Problem behaviours
How to stop a dog eating poop
Coprophagia is the polite word and the behaviour is anything but. Dogs eat their own stool, another dog's, the cat's, or whatever wildlife left on the path, and the reasons vary: habit, boredom, scavenging, and sometimes something a vet should look at. We keep the order fixed: ask the vet, manage the environment, then train. Skipping the first two makes the third much harder to keep.
Last reviewed September 29, 2026
Vet, then management
Rule out the body before you train the brain.
We suggest booking the vet before anything else. Your vet may want to rule out diet, parasites or other health concerns, none of which are training problems, and they are the right person to ask whether the food and portions suit the dog. A clear check does not settle the cause, and it does not need to. It means the vet has nothing to treat, and we can carry on with management and training in parallel.
Management is unglamorous and does most of the work. We pick up while the dog is still sniffing the spot, keep the dog on leash in the yard if it beelines for old finds, and scoop the litter box before the dog can. A muzzle can be a further layer on walks, with a caveat: many basket muzzles still allow a dog to eat. We suggest professional fitting, gradual conditioning, room to pant and drink, and supervision whenever it is on.
- Vet visit before any training
- Yard picked up after every visit
- Leash on where finds are likely
- Muzzle fitted and conditioned, if used
Puppies, adults, winter
The puppy version and the adult version are not the same problem.
With a puppy, stool eating is often exploration: everything goes in the mouth. The job is mostly management and not making a fuss, since a chase across the yard can turn the find into a prize. An adult with years of practice needs the skills built away from the problem first. We teach leave it and recall indoors with a boring object, then in the yard with a harmless decoy at a distance, on leash, before either cue is asked for near real stool.
Calgary winters add a twist. Frozen stool in a snowy yard is easy to miss, and the spring melt can expose a season's worth at once. We sweep on the warm days and again before the thaw, and the leash stays on through it. If the habit outlasts a clean vet check and a tight routine, Private Training is a one-hour session at $150 plus GST with a written weekly plan customized to your home.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Why does a dog eat poop?
Nobody can say for certain from a web page. It is often habit, boredom or scavenging, and sometimes there is a health reason, which is why we suggest the vet visit comes first. Whatever the cause, management and training run alongside, since the dog still needs the opportunity removed.
How do you stop a dog eating poop quickly?
Quickly means management, not training: we pick up immediately, keep the dog on leash in the yard, and scoop the litter box before the dog reaches it. Leave it and recall are built separately with harmless substitutes, and they only hold if the dog is not still getting the find on the side.
Does yelling stop a dog eating poop?
In our experience it tends to make the dog quicker and sneakier, and with some dogs the shout turns the find into something to gulp before anyone arrives. We would rather reward a recall away from the find and save the energy for the pick-up.
Is there a training program for a dog that eats poop?
Not a program built around stool eating specifically. Private Training is a one-hour session, $150 plus GST, that ends with a written plan you can practise all week, and behaviour troubleshooting like this is what it is for. If the eating is one of several concerns, the consultation is where we recommend the program, and we recommend a smaller one when it is enough.
Keep reading
Vet first, then us.
Vet visit done and the habit still winning? Book a consultation and we will talk through a plan for your yard and your walks.
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