I learn so much from Google. For example, this weekend my puppy, Riley, finally got brave enough to go upstairs by himself. Upstairs he found a buffet table...I mean the cat litter boxes! We caught him upstairs & yelled "Come!" He ran right down by us. I could see cat litter on his face. I was completely shocked that he ate cat poop! We brushed his teeth, got him some water & gave him "a stern talking to." He did this again today! I don't mind brushing my puppies teeth, but I don't want him ingesting cat poop & litter. So I Googled it. I NEED to know how to stop this!
So, on Google I learned this:
Coprophagia literally means the consumption of poop. Why knows why dogs eat poop? They may do it simply because it tastes good to them. However, it's best not to let your dog eat poop because many parasites, including giardia, coccidia, roundworms and whipworms, can be transmitted through dog and cat poop. Additionally, clumping litter can pose a serious health threat to dogs that eat cat poop. Think of what the litter does when a cat urinates in it. Similar things can happen in a dog's stomach if it eats enough of the litter. Dogs are particularly fond of cat poop because cat poop is high in protein.
This is great information. My first thought was "That's gross." But I Googled it & now realize there are potential health risks involved.
We stopped putting the baby gate up in the living room several weeks ago when Riley learned the commands stay & come, but for now we will have to go back to using the gate. I'd gate off the room where the litter boxes are, but my cat, Sam, is simply too lazy to jump over a gate. Maybe not lazy, but "set in his ways."
If you're reading this & have any suggestions, please let me know!
Jaime, unfortunately, LOTS of dogs do this. They aren't like us humans who think it's totally nasty! To them, it's candy. They do it outside too...bunny and deer poop are candy to them. For dogs who eat their own feces, there is a product called "Forbid" that you can sprinkle over their food but sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. However, when it comes to snacking out of a litterbox, you basically have to find a way to keep him away. Either a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs or get hooded litter boxes.(which might not be a good solution if the cats are picky) Does Ryley have to be upstairs? If not, I'd use the baby gate. That's what I do.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura for the info! No, he doesn't have to go upstairs. He's only been up there twice, both times for a "snack." We are going to put up a baby gate in the room that the litter boxes are in. It's not the gross part that bothers me so much as the fact that there can be lots of bad things brewing in poop. I don't want to have to use a baby gate, but my pup's health is VERY important to me. I guess I should look at it as he is very comfortable here, since maybe 1 or 2 of our foster dogs actually went upstairs. He's been here for 3 months now & is getting very adventurous!
ReplyDeleteSo, more doggie proofing needed!