People eat food for a number of reasons: hunger, stress, boredom, etc. Dogs eat for some of the same reasons. But, not only do they eat food, sometimes, they eat poop, too. I recently found this out from a friend of mine. I was over at her place, meeting for an innocent cup of coffee. As I sat on the chair next to her cute dog Charlie, I reached over to pet him. I mean, how could I resist the sweet guy, all curled up, brown eyes imploring me for a little lovin'? Right before my fingers sunk into his soft fur, friend J nonchalantly drawled, "Oh, this weekend he rolled in dead fish carcass and ate human feces, so you might not want to touch him. Your choice."
It really wasn't that hard of a decision to make, although Charlie's dismaying stare bore straight into my soul.
So.
Why the hell would lovely Charlie do such a disgusting thing?
Apparently, there are 2o different reasons why dogs ingest poo. It even has a fancy name: Coprophagia.
A few of my favorites: dogs eat poop by accident. I can just see it...Charlie happily walking down the street, enjoying the bright sunshine, friend J smiling sweetly at her perfect dog...and then oops! Suddenly a pile of poo is in Charlie's mouth! How did THAT happen? By accident, of course!
Another reason: some dogs will eat poop to pass the time. Hmmm. I should try that the next time I'm bored and need something to do. It would be an excellent activity to help me procrastinate from the classes I should be taking to keep my teaching license. I'm sure if I told my principal that I was eating feces instead of passing grad classes, he would totally understand.
And finally, some dogs will eat poop to gain attention. I think friend J has some students that may do the same.
I'm hungry. Time for breakfast.
2 comments:
Okay, I can appreciate all that. But what about the nutritional value of poop? The vet says Charlie is getting fat!
I'm sure there are other, more non-disgusting ways for Charlie to get his nutrients. And maybe poop is fattening.
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