We made it to another Friday! And being Pet Friday here an article about your dogs health. Yes watching your dog eat poop is gross, but there has to be a reason. Well the www.thedodo.com via an article by Sam Howell explores this gross topic:

"Eating poop is so unthinkably gross, but you might find your dog doing it quite a bit.

You probably can’t wrap your head around why your pup eats his own feces, especially if he seems to enjoy it.

To get to the bottom of this kind of gross habit, we spoke with Dr. Megan Dundas, veterinarian and practice owner of Lincolndale Veterinary Center in New York, and Dr. Bernadine Cruz, a veterinarian with Laguna Hills Animal Hospital in California, who explained why this happens, and what you can do to get your dog to stop.

Why do dogs eat poop all the time?
There are actually a bunch of reasons why dogs eat poop.

They learn it from their mothers
It turns out that as gross as it is, eating poop — AKA coprophagia — can actually be natural for him.

“Mothers of young animals lick the rear ends of their young to stimulate defecation and to keep their young clean. This can lead to inadvertent ingestion of feces,” Dr. Dundas told The Dodo. “In young dogs and cats, this behavior of licking the rear end and ingesting fecal material can then become a learned behavior from their mothers.”

Do you ever find yourself doing something just because your parents did it? It’s like that ... but with dogs … and eating poop.

“It seems to be fairly common [in] puppies and kittens and it is presumed that following mom’s lead is one possible cause for the behavior,” Dr. Cruz told The Dodo.

It can promote gut health in young puppies
Eating their own poop could even be beneficial for puppies when they’re young.

“Puppies and kittens are not born with bacteria in the GI tract. Eating feces may help the body develop a normal [or] healthy balance of bacteria in the GI tract,” Dr. Dundas said.

It can be brought on by medical conditions
There are also medical reasons dogs continue this gross habit even after they’ve got plenty of healthy bacteria in their systems.

“As a pet ages, it can continue for medical as well as behavior reasons,” Dr. Cruz explained. “GI parasites as well as chronic intestinal disorder that cause a maldigestion or malabsorption of nutrients may induce this behavior.”

This means things like malnourishment or certain medical conditions could be driving your dog to want to chow down on his poop (either for extra calories, or because certain conditions make him hungry).

These things include:

Intestinal disease
Chronic diarrhea
Disease of the pancreas
Cushing’s disease
Thyroid disease
Diabetes
Pica (AKA an abnormal craving caused by anemia or liver disease)
Senility
Dementia
Your dog might also be eating his feces because of things like separation anxiety, boredom, stress or to avoid punishment (like if he knows he pooped where he shouldn’t).

And of course: “Some eat feces just because they enjoy eating it,” Dr. Dundas said.

Health risks of dogs eating poop
Since poop is loaded with bacteria, your dog could make some problems for himself by eating it.

Eating poop could cause your dog to develop an intestinal disease or internal parasite infestation.

And if he eats another pet’s poop, he runs the risk of ingesting residue of any medications that other animal is on, which isn’t great.

“You could see signs secondary to the medication in question in the case of dogs eating feces from other dogs on medication,” Dr. Dundas explained.

If eating poop gives your dog an intestinal issue, he could start showing signs like:

Vomiting
Diarrhea
Soft stool
Blood in his stool
How to stop a dog from eating poop
According to Dr. Dundas eating poop is actually a pretty tough habit to get your dog to break, especially if he’s doing it simply because he wants to. Luckily, there are a few things you can do.

Pick up his poop ASAP
“The most foolproof thing to do is to prevent access to feces through either picking up feces in the yard ... right away or preventing access to feces by keeping the dog leashed when outside,” she explained.

Try a feeding schedule
She also recommends sticking to a feeding schedule, so you know when your dog might need to go to the bathroom — and you can intercept his poop before he has a chance to chow down.

“Feeding pets at set times of the day can help in terms of predictability and planning for walks or when to be on stand-by to pick up stools,” Dr. Dundas said.

Get him a puzzle feeder
If your dog’s a speed eater, slowing him down may keep him from snacking on his own stool..

“Offering puzzle feeders help provide stimulation and [use] up excess mental and physical energy,” Dr. Dundas explained. “Puzzle feeders also slow down eating, which helps with absorption of the food decreasing the need to search for extra calories.”

Try this one from Chewy for $12

Call your vet
The best thing you can do if you find your dog eating his poop is reach out to your vet, because pinpointing the exact cause will help you find the most effective solution.

“There are many causes for coprophagia and many options for trying to manage this behavior,” Dr. Dundas said. “Owners of pets with coprophagia should reach out to their veterinarian to discuss which option(s) may be best for their pets based on the pet's behavioral and medical history.”

Your vet could also help with switching up your dog’s diet or prescribing medication, since those things could also get him to stop eating poop.

It’s always pretty nasty when you catch your dog chowing down on some doo doo. But now that you know why dogs eat poop, that knowledge is the first step in getting him to stop."

I will have to take Ms Ava into the vet to see if any of the conditions applies, thou she eats everything including grass. If your pup is doing this see your vet to see if one of the conditions apply above. Also try giving your pup some probiotics as well.

Reference: https://www.thedodo.com/dodowell/why-do-dogs-eat-poop