One which is coprophagous is one which consumes excrement. Feral pigs are notable consumers of their very own and other animal’s excrement. Certain young animals like elephants, pandas and hippos also eat their mother’s excrement so as to access and harness specific bacteria needed to digest the vegetation around them. Probably the most obvious example of coprophagy is the common housefly. Everyone has seen flies on a pile of dog excrement. Nevertheless, outside of various degrees of perversity and mental illness, the practice of coprophagy amongst humans is taken into account to be completely repulsive. That is an understanding that we also expect our pets to stick by. There are various arguments for why a dog will eat the feces of a unique animal, however the purpose of this text is to zero in on autocoprophagy or why a dog consumes his own feces.
When researching this subject and talking to dog owners, I learned that it is a far more of a typical issue than most would really like to confess. Dogs, being natural scavengers, have points of any such behavior already pre-programmed inside them. Some feel that it is part of their genetic disposition. There’s even the argument that wolves within the wild eat the digestive tract of their prey, thereby consuming the fecal matter of the animal.
The fundamental non-medical reasons explaining the behavior of an autocoprophagous dog are really somewhat easy. Some reasons for a domesticated dog’s fecal consuming behavior could must do with issues so simple as boredom, lack of exercise or hunger. Some have speculated that overfeeding may very well be a trigger for coprophagy as well, since the food hasn’t been thoroughly digested. One more reason may very well be stress inside the animal. Stress could must do with anything, for puppies, it may very well be the fear of being punished for defecating within the fallacious place. A standard stressful issue which may trigger coprophagous behavior may very well be the indisputable fact that the animal has recently moved to a brand new living situation. The opposite common theory about this behavior is that the behavior was learned. Perhaps picked up on the kennel, or observed elsewhere.
A more common reason for coprophagy is food allergies. If the dog is allergic to the food that he’s eating, then he is not absorbing all of his nutrients from the food before he defecates. Food allergies in dogs have change into a far more common thing consequently of the supplementing of grains equivalent to corn, and soy in dog foods. In reality, the excretion that a food-allergic dog is passing will likely be partially digested. The speculation is that the excrement still smells relatively palatable and so the dog runs it through his system again. In all these situations, the dog is passing unhealthy-looking stools, possibly even diarrhea. Outside of an actual allergy there are also just a few other medical conditions that could lead on to such behavior.
Pancreatitis is regarded as a significant offender of autocoprophagous behavior. The pancreas produces insulin and various enzymes equivalent to amylase, lipase, trypsin and chymotrypsin. These enzymes aid within the digestion of food. If these enzymes leak from the pancreas, this may bring about inflammation and a plethora of various issues. Coprophagy can potentially be a component of this as well. Again, this has to do with incomplete digestion.
One other potential cause for autocoprophagy in dogs is Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. This disease can also be generally known as maldigestion syndrome. This has to do with the shortage of production of certain enzymes. When the pancreas doesn’t manufacture the right amount of enzymes, that’s when maldigestion syndrome kicks in. The stool that’s produced when a dog is on this state is not completely digested. The dog may eat his stool because he’s consistently hungry. He is not digesting his food properly. In his quest to satisfy the nutrients that he’s missing, autocoprophagy may happen.
The methods that pet owners use to stop this behavior are varied. The common understanding is that punishment is counter-productive and might actually be a behavior reinforcement. There are products equivalent to Potty Mouth by 4 Paws that makes a dog’s feces taste undesirable, even to a dog with a taste for the stuff. Dog owners have used such food additives as pineapple chunks, meat tenderizers and lots of other over-the-counter products to make their dog’s feces undesirable to their pet. One other method that appears to be used commonly is to spice the dog’s feces with Tabasco or an identical hot sauce. Nevertheless, immediate cleanup of feces directly after defecation appears to be the very best option. Again, that is an article about autocoprohagy, and never intraspecific coprophagy which is the consumption of the feces of a unique animal inside the same species, or interspecific coprophagy which is the consumption of feces from a unique species. One hopeful theory on the topic is that if the dog’s behavior might be straightened out at home, the probabilities of him moving on to a unique animal’s feces shall be slimmer. Regardless of the case, all elements of autocoprophagy might be limited if the owner really pays attention to his pet.
