Evaluation of the Influence of Coprophagic Behavior on the Digestibility of Dietary Nutrients and Fecal Fermentation Products in Adult Dogs

Abstract

Coprophagia is a common and undesirable behavior observed in dogs; however, little is known about its causes or possible consequences when analysis of the animal’s feces is needed for experimental purposes. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of coprophagy on digestibility, fecal pH, and fermentative metabolites. Twelve healthy dogs with a mean age of 3.50 ± 1.45 years were included and divided into two groups: coprophagic (COP) and non-coprophagic (NCOP). The study lasted 30 days, the last 6 days being used to collect feces for the analysis of the apparent digestibility of coefficients (ADC), fecal pH, and the concentration of short- and branched-chain fatty acids, ammonia, and fecal lactic acid. Statistical analysis was performed using the SAS software. No differences were observed for most variables, except for the ADC of nitrogen-free extract (NFE), which presented the highest average for the COP. This result should be interpreted with caution, as the NFE is estimated from calculations and was not determined in the laboratory; in addition, the results represent not only starch and sugars but also some parts referring to fibers. Therefore, coprophagy seemed not to influence the fecal variables analyzed.

Keywords

• coprophagic
• apparent digestibility coefficients
• fermentative metabolites