We hit the web and talked to our vets to determine the most common questions people ask about their dogs. While each dog has its own personality, some quirky traits are common; others may signal a health issue. Here are the top four questions from people trying to understand their pups better.
Why Does My Dog Eat Poop?
As gross as it is, it’s pretty common. Dogs eating poop is actually a condition called coprophagia. If your dog is eating a balanced diet, which most commercially available brands provide, you can usually rule out that your dog is lacking nutrients in their diet. Like it or not, eating poop is part of your dog’s genetics. Dogs are omnivores that scavenge for their food in the wild. They love carrion, pungent odors, and stuff to play with and eat. Dogs often eat things with zero nutritional value because they find it fun.
A 2018 Veterinary Medicine and Science study found that eating poop is an inherited tendency from their wolf ancestors. Wolves defecate outside their dens because their feces often contain parasites they don’t want to introduce to their pups. If a wolf is too sick or injured to do its business elsewhere, it would eat its poop to protect the pack.
Poop eating is also a natural behavior at certain stages of a dog’s life. Mother dogs lick their puppies’ rectums to urge them to do their business. They also clean up after them by eating their feces for the first three weeks after birth. This is two-fold–it keeps the den clean and eliminates any odor that may attract a predator. Puppies naturally mimic this behavior by eating poop or other dogs’ poop.
Why Does My Dog Stare at Me?
Dogs stare at their owners for lots of good reasons, and sometimes, for no reason at all. Perhaps you’re about to take a bite of a delicious steak or snacking on some popcorn, and they’d like some, too. Maybe it’s because they want something–like the toy they’ve just scooted under the couch and out of reach. They might think it’s time for a walk or to play outside.
For some dogs, staring is a sign of aggression. Dogs lock eyes with each other to try and establish dominance without a battle. If your dog stares without blinking at a guest in your home, it could be their way of trying to protect you. On the other hand, it could simply be that they’re looking at you with love. Eyes slightly squinted and a relaxed posture is sure signs that they’re showing you affection.
It could also be that they don’t feel well, and they’re staring at you to hope you’ll notice their discomfort. If your dog’s activity level declines or their stare seems glassy-eyed or unfocused, you should have your veterinarian check their overall health. Dogs often rely on nonverbal body language, like staring, as a way to communicate. So, it’s important to understand your dog’s body language.
Why Does My Dog Lick Me?
While most of us want to believe that dog licks are actually dog kisses, the explanation is deeply embedded in their DNA. Wild canids, like wolves, foxes, coyotes, and other wild dogs, lick the face and muzzle of their mother when she returns to the den to get her to regurgitate for them. That’s why your dog instinctively might lick your face after you’ve eaten. Or it could simply be that your dog thinks you taste nice or wants the salt from a recent sweat on your skin. In today’s dog, what started as a food-seeking behavior is positively reinforced by its owners and has become a ritualized greeting. Like cats, dogs also equate licking with the security and comfort of being cleaned by their mother as puppies.
At Jacksonville Community Pet Clinichttps://mycommunitypetclinic.com/services/, our vets often ask our clients if their dog displays excessive licking because sometimes licking can be a sign of a more serious problem. If your dog is licking you, itself, or an object excessively, it could be a sign of anxiety, boredom, or pain. It can also indicate that your dog has an allergy. Once we’ve ruled out any medical explanations for excessive licking, we often recommend an interactive treat puzzle or additional play or training time to help stave off boredom.
Why Does My Dog Eat Grass?
Before dogs were domesticated, they hunted in packs for food in the wild. Their diets were much more versatile, and they often ate all parts of the animal they killed, including bone, meat, organs, and even the stomach contents of their prey. Then, as today, they were neither true carnivores nor true omnivores, and eating grass in a grazing animal’s stomach helped balance their diet. Researchers studying wolves today note that they have found evidence of grass in their stool in up to 47 percent of the samples studied.
There is some evidence that points to the idea that some dogs eat grass as a way to make themselves vomit when they don’t feel well. About 25 percent of dogs that eat grass vomit regularly after some good backyard grazing. Other studies suggest that eating grass to improve digestion might be a sign of intestinal worms or an attempt to solve a fiber deficiency in their diet. Some owners report that their dogs stopped eating grass within a few days of being on a high-fiber diet.
If grass eating is excessive and is followed by vomiting, weight loss, loss of appetite, blood in their stool, or lethargy, call a vet immediately. We can help determine if your dog has chewed on a toxic plant or has been exposed to chemicals by examining fecal and blood samples.
At Jacksonville Community Pet Clinic, we can help you answer these and other behavioral questions about your pet. Be sure to ask our vet at your dog’s next annual physical, or call us sooner if you think it might be a sign of a bigger problem.
