally curious and will put pretty much anything in their mouths, including poop, just to see what it's like.

More practical reasons include hunger or getting only one meal a day rather than having it split over two meals. Also, the dog may be eating cheap dog food that does not contain the minerals it needs. Sometimes dogs eat poop because they're bored, lonely, stressed, or wanting attention (bad behavior gets their owners' attention). The following reason makes me think dogs are sometimes smarter than we think: If they are punished for pooping inside the house, they may eat their poop to destroy the evidence. Some young ones are just experimenting, like teenagers with booze and cigarettes. And just like teenagers who see their peers engaging in aberrant behavior and feel they should too, some dogs observe other dogs eating poop and so want to give it a whirl. Some dogs mistake poop for low-quality food. In short, they think they've just found more of the same of stuff they just ate from their food bowl.

And my favorite reason: Some dogs just like the taste of it.

Really not sure which of these reasons applies to my pooch. It sure can't be that he's lacking attention. And he gets high-quality food.

My theory: He's a little queen, and queens need some sort of psychological problem.