Dogs eating horse poo - how to stop it.

[BBH]

I know there was a thread about this before but I can't find it.

Why do dogs eat horse poo ?

 

[CorvusCorax]

Because it is minging/delicious.

If you want to stop it, the best way is to
A) physically prevent them from getting to the horse poo to eat it (a fence, a long line etc)
B) to divert them and teach them that coming back to you is a more attractive proposition than going towards and consuming the horse poo (using praise, play, food, a ball etc)
C) Teaching them that there is a negative consequence to attempting to eat the horse poo.

With C you have to time the correction very well, or else they will just rush in and eat the horse poo before you can get to them to administer the consequence, by which time they have already self-rewarded and it is much too late.

But in order for B or C to work, you have to revert to A. Prevention is better than cure and all that.

 

[sandymere]

For dogs it’s a perfectly fine and natural behaviour, lots of good fibre and gut bacteria in horse droppings, once the pup/dog has loaded its system it should settle although some go on for life. Gentle dissuasion and time and it should all stop although mine still snaffle the odd rabbit dropping.

 

[Spudlet]

For dogs it’s a perfectly fine and natural behaviour, lots of good fibre and gut bacteria in horse droppings, once the pup/dog has loaded its system it should settle although some go on for life. Gentle dissuasion and time and it should all stop although mine still snaffle the odd rabbit dropping.

I would have to politely demur here - if the horse was recently wormed, the dog can be poisoned by the residues in the droppings. It's really best to try and prevent them scarfing too much down if possible

OP, in addition to CC's post, I would suggest working on a 'leave it' command which you will use with anything forbidden. You do not need to use horse poo to teach this - treats will suffice I think I posted how I teach this on the chicken chasing thread (my way is not the only way, but it seems pretty effective as these things go), or if you're already attending a training class then ask your trainer about introducing this.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Agree Spudlet, whether it is fine or not, if I don't want the dog to eat some poo, but allow him to eat other poo, indeed, anything he feels like popping in his gob, then I have taught the dog absolutely nothing, if there is ambiguity, the dog will pick and choose whether he wants to eat the minging thing, and he generally will.

Mine managed to find and roll in some otter poo the other day, such discerning taste!!!!!

 

[JillA]

We were discussing this a while ago. You know how dogs sometimes eat grass when they have an upset stomach? Most horse poo is just processed grass - could it be the same attempt to settle a stomach? Of course, if you are a dog, the gourmet form of processed grass is sheep poo, and it comes in handy bite size pieces as well

 

[Spudlet]

Nothing will ever, ever smell more noxious than the dead seal that Henry found on the beach a couple of years ago. He didn't so much roll in it as dive in head first. We had to scrub him with ketchup, dog shampoo and finally Head and Shoulders, and chuck his collar away

Sorry for the diversion OP, but you see how much worse it could be?

The other day Henry and I were having a horse poo-based leave it refresher course - by the end, he was walking over to piles of poo and very ostentatiously leaving them, then looking at me in a 'Paddington hard stare' fashion for his sweetie The little swine He doesn't normally get sweeties for that these days, but I was just having a little refresher session for him to make sure the lesson stayed in there - I'd say it had!

 

[Alexart]

Mine go through phases - at the mo the horse poop is like a mr whippy and is obviously delecious!!! Although I think there are worse things - my ridgie had been scoffing some while I wasn't watching, while we were just mid supper watching TV she promptly threw up the horse poo on the rug and all the other gross things she ate that day including a very dead mouse by the look and smell of it and then proceeded to eat it again and the terrier joined in!!! Forget diets this is THE best way to get put off food for life!!!!
Mine do have the 'leave it' command down pretty well even from quite a distance, but as soon as my back is turned forget it!!!
There are far worse things still a dead porpoise found on the beach and a pile of very rotten eggs found in a hedge I think rank as the worst things my dogs have eaten/thrown up/rolled in!!!!

 

[EAST KENT]

It is extremely beneficial to them,we encourage rather than try and stop it

 

[Nikki J]

Unless you feed your dog on raw meat with some vegetable matter, then it is a good thing for them to eat horse poo. Dogs are not totally carniverous, they have a small requirement for vegetable matter, and they will get this from horse poo. My 2 are raw fed, but they still LOVE horse poo. I will stop them as I really don't want to suffer their pooey muzzles drooling all over the back of the car, but i don't think it does them any harm even if the horse that deposited the poo had been recently wormed. We worm our dogs every 12 weeks with Panacur horse wormer - it is EXACTLY the same pharmaceutical product as the Panacur dog wormer, but much cheaper and you can buy it in larger quantity and store it in the fridge. I wouldn't have thought that products like Strongid P and Equivalan (spelling ?) would harm dogs either. In any case, most of the wormer is "absorbed" by the gut wall, very little would be excreted out in the faeces.

 

[Venevidivici]

This is interesting. My 9mth old GSP is fed on Fish4dogs. His poos are normally fine but sometimes a bit Mr Whippy. If he eats some horse poo (occasionally snaffles a bit when at yard/walking in fields) his poos are a lovely (I use the term loosely!) consistency-proper,solidly (but not too hard!) formed 'sausages'. I'm thinking maybe the fish4dogs is too high protein for him?
Sorry for all the poo chat

 

[Clodagh]

Loving the thought of dead seal!! Gross.

 

[Angus' yard]

Our dally loved to snatch a mouthful of fresh horse poo every time he went past the paddocks on his daily walk. This Came to an abrupt halt when he didn't limbo low enough below the electric fence and administered himself with a shock. Bless him. He's not eaten any since....