Can a dog get sick from eating horse poop? Yes, a dog can definitely get sick from eating horse poop. While it is often not deadly, horse dung ingestion carries risks like parasites, bacteria, and digestive upset. This article will help you know what to look for and what to do next if your dog has engaged in this common, yet unpleasant, behavior known as canine coprophagia.
Why Dogs Find Horse Manure Appealing
It might seem gross to us, but dog eating manure is a common problem. Many owners struggle with addressing dog’s strange diet choices. There are several reasons why dogs eat poop, including instinct, diet, and behavior.
Instinctual Roots of Eating Feces
For dogs, eating feces (coprophagia) might stem from old survival instincts. In the wild, animals might consume feces to keep their dens clean. Mother dogs also lick their pups clean, which includes consuming their waste. This behavior is natural for a very short time after birth. For adult dogs, however, it’s often a learned or environmental habit.
Dietary and Nutritional Factors
Sometimes, the drive to eat feces links back to diet. If a dog’s food lacks certain nutrients, they might seek them elsewhere.
- Poor Quality Food: Low-quality dog food might not offer enough nutrition. The dog’s body might signal a need for more nutrients found, ironically, in undigested food matter like horse dung ingestion.
- Enzyme Deficiency: Some experts believe dogs don’t absorb nutrients well. They may eat feces hoping to re-digest the food and get more value from it.
- Starvation or Scarcity: Historically, dogs ate anything to survive. If a dog was ever severely underfed, the urge to consume any available organic matter, like pet consuming feces, can stick.
Behavioral Causes for Canine Coprophagia
Behavioral issues are often the main culprit when dogs start dog eating manure.
- Boredom and Attention Seeking: A bored dog will look for something to do. Poop is readily available, especially if a dog is left alone in a yard with horses. If you react strongly when they eat it, they might do it more for your attention.
- Stress and Anxiety: Changes in routine, new pets, or punishment can cause stress. Some dogs turn to eating feces as a coping mechanism.
- Learned Behavior: If a dog sees other dogs or animals eating poop, they might copy the behavior. This is common in multi-pet households.
- Exploration: Puppies explore the world with their mouths. They might try eating horse dung ingestion just to see what it is.
Health Risks of Horse Dung Ingestion for Dogs
While horses usually have a safer diet than, say, cat litter, horse dung ingestion is not harmless for dogs. The primary risks relate to things the horse has eaten or carried.
Parasite Transmission
This is the biggest worry when a dog consumes feces, whether their own or another animal’s. Horses can carry internal parasites that dogs can catch.
| Parasite Type | Potential Effect on Dog | How It Spreads via Poop |
|---|---|---|
| Roundworms | Stomach upset, weight loss | Eggs passed in horse stool |
| Tapeworms | Less common, but possible | If intermediate host is involved |
| Pinworms | Anal irritation | Direct ingestion of eggs |
| Coccidia/Giardia | Severe diarrhea, dehydration | Microscopic cysts in feces |
If your dog eats horse dung ingestion, you need to monitor them closely for signs of illness.
Bacterial Contamination
Horse feces are full of bacteria. While some bacteria are harmless, others can cause severe illness in dogs.
- Salmonella and E. coli are common concerns. These bacteria can lead to serious gastrointestinal disease in your dog. Symptoms include vomiting, severe diarrhea, and fever.
Medication Residue
If the horse is on medication, traces of that medicine can pass into the manure. Some medications safe for horses are dangerous or toxic to dogs, even in small amounts. This risk increases if the horse is being treated for certain conditions.
Digestive Upset
Even without parasites or severe bacteria, eating a large amount of fibrous, undigested material can cause problems. Your dog might experience:
- Vomiting, often projectile.
- Soft stools or diarrhea.
- Gas and bloating.
- Stomach pain.
When to See the Vet After Your Dog Eats Manure
If your dog ate a small amount of fresh, clean horse poop and seems fine, you can monitor them closely at home. However, certain signs mean you need immediate veterinary advice for coprophagia.
Emergency Warning Signs
Call your vet right away if you see any of these signs:
- Repeated Vomiting or Diarrhea: Especially if it lasts more than 24 hours.
