Ewww....may be the first word that springs from your mouth when you see you puppy eating its own poop. Yes, it is disgusting to see any animal eating its own feces and of course, this behavior could not be a healthy one. But there are certain reasons why your dog may eat back its poop and they may be underlining health issues. Dog eating poop is a condition called Coprophagia. Coprophagia is cause from your dog being stressed, anxiety or poor nutrition.


Reasons Why Dogs Eat Poop

1. Hunger
Dogs can smell what we can't. If a dog defecates and is not fed for a period of time, unprocessed food in the poop will attract the animal and he/she may be forced to go back and eat that poop. It is much like what a cow or horse may do when they defecate. They will go back and chew on the poop to digest the remaining undigested grass to get the rest of nutrition left.  Poop eating could be an indication that your dog is not eating enough or improperly dieted.

2. Dog Poop Is Everywhere
Dogs cannot take a broom and shovel and clean up their own poop. They rely on you as the pet owner to keep their area clean and healthy. If a dogs' area become disgusted with poop such that you see more poop than ground, the pup may just try to do his own house cleaning and the only way a dog knows how to get rid of stuff is to eat it or bury it.

3. Lacking Nutrients
If your puppy has worm or any other parasites, they will normally extract the nutrient from your pups' system. This will leave a natural sense in the animal that nutrition needs to be replaced and hence the pup will look to eating back its poo to replenish itself.

4. Stress and Anxiety
Dogs do experience stress and anxiety. When they are going through this you may not easily know if the animal doesn't fully show it. Stressed out dogs are normally docile, fearful and lack appetite. But stress can lead the animal to also behave erratic, aggressive, and may even lead the animal to eating its own poop.

5. Protecting Pups
Dogs that have puppies will eat the pup's poop as a form of protection. This is a natural instinct as they think that eating their puppies poop will protect them from predators by disposing of the evidence.

6. Dog is Just Nasty
OK, dogs will just eat poop because of curiosity of what their own poop actually taste like. And if they believe that it is a "Pizza Joy" they will indulge in more poop eating.

Animals are curious creatures and dogs will eat just about anything. They will experiment eating strange things by smelling first an then eating it. Sound familiar?
Whatever the reasons are, instinct or learn behavior, it's important to know that the behavior can be solved easily.

Dogs will have a natural dog scent, this is due to the dander in the dogs coat. Dander is composed of tiny, even microscopic, flecks of skin shed by your dog and other animals such as cats.  If you notice a very high doggy smell to the point where you consider it to be stink, maybe it is time to give your dog some bath time.  Lets now look at 5 ways to control your dog's body odor.

1. Give Your Dog A Bath
Yes, dogs do get this once in a while. Your dog can become very smelly if he/she has been to some very odorous places and has not have a bath in a long time. Get a nice smelling doggy shampoo and get your dog smelling fresh again.

2. Brush Away Dead Hair
Dead hair that resides on your dog is magnet for dander.  When you brush your dog you are brushing away those dead hair and also getting rid of those dead skin which will flake away to become dander.

3. Bring Your Dog To The Vet
If you notice that nothing you do gets rid of the bad scent of your dog, there may be underlining problems. There are some health factors such as yeast infection.

4. Don't Let Your Dog Access The Trash Can
I don't need to tell you how stink the trash can can be. It contains from rotting garbage to toxic waste! You don't want your dog eating from your or anyone else's trash can, this can lead to you having a very stinky dog or even causing grave illness for the animal if it swallows anything harmful.

5. Keep Your Dog Cool
Dogs exposed to too much heat will probably have much flakier skin under their fur. Heat is also a scent maker and you will more likely smell a stinky dog more if it is hot and panting away than cool and well hydrated.

Remember that you dog is a dog and will smell like a dog, dog expect that your dog will always smell like the next versace cologne.  But on the flip side, your dog should not be a stinky poo.

What is a service Dog?
Before you can acquire a service dog, you must know what is a service dog right? Well a service dog is a good trained dog that is bred to assist an individual with special needs. Those special needs are not limited to the physically challenged. But goes on to security personnel as well.  Service Dogs are trained to assist the following:

• Blind Personnel
• Deaf Personnel
• People with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Persons Prone To Seizures
• Persons who are crippled

Service dogs are used to alert their owners or other persons should the need arise for external help. They are trained to detect and signal when ever they perceive danger. These are very smart and well trained animals which are highly intelligent. The common dog breed used for service dogs are Labrador retriever, German Shepherd and Golden Retriever. There is no biased as it relates to which dog is picked as a service dog, but it boils down to attributes of the animal which makes it qualify to be a well trained service animal.

Qualifications Of A Service Dog

1. The Dog must exercise good temperament
2. Good level of intelligence
3. Physically Strong
4. Good Resistance To Illnesses
5. Healthy
6. Trainable

A service dog is not a super dog, but if you want a reliable companion that you need to help you around, you must get an animal with the above qualifications. You really don't want a service dog that you spend more time taking care of and when you need it's guidance or help, it is unavailable or simply lacking.  Remember, don't mix up a companion dog with a service dog. Every dog can be a great companion, but not every dog makes a great service dog. If you have a specific dog breed and you want to train it to become a service dog, that too can be done.  There are animal training facilities which exist that will help in this plight and will make the animal as serviceable as possible.

Other Than Helping Those With Medical Conditions, What Else DO Service Dogs Do?
As i mentioned before, there are service dogs which are used in the police force to help fight crime. They are also used by trained personal security. Here is a list of other functions given to service dogs.

• Fire and Rescue - Popular breed is the Dalmatian
• Security and Crime - Popular breed is the German Shepherd
• Search And Rescue - Popular Breed is the Border Collie
• Seizure Detection -  Popular Breed, Border Collie, German Shepherd

Where to get a service dog
Assistance Dog international (http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org) is a great place to start as it relates to acquiring a service dog.  You could also use the lists above and acquire a breed and then have it trained by certified Service Dog Trainers. Whatever means you use to get your service dog, as long as the animal is well trained for your particular needs, it will make a difference in your life.