French Bulldog Eating Poop

There are many reasons dogs will eat poop which include cleaning up, a nutrition deficiency, hungry, bored, sickness, to get attention, stress, and just for the fun of it. It is a normal occurrence among dogs and in their basic instinct. Of course, it is gross and dogs can pick up parasitic or bacterial infections by doing so.

French Bulldog Mothers Eating Poop

Mothers that have litters do have their own reasons for eating poop. It is their basic instinct. They are trying to keep their den clean for their young pups. They also do this to keep predators that may be attracted by the scent from finding their den. It does not matter that there are not any natural predators around in your home. This is in their instinct.

Puppies eating poop

Puppies learn this behavior by watching their mother cleaning up their dens. They are naturally curious by the smell and taste of everything which includes poop. Puppies usually grow out of this when placed on a more solid nutrient filled diet.

Adult French bulldog suddenly eating poop

If your dog is not known to be a poop eater but suddenly develops the taste and has other symptoms, you should take your dog to the vet immediately.

Eating poop is associated with diseases of the intestinal tract, brain, liver, and other health conditions. Symptoms to look for may include weight loss,
lethargy, discomfort, other behavioral changes, vomiting or diarrhea. You can find symptoms of infections by clicking here .

If your dog appears to be healthy, they may have other reasons to give it
a try.

Other reasons for your French bulldog to eat poop

Poor digestion

Your dog may be having an issue with digesting the nutrients in their food. The food may be coming out the same as it went in which could cause your dog to be okay with eating.

Enzyme deficiency

There are enzymes that help break down food that your dog actually needs. If your dog is not getting these enzymes in their food, they may try getting these enzymes in poop.

Nutrient defiency

If dogs are not getting the nutrients they need from their food, they may go else where to find these nutrients. There food may not cover their daily nutritional needs. They could have other reasons they are unable to digest the nutrients they need. Parasites is one example but it could be other conditions or sicknesses.

Hunger

Your dog may just be hungry. Your dog may not be getting enough to eat or eating when given its meal. It could also be hungry for other reasons like they are on medications that make him hungry, has intestinal parasites, or other conditions that are making them more hungry than usual. The poo just happens to be there at the time so why not?

Boredom

We all have done it. Eat while we are bored, not eating poo. Your dog may be playing or eating poop for entertainment.

Stress

This could be another reason for your dog to be eating his own poo. I do not pretend to know every dogs mind but a change in life can cause your dog stress. Some react differently to stress and this can be one of the outcomes.

Restrictive confinement

Studies have shown that dogs in a small space or left alone tend to eat their poo more so than dogs with their owners. This could be to clean their spot, boredom, stress or because they are left to their own devices.

Strange association with food

Having feces near their food may cause a strange association between the two. The dog smells both when eating and develops this association not noting the difference. Having puppy pads or a litter box in close proximity could cause this to happen.

Cleaning up all traces

Mothers clean their dens for their pups and to keep natural predators away. A dog that lives with another sick animal may do this as well for the same reasons.

They may also be trying to get rid of the evidence. If they remember the trouble they got in to the last time they had an accident, they may panic to get rid of it. Innocent until proven guilty by yucky breath. Not sure which you would rather find, the accident or that your dog ate the accident.

Attention

Your dog may have noticed the attention they got the last time they ate poo. Just like kids, dogs sometimes do not care that they are getting negative attention. They just want to get your attention however they can get it.

How to stop your French bulldog from eating poop

Your reactions matters

Do not panic! Showing alarm in a situation cause your dog too stress and panic. This could later lead to behavioral issues later.

Your reaction to something your dog did could have an effect on how they behave in a situation later. If you freak out when your dog has an accident, it can stress out when it has another one. This will prevent your dog trying to eat the evidence next time it happens again.

Freaking out when your dog first eats poop may teach your dog to do it again for the attention. They may pick up the correlation of getting attention for eating poop.

Supervision

Keep your dog on a leash while out on walks. This can help prevent them from getting in to something they shouldn’t. You should clean up after your dog after they use the bathroom. You should probably be doing this anyway or you will have upset neighbors. Cleaning up immediately will help keep your dog from getting a hold of what he just got rid of.

Clean up yourself

If there is nothing left to eat, then there is no reason to worry. Make sure to clean up any accidents immediately or all things left if your dogs uses puppy pads. If you have cats or other animals, make sure to clean their litter boxes immediately as well.

Regularly clean your yard of any waste. If any is left about, you can guarantee your dog will know about it. They have the scent to pinpoint the smallest pile. Cleaning up regularly will lessen any chance of your dog getting a hold of any doo–doo.

Exercise or entertain

To keep your dog from boredom which could also be a cause of this gross behavior, you could do a variety of things. Take your dog for a walk or exercise them with play. Keep them occupied with a dog toy or sprinkler. Attention will also prevent your dog from eat poo for your attention.

Training

Teaching your dog to leave a pile alone is your best bet. If you give him a treat every time they come to you after giving them a command to get away from the poo, they will learn to listen. It will also help them get out of this behavior.

Avoid panicked punishments since this can cause this behavior later down the road. Showing being displeased is okay. French bulldogs seem to be more sensitive to any disapproval in my opinion.

Discouragement and rewarding your dog for doing well will help your dog learn what is right from wrong behavior.

Feed a proper diet

It may be time to check the nutrients of your dogs food. You may want to check with your vet about your dogs diet and what food may be needed if you feel they are not getting enough. You can also add treats high in particular nutrients to fulfill their daily need requirements so they don’t look elsewhere.

Try adding these to their meals

Some say adding digestive enzymes or natural additives will help. Some things can cause their poop to not smell good enough to eat. I know gross.

Pineapple

Many swear adding pineapple juice or pieces to their diets will keep them from eating poo. Some say this does not work for their dogs, while others swear by it. Every dog is different and this may do the trick.

Canned pumpkin

Canned pumpkin is another option that tastes good on food but is gross in stool.

Meat tenderizer

Many swear this helps with this situation. They also claim tenderizer also helps with gas. Something that every Frenchie seems to be known for.

Spinach

Your dog may like spinach added to their food. A little bit of spinach has a lot of health benefits. It is roughage for your dog and high in many nutrients.

Spray poop down

It is always better to just clean up the poop in your yard but you could also spray down the poop with something your dog will not like. Some like to use this method to keep dogs from eating poop.

This could help your dog learn that eating poop is gross but I would think the smell would put them off their own poo but it would differ from other piles they may find on their walks.

I have never tried added hot sauce to poop for them to put them off. I would think the other methods mentioned above would work better. Everyone is different and so are their dogs though. To each his own.