Boston Terrier Catching your Boston Terrier eating poop is actually a sign that something is working in their body, not just that something is wrong. That sounds backwards, but hear it out. Coprophagia (the technical term for poop eating) is often your dog’s instinct responding to a real nutritional gap, a digestive signal, or a behavioral cue. It’s not random. It’s not purely gross. It’s information.
And once you understand what that information means, stopping it becomes a whole lot easier.
First, Understand That This Is Common (Not a Character Flaw)
Boston Terriers are not broken if they do this.
Studies suggest that roughly 16% of dogs engage in coprophagia regularly, and Bostons, with their sensitive digestive systems and curious personalities, show up in that statistic more than many owners expect. This isn’t about bad breeding or poor training. It’s about biology and behavior colliding in a particularly unfortunate way.
Your dog is not trying to disgust you.
The Real Reasons Boston Terriers Eat Poop
Nutritional Deficiencies
This is the big one.
When a dog’s body isn’t absorbing nutrients properly, it sometimes tries to recover those nutrients by, well, revisiting the source. Sounds counterintuitive. Totally logical from an evolutionary standpoint.
"Poop eating is often the body’s blunt attempt to recycle what it couldn’t absorb the first time around."
Boston Terriers are especially prone to digestive enzyme deficiencies. Their short snouts and compact digestive tracts mean food sometimes moves through too quickly, leaving nutrients behind. If your Boston is eating poop and also showing signs of weight loss, dull coat, or inconsistent stool quality, a nutritional deficiency is the first place to look.
Enzyme Deficiency
Digestive enzymes break food down so the body can actually use it.
Without enough enzymes, food passes through partially undigested. The resulting stool still smells like food to your dog’s nose, which is considerably more powerful than yours. So they investigate. Then they eat it.
This is especially common in Bostons fed kibble-only diets, which are often low in naturally occurring enzymes. Adding a digestive enzyme supplement can sometimes stop the behavior within weeks.
Behavioral Causes
Not every case is nutritional.
Sometimes Boston Terriers eat poop because they’re bored, anxious, or seeking attention. If your dog does it right in front of you and then looks up to gauge your reaction, that’s a behavioral flag. Negative attention is still attention, and Bostons are smart enough to figure that out fast.
Puppies also explore the world mouth-first. Many outgrow coprophagia naturally between six and nine months. If your Boston is young and doing this, give correction a shot, but don’t panic yet.
They’re Mimicking You (Sort Of)
This one surprises people.
Mother dogs clean up after their puppies by consuming their waste. It’s instinct. Some dogs carry that learned behavior into adulthood, particularly if they were separated from their litter early or spent time in a shelter environment where they cleaned their own space out of necessity.
Parasites and Medical Issues
Worth ruling out early.
Intestinal parasites can cause nutrient malabsorption that triggers coprophagia. So can conditions like EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency), thyroid issues, and diabetes. If the behavior started suddenly in an adult dog with no history of it, a vet visit should happen before anything else.
Your Step-by-Step Plan to Stop It
Now here’s where the article becomes your actual roadmap. Work through these steps in order. Don’t skip ahead.
Step 1: Rule Out Medical Causes First
Schedule a vet appointment.
Ask specifically for a fecal exam (to check for parasites) and bloodwork that evaluates pancreatic function and nutrient absorption. This is not optional if the behavior started suddenly or if your Boston also has digestive symptoms like loose stool or gas.
Get the clean bill of health first, then move forward.
Step 2: Evaluate the Food
Look at what your Boston is actually eating.
Not all kibble is created equal. Low-quality dog food is often packed with fillers and byproducts that dogs can’t fully digest. Check the ingredient list. If corn, wheat, or soy are in the top five ingredients, that food may be contributing to the problem.
Consider switching to a higher-quality kibble or adding fresh food to the rotation. The goal is more digestible food, not necessarily more expensive food.
"A dog eating a nutrient-dense, highly digestible diet is far less likely to go looking for nutrients in places they shouldn’t."
Step 3: Add a Digestive Enzyme Supplement
This step alone resolves the problem for a meaningful number of dogs.
Look for a supplement that contains protease, amylase, and lipase. These are the core enzymes responsible for breaking down proteins, carbs, and fats respectively. Powder forms that mix into food are easiest.
Give it at least 30 days before evaluating whether it’s working. Changes in digestion don’t happen overnight.
Step 4: Add a Deterrent to Their Stool
Yes, this is a real thing.
There are supplements specifically designed to make poop taste unpleasant (apparently it doesn’t already clear that bar). Products containing monosodium glutamate or chamomile are commonly used and generally effective when paired with the other steps here.
Forbid and For-Bid are two of the most recognized brands for this. You give it to the dog whose poop is being eaten, not the dog doing the eating. If your Boston is eating their own poop, give it to your Boston.
Step 5: Manage the Environment
Pick it up. Immediately.
This sounds obvious, but it’s the most underrated step in the whole process. You cannot train a dog out of a behavior they’re still being allowed to practice. Every time your Boston eats poop, it reinforces the habit. Every time they don’t get the chance, the habit weakens.
Clean up after every elimination. If your Boston goes in the yard unsupervised, either go out with them or clean the yard before letting them roam.
Step 6: Train a Solid "Leave It"
"Leave it" is one of the most practical commands a Boston Terrier can know.
Start with low-stakes items (a treat on the floor, a sock) and work toward higher-value distractions over time. When your Boston sniffs at stool and you give a firm "leave it" followed by a reward for turning away, you’re building a competing behavior that eventually becomes automatic.
Practice it daily. Keep sessions short. Bostons learn fast when the reward is worth it.
Step 7: Address Boredom and Anxiety
If behavioral causes are at play, training alone won’t fix it.
A mentally understimulated Boston Terrier will find ways to entertain themselves, and not all of them are pleasant. Make sure your dog is getting adequate exercise (20 to 30 minutes of active play or walking daily is a solid baseline) and mental engagement through puzzle toys, training games, or sniff work.
If anxiety is the root cause, particularly separation anxiety, that’s a deeper issue worth addressing with a certified dog trainer or veterinary behaviorist.
Staying Consistent Is the Actual Hard Part
Most people try one thing, don’t see instant results, and give up.
The reality is that coprophagia almost always requires a combination of approaches working simultaneously: better nutrition, enzyme support, environmental management, and behavioral reinforcement together. Any single fix, used alone, will likely disappoint.
"Consistency isn’t the exciting part of solving this problem, but it is the only part that actually works."
Stick with the plan for at least four to six weeks before reassessing. Track what you’re doing. Adjust one variable at a time so you can actually tell what’s helping.
When to Loop Your Vet Back In
If you’ve worked through every step above and the behavior is still happening after six weeks, go back to your veterinarian.
At that point, the conversation shifts toward more specific diagnostics: testing for EPI, evaluating thyroid function, or exploring behavioral medication if anxiety is severe. These aren’t common outcomes, but they’re real ones.
Most Boston Terrier owners who follow this plan see improvement. It takes patience. It takes consistency. But it’s absolutely solvable.