[JessicaP]

I have a five-year-old female Golden Retriever, Luna. She has always been very well-behaved and goes to doggy daycare four days a week. We had to switch to a new doggy daycare a couple of months ago, and in recent weeks Luna has started eating poop at daycare. She does not do this at home, and it is not her own poop she eats. I am wondering why she is doing this and how I can stop it.

[Sadie Cornelius]

Jessica, sorry to hear this is happening! My dog loves to eat poop every chance he can get too!

The new environment might be causing Luna stress or anxiety, which can lead to unusual behaviors. Sometimes dogs eat feces due to deficiencies in their diet, although this is less likely if she’s only doing it at daycare. Luna might be eating poop to get attention from the caregivers or other dogs at the daycare or mimicking the behavior of other dogs. Dogs explore the world with their mouths, and she might be curious about the new smells and tastes in the daycare.

As far as how to get her to stop? Inform the daycare staff about Luna’s behavior and ask if they’ll supervise her more closely and prevent her from accessing feces. You might also provide Luna with toys and activities at daycare to keep her engaged and distracted from feces. When at home, reward Luna when she ignores poop or follows commands to leave it alone and reinforce commands like “leave it” or “come” to redirect her attention when she approaches poop.

If the behavior persists, it might be useful to consult with your veterinarian to rule out any medical issues or consult with a behaviorist. Hopefully she’ll get adjusted to the new daycare and/or they can monitor her behavior to help prevent it from happening in the future.

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