I think we can agree – eating poop is gross! Then why do some puppies keep doing it? More to the point, is your French Bulldog puppy eating poop?
If it is, first of all, I am sorry to hear that, but second of all, you’ve come to the right place!
In this article, I will share with you seven reasons why your Frenchie puppy might be eating poop, but also five potential solutions to this problem. Eating feces, also known as coprophagia, is no joke and should be dealt with.
7 Reasons Why Your French Bulldog Puppy Is Eating Poop
Let’s start with the possible causes. I have listed seven potential reasons why your French Bulldog puppy might be eating feces all the time.
Some of them are easier to deal with than others, but don’t despair, there are ways of handling it.
1. Poor Digestion
If your pup’s digestion isn’t up to the task, then the food that it eats will come out the other end looking a lot like it did when it came into its mouth.
Because of this, your Frenchie might find it appealing and try to eat it all over again. Unfortunately, this isn’t some infinite food hack, but rather an issue with your pup’s digestion.
While there might be an inherent medical issue with your dog’s digestive tract, more often than not, it’s just a case of low-quality food being given to it. Speaking of which, we need to talk about your dog’s diet.
2. Not Enough Nutrients
You would be surprised how many dog owners don’t pay enough attention to the stuff that they are feeding their dogs.
There is more to it than just picking up a random bag from the supermarket shelf and pouring it into your Frenchie’s bowl.
Take the time to read the labels and nutritional info. Your Frenchie puppy should eat food that is specifically designed for it, which contains a lot of animal-based protein and doesn’t have a lot of filler in it.
3. Attention Seeking
Dogs thrive on human attention, and French Bulldogs are no exception. If your Frenchie feels like it isn’t getting enough interaction from you, it might start doing things just to elicit a reaction.
Even if you continuously reprimand it for eating poop, it might actually be entertained by it, so it will keep doing this.
If you suspect that this is the reason why your French Bulldog is eating feces, then try not to acknowledge it in front of your dog. Just clean it up while it’s not in the room and act like it never happened.
4. Boredom
This is perhaps closely related to the previous entry on this list, but there are slight differences.
In the case of boredom, French Bulldog puppies don’t eat their feces because they are trying to get a response from you, but rather because they just want to entertain themselves.
If this is the case with your Frenchie, then you can probably solve it by providing alternate sources of entertainment, like interactive toys, more frequent playtime, etc.
5. Anxiety And Stress
Anxiety and stress are just as common and just as serious in dogs as they are in humans. Therefore they should not be brushed off or taken lightly.
There are numerous ways that stress can manifest itself, and one of them is coprophagia. This is more common in adult Frenchies than in puppies, although it can affect them as well.
If your adult French Bulldog is eating poop, try to locate the source of its stress and address it directly. It can be a fear of something in the house, a bad experience with a stranger, or a tough case of separation anxiety.
6. Parasites
Some parasites attach themselves to dogs’ digestive tracts and steal all the nutrients that they are getting through their food.
This results in the dog not receiving enough nutrients to keep up with its daily activities and causes it to be constantly hungry. In situations like this, the dog will look to eat every ounce of food it can get its eyes on, and when there is no food, it might turn to feces.
Check your dog for parasites as often as possible, whether by checking its stool or taking it to the vet. Also, make sure that you have it dewormed regularly.
7. Hiding The Poop
This one is slightly out of the box, but it makes sense when you really think about it.
If your French Bulldog puppy frequently poops in the house and you punish it because of it, the dog will develop a fear of that scenario.
So the next time it defecates inside the house, it might panic and try eating the poop in order to hide the evidence from you and avoid punishment.
For cases like this, I would like to reiterate how important positive reinforcement is. You can catch more flies with honey than with poop (pun absolutely intended!) and you can teach a dog more by offering reward than by threatening punishment.
5 Ways To Stop Your French Bulldog Puppy From Eating Poop
After covering all the potential causes of coprophagia in French Bulldog puppies, I would like to turn your attention to some methods that you can use to either prevent or correct this kind of behavior.
I have listed five great tips for you below.
1. High-Quality Diet
It all starts with a good, nutrient-rich diet. If you feed your French Bulldog puppy dog food that is packed with protein, vitamins, and all that good stuff, it will be less likely to develop any urges to eat its poop.
Do your best to find a dog food that is made for Frenchie puppies and develop an effective feeding schedule for the best results.
2. Cleaning Up
Don’t leave your Frenchie alone during potty time and make sure to pick it all up and clean the area thoroughly afterward.
By doing this, you basically remove the possibility for your pup to eat its poop because it won’t be able to find it anywhere.
Essentially, you are taking poop off the menu!
3. Mental And Physical Stimulation
When I was talking about the possible causes of coprophagia in French Bulldog puppies, I mentioned a couple of times that they might be doing it for entertainment purposes.
Even more than adult dogs, puppies get curious and need various activities and opportunities for exploration in order to fill their time and eradicate their boredom.
Try to combat your Frenchie’s urge to eat its poop by providing alternative forms of entertainment.
Spend more time playing with it, maybe take it for a walk, or to a dog park where it can spend time with other pooches, or buy some interactive toys that will occupy its attention.
4. Training
Training and socialization are some of the most important aspects of dog ownership, and it all starts while they are still very young.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you can teach a young puppy basically anything. You just need patience, persistence, and lots of positive reinforcement.
You should start potty training your French Bulldog puppy literally as soon as it’s able to walk around on its own. If you do this successfully in the early stages of puppyhood, you should not have any problems later on.
5. When To Consult A Vet
If you are having trouble figuring out the cause of your French Bulldog puppy eating poop or if none of the suggested solutions are working for you – then it’s probably the right time to take it up with a professional.
Take your Frenchie to the vet’s office and explain your situation to the doc. They will be able to provide expert insight into the issue and recognize if there are any potential underlying health issues that might be causing such behavior.
Final Thoughts
If you catch your French Bulldog puppy eating poop, it’s not the end of the world, but it is a sign that something is not right.
Once you’ve successfully figured out what the reason behind it is, it’s time to take action and correct the behavior.
The purpose of this article was to provide some guidelines for doing so, but it’s always a good idea to consult a vet if the problem gets out of hand.
Read next:
• A Newborn French Bulldog: Taking Care Of A Frenchie Puppy
• Why Do French Bulldogs Fart So Much? 21 Smelly Reasons
