There are as stated, a number of possible reasons for dogs developing Coprophagia, which can occur at any time in their lives, but one reason which may be little known, is that of insecurity. Insecurity can occur at any time within a dog’s life, for numerous reasons i.e. a new addition to the family (multi-species pack), a loss within their pack, an attack by an outsider, etc. One of the coping mechanisms dogs then adopt is to eat their own excrement, which carries their unique individual pheromones, for after all in the wild the feral instinct is to erase any sign of their presence in order to avoid another “attack”
Dogs like all creatures, including humans, still carry their feral traits. The only difference between domesticity multi- pack living, and wild pack living, is the implementation of these feral instincts. You can see therefore how Coprophagia can suddenly occur, in a previously well-balanced dog. Humans do not always realise that when trauma of any kind has occurred in an animal’s life, it must be dealt with and re-balanced, therefore avoiding situations such as Coprophagia manifesting themselves.
However this is how we learn, and I always reassure people that it is not a “blame” situation from their angle, merely a learning curve. What will very often help Coprophagia to cease, alongside balancing the issues that have occurred, is to put a little fresh pineapple in the dog’s feed. This proves effective in preventing the continuance of Coprophagia, in approx 99% of cases. Give it a whirl, but don’t forget to source and deal with the cause also.
Animal Logic 