- Lethargy or Weakness: Your dog seems unusually tired or unwilling to move.
- Blood in Stool or Vomit: This indicates serious irritation or internal injury.
- Signs of Toxin Ingestion: If you know the horse was recently dewormed or medicated, call the vet immediately to check for toxic residue.
- Loss of Appetite: Refusing food or water for an extended period.
Routine Veterinary Consultation
Even if your dog seems fine, it is wise to schedule a check-up if this behavior is new or ongoing. Your vet can perform a fecal test to check for common parasites like roundworms or whipworms. Discussing the eating habits will help your vet offer tailored advice on managing dog’s appetite for poop.
Diagnosing the Root Cause of Canine Coprophagia
To stop the behavior, you must figure out why it is happening. This is key to addressing dog’s strange diet choices effectively.
Fecal Examination
Your veterinarian will likely ask for a fresh stool sample from your dog. They look at this sample under a microscope to find parasite eggs. Finding parasites confirms one reason why dogs eat poop—they are seeking nutrients they aren’t getting, or they are trying to consume the parasite eggs to restart their cycle (less common in dogs, but possible).
Diet Review
Be ready to talk about your dog’s food.
- What brand and type of food do you feed?
- How much do you feed daily?
- Are there any supplements you give?
The vet will assess if the food is balanced for your dog’s age, breed, and activity level. A low-fat or very low-residue diet might sometimes increase the appeal of feces.
Behavioral Assessment
The vet or a veterinary behaviorist will ask about your dog’s environment.
- How much exercise do they get?
- Are there changes at home (new baby, moving)?
- How often are they left alone in the area with horses?
- How do you react when you catch them in the act? (Strong reactions often reinforce the behavior.)
Treatment Options for Coprophagia
Veterinary advice for coprophagia usually combines diet changes, supplements, and behavior modification.
Dietary Adjustments
Improving the quality of your dog’s diet is the first step in nutritional causes of eating feces.
- Switch to High-Quality Food: Use a highly digestible food with good protein sources. This ensures your dog gets maximum nutrition from their meals, reducing the urge to “supplement” with poop.
- Increase Fiber (Sometimes): Adding safe sources of fiber, like canned pumpkin (plain, not pie filling), can make their own stool less appealing and help firm up stools, sometimes reducing the desire to eat them.
- Digestive Enzymes: Some vets recommend adding digestive enzymes to the dog’s food. The idea is that these enzymes help the dog break down food more efficiently, so less undigested material passes into the feces.
Supplements to Deter Poop Eating
There are many over-the-counter products marketed to stop canine coprophagia. They usually work by making the dog’s own stool taste bad.
- Meat Tenderizer (MSG): A small amount added to the dog’s food can sometimes make their stool unappealing to them. (Check with your vet first.)
- Commercial Deterrents: Products containing ingredients like Yucca schidigera or Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) aim to alter the taste of the waste.
- Forgetting the Supplementation (Focus on Horse): Another strategy is preventing dog from eating manure by treating the source. Adding supplements to the horse’s feed that make their manure taste bitter (like pineapple or certain meat-based additives) is sometimes tried, though success varies.
Behavioral Modification Techniques
Stopping the behavior often relies on management and training, especially when managing dog’s appetite for poop related to boredom or habit.
Management: Restricting Access
The most effective immediate step is preventing dog from eating manure.
- Supervision: Never leave your dog unattended in the pasture or barn area. Always supervise them when they are near horse waste.
- Leash Control: When walking near stables or manure piles, keep your dog on a short leash.
- Immediate Cleanup: Clean up horse manure from yards or turnout areas immediately. If the temptation is gone, the habit cannot be practiced.
- Physical Barriers: Use fencing or gates to block access to large manure piles.
Training: Teaching “Leave It”
Strong recall and a reliable “Leave It” command are essential tools when addressing dog’s strange diet.
- Practice “Leave It” with Low-Value Items: Start inside with a toy or treat they usually ignore. Reward them heavily for looking away when you say “Leave It.”
- Increase Difficulty: Slowly introduce higher-value items.
- Apply to Poop: When you see your dog heading toward manure, use a sharp “Leave It!” If they stop, reward them instantly with a high-value treat (like chicken or cheese) that is far better than the poop.
