Your French Bulldog eating poop can be caused by various medical conditions, so once they are ruled out, it is up to you to address the behavior. The habit of eating poop can be difficult to reverse since it is considered a self-rewarding behavior.
Make sure there is no animal waste in your yard at all times. After your French Bulldog has defecated, pick up their stool as soon as possible. You must be very careful to notice that your Frenchie eats their feces during or soon after defecating. Keep your French Bulldog leashed when they defecate if you can. Ensure they know to look at you if their attention is drawn to the poop (teach them the “look at me” command). Then, reward them with something tasty to keep them interested, and make sure you dispose of the poop as soon as possible. Saying “leave it” can also provide a helpful command at this time.
Why Does My French Bulldogs Eat Poop?
There is no doubt that French Bulldogs are curious dogs. There are particular Frenchies and those who eat anything they can get their mouths on.
The consumption of poop is referred to as coprophagia by vets. Dogs are often shown to exhibit coprophagia; it appears to be a behavioral disease but can sometimes be a symptom of something else. A behavioral diagnosis can only be made after medical causes of coprophagia have been excluded. A veterinarian can formulate a behavioral plan for treating coprophagia once potential medical issues have been ruled out.
There are many possible reasons for this behavior. Your French Bulldog may start eating their poop or the poo of other animals if they have medical problems or bad behavioral habits. Before beginning treatment, working with your vet to determine the most likely cause of your Frenchies eating feces is a good idea. The main causes of poop eating in older French Bulldogs maybe boredom, loneliness, anxiety, stress, or a need for attention. Poop eating is fortunately outgrown for most puppies, but for some Frenchies, it may persist into adulthood and become a habit or even a compulsive behavior.
Behavioral Causes For Eating Poop
Typically, coprophagia is a behavioral problem that resolves by the time the pup reaches adulthood. Some common causes of coprophagia in French Bulldogs of all ages include:
| Behavioral CausesIncorrect training: Some French Bulldog owners attempt to toilet train their Frenchie by sticking their noses into the poop when messing up in the house. Sometimes this conditions your Frenchie to become interested in eating it. |
|---|
| Curiosity: In the beginning, dogs or puppies may exhibit poo-eating behavior because it attracts attention from owners. |
| Innate behavior: In many instances, Frenchies will clean, groom, and eat the feces of their young puppies. |
| Imitating other dogs: The behavior of female dogs that clean and ingest puppy poo during nesting may cause puppies to mimic the behavior of their mother or other dogs that demonstrate the same behavior. |
Veterinary practitioners and owners can work together to prevent the development of long-term habits and correct issues that contribute to coprophagia through early intervention and consistent treatment.
Medical Causes
French Bulldog who suffer from diseases that impede nutritional absorption, cause gastrointestinal upset, or cause a dog’s stool to be more appealing may develop coprophagia. The following medical conditions can cause your condition:
| Parasites | Digestive enzyme deficiencies |
| Deficits in vitamins and minerals as well as malnutrition | Poorly digested foods or underfeeding |
| Thyroid disease, Cushing’s disease, or diabetes | Medicines that contain steroids |
Your French Bulldog needs a physical examination, diet evaluation, stool consistency, and frequency tests to identify any medical causes of coprophagia. If necessary, parasite testing and stool and blood tests should be done.
Why Does My French Bulldog Eat Other Animal Poop?
Is your French Bulldog eating the poop of other animals, for example, cats? As a scavenger, dogs may consume other animals’ poop. We may consider non-food items strange and unsanitary when our dogs eat them, like food taken from the garbage in garbage bins. Dogs are often attracted to the smell, texture, and taste of food – regardless of how we perceive them.
There are times when cat feces and other animals are attractive enough to appeal to your French Bulldog. Since dogs interpret smell very differently from humans, poop may not be considered a bad smell to your Frenchie. When exploring their surroundings, dogs are consistently drawn to the smell of poop. As a result, if your French Bulldog finds poo appealing enough, he might eat it.
How do I get my French bulldog to stop eating poop?
First off, make sure you do not do any of the following.
| What not to do |
|---|
| Putting your French Bulldog through punishment for eating poop may make them feel compelled to eat poop when you’re not around sneakily. Furthermore, they will become faster at eating poop, so you won’t have a chance to deal with the issue. |
| Even though your French Bulldog may seem to stop eating stools after coating them with taste deterrents, the behavior may return when they find a stool that is not treated. |
You are likely looking for solutions to your French Bulldog’s distasteful habit of eating poop. French Bulldogs whose veterinarians have given them a clean bill of health will benefit from these tips.
Change Your French BullDog’s Diet
A higher-quality diet can help solve some problems. Consult a nutritionist if this is an issue for you. As a general rule, you want to feed foods high in high-quality protein and do not contain grains, soy, or corn. Raw food has been proven to work for many dogs because most of the stool is wasted. Some have also successfully fed canned food to their dogs because canned food is more easily digested. Gradually adding the new dog food to the old over a few days is the best way to transition to a new diet.
Overfeeding is also dangerous, as it could cause the meal only to be partially digested. A French Bulldog whose food is eaten too fast will not be digested either, which leads to more appetizing stools.
Add Supplements to Your French Bulldog’s Food
Although not all dogs will benefit from these, some have reported success with them, so they deserve mention. Some dog owners have reported relief from the poop-eating habit of their dogs after adding high-quality probiotics and digestive enzymes to their diets. The addition of B vitamin supplements may be recommended in cases of vitamin B deficiency. Any supplements you add to your dog’s diet should be discussed with your veterinarian.
The addition of canned pumpkin, canned pineapple juice, or grated zucchini to their French Bulldog’s food has been cited as a method for helping, but only a few dogs seem to benefit from it.
Another remedy mentioned is to use breath mints, meat tenderizers, and hot sauces to cover their feces. Still, these seem short-term solutions since the poop-eating habit returns immediately after the application is stopped. Furthermore, it’s important to note that certain chemicals can harm your French Bulldog, so you should always consult a vet before beginning any regimen.
Pick Up After Your French Bulldog
The most effective way to stop your Frenchie from eating poop is to use this method. Cleaning up after your French Bulldog ensures that it isn’t going to eat poop! We often wait for a miracle cure when the solution lies right before us.
Management methods such as this work because they prevent your Frenchie from constantly practicing an unwanted behavior. If your French Bulldog repeats the poop-eating behavior enough, it will develop habits that will be harder to break.
Behavior-Modification
Behavior modification may also prove helpful if dietary changes recommended by your veterinarian and medical disorders have been ruled out. You should distract your French Bulldog with a treat after they have pooped to divert their attention from it. It may not be long before a new behavior pattern emerges.
Exercise
To help your French Bulldog cope with emotional stress, ensure they get proper exercise and playtime; clean up after them as soon as they poop, and keep them on a leash while walking so they don’t eat other dogs stools.
Conclusion
Maintaining a clean yard while keeping your French Bulldog on a leash helps prevent poop eating and minimizes the chances of reenacting unwanted behaviors. A fence surrounding an area where your Frenchie eliminates in the yard will help you pick up the poop easily since it will all be in one spot.
Even so, management does not address the root cause, whether it is related to a medical condition or a behavioral issue. There is, therefore, no best way to prevent a dog from eating his poop, but there are several approaches you can take to prevent it.