- Redirection: If they start to sniff the manure, interrupt the action with a noise and immediately redirect them to a preferred activity, like fetching a ball or playing tug.
Nutritional Causes of Eating Feces: A Deeper Dive
When we talk about nutritional causes of eating feces, we look beyond simple hunger. We examine how well the dog extracts energy from their primary diet.
The Role of Bioavailability
Bioavailability refers to how much of a nutrient in food is actually absorbed and used by the body. If a dog is eating a very cheap, high-filler kibble, the food might pass through quickly, leaving many nutrients untouched. This leads to a constant, low-level signal of hunger, driving the canine coprophagia.
Fat Content and Digestion
Dogs need fat for energy and healthy coats. If a diet is too low in fat, the dog might seek out rich sources of undigested nutrients. Horse manure, being mostly grass and partially digested grains, can contain residual fats and proteins that smell appealing to a dog seeking density.
Vitamin Deficiencies
While rare with modern commercial foods, specific deficiencies, particularly B vitamins, have been historically linked to coprophagia. If your dog is on a very restrictive homemade diet, or an old, stale commercial diet, this could be a factor your vet will investigate.
Management of Appetite for Poop in Multi-Pet Homes
When you have horses and dogs together, preventing dog from eating manure becomes a constant battle of management. Successful managing dog’s appetite for poop requires teamwork between the dog owner and the stable manager.
Secure Stalls and Pastures
Ensure that all access points for the dog to the horse’s feeding areas or resting areas are secured.
- Use hardware cloth or secure gates around hay feeders where manure tends to accumulate.
- If possible, feed the horses in an area the dog cannot easily access, even during brief unsupervised moments.
Training the Horse-Dog Relationship
Sometimes, dogs develop an association with the horse area as the “snack zone.” Re-socializing the dog to view the horse area as a place for work (like training drills) or calm presence, rather than a free-for-all buffet, helps break the cycle. Use positive reinforcement when the dog is calmly near the horse without sniffing the ground.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dogs Eating Feces
Is it dangerous if my dog eats old, dried-out horse poop?
Old, dry manure is less likely to contain active, mobile bacteria or fresh parasites. However, it can still harbor parasite eggs that have been sitting in the environment. The main risk with old poop is that it might be harder to digest and could still contain residual chemicals or medicines. It’s still best to prevent consumption.
Can I use deterrents on my dog’s food to stop them from eating horse poop?
Yes, commercial or homemade deterrents can be tried. However, these are generally more effective at stopping a dog from eating their own stool or other dogs’ stool. Because horse manure is an entirely different substance, the deterrent added to the dog’s food might not affect the taste of the horse poop enough to stop the behavior, making strict management essential.
How long does it take to stop canine coprophagia?
Stopping canine coprophagia takes time and consistency. If the cause is purely behavioral (boredom or habit), it might take several weeks of strict management and consistent positive reinforcement training before the habit is fully broken. If a deficiency is present, dietary changes may yield faster results.
Do I need to deworm my dog after they eat horse poop?
If your dog frequently eats horse manure, your vet will likely recommend a broad-spectrum dewormer based on the risk assessment, even if a recent fecal test was negative. Parasite eggs can be shed intermittently, meaning one test might miss an infection. Regular preventative deworming is crucial for dogs with this habit.
What if my dog eats manure treated with Ivermectin or another dewormer?
This is a significant concern. Many dewormers used in horses pass through the animal’s system. While sometimes safe in trace amounts, ingesting a concentrated amount of certain equine dewormers can be toxic to dogs. If you suspect this, call your vet or the Pet Poison Helpline immediately, bringing details about the horse’s recent treatment.
Final Thoughts on Keeping Your Dog Away from Horse Manure
Dealing with dog eating manure requires patience. Remember that this behavior, canine coprophagia, is complex. It mixes instinct, diet, and environment. Focus first on preventing dog from eating manure through strict supervision and cleanup. Then, work with your veterinarian to rule out nutritional causes of eating feces and implement effective training to change the behavior long-term. Keeping a close eye and providing a balanced diet are the best ways to safeguard your dog’s health while they share space with the horses.