Eating Cat Pooh

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Patches

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Dogs are just grim, aren't they?

Do they grow out of eating cat pooh, or will Harvey do this for life? If it's the latter...I just don't know how I'm going to continue to cope with the inevitable dodgy tummy as a result.

I have covered litter trays (with a cat flap) and still he gets in them to eat pooh. I can't take the trays away as the darned cats cry to come in the house to poop. I could put the tray upstairs, but the scratching to cover up their mess will no doubt wake us up. I want Jasper back. He NEVER did anything that grim, ever!

I just don't know what else to do!
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He's already got a dodgy tummy because the mother in law took him outside and let him lick up the spillages from around the dish where she feeds the feral cats (she soaks bread in milk from the bulk tank - even though I've told her not to give the cats milk). She shouldn't even have had him out anyway. I was out at school fetching the kids.

His poops we just starting to show signs of firming up after a very runny evening and now he's ate the cat pooh!

I've not fed him his tea, thinking that would help, but all it's done is make him more hungry and more likely to snack on cat poop instead. What do I do?

I HATE SPANGLES RIGHT NOW!
 
If I see him I will shout "NOooo" and he runs like the clappers away from the litter tray.

Tonight I was sorting out some washing and left the hubby and kids in charge. The three of them sat glued to bloody Dr Who (still not watched it from Xmas/New Year) and didn't notice that a cat had entered the living room, leaving the door ajar for Harvey to get out - even though the blooming door squeaks like hell, so it's hardly difficult to realise the door is open.

To be fair to him, as soon as I went out to him and shouted "Nooooooo!!!!!!!!" it an almost hysterical wail, he dropped the poop he was eating and ran off.

It's just I live with "The Moron Convention" who between them can't be trusted to keep an eye on him for five blasted minutes!
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OK well you need them to get firmer and as mentioned, put a little line on him if he seems persistent.
I know it is natural for dogs to want to eat mingy things but I can have B on a level for weeks and he only has to eat one bit of cat pooh and that sets him off again in the bowels department, bloody dog, so have to be aware of the signals.

You are doing the right thing in checking him while he is on his way to the tray rather than mid-snack.

As I said to another poster the other night, use your correction voice and ask yourself if you would respect it?
If he gets bored of one word, change to another, for instance, my dogs react to 'NO' (which is not the same as 'no thanks, I'll pass on the cake', it is a distinct volume and tone) 'ah-ah' 'enough' 'stop!' and I try not to use their names as it promotes negative association - a dog which is being told 'Bella, NO!' will not want to come back when you say 'Bella, come!'
 
Absolutely. I NEVER use his name to chastise him. It's always "OI", "HEY" or "NO!"

I've moved the litter tray on to the stairs. We have a landing a third of the way up with a change of direction. If any of the kids fall down the stairs and land in it....tough! Serves them right!
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He's a toad for it. I find it grim because, as I said, Jasper never did any of this. He wouldn't roll on badger/fox pooh or dream of eating cleansing/cow pooh etc.

I'm sure Harvey will do all of it.

He clearly has a sensitive tummy and I'm more bothered because I am now certain this will set him off again....when he's already had one episode today.

Seriously...I'm up against with this lot. I should be able to just leave them in charge (hubby especially) for a couple of minutes. I find myself waiting to go for a wee until he's tired as I don't like continually shutting the door to the crate just to do menial tasks. Maybe I should though....I'll be sleeping on the sofa now as I'm sure he'll have explosive diarrhoea overnight as a result. Who knows how much he ate!
 
OK and as Finny suggested you can get them with a hood and a swing door and I think someone else suggested a baby gate, you can also use a physical barrier preventing the dog from accessing the tray.

All my dogs have been as different as day and night, it gets a while to get used to but you learn to love them for what they are
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I have a litter tray with a hood and cat flap type door now. I did go for that option.

It's on the stairs now. I don't want him to go upstairs anyway, so will put a stair gate on the stairs at some point if he resists our instructions that upstairs is a doggy free zone.

I can move it to the upstairs landing and put the stair gate behind the bathroom opening....so we can run up and down quickly for the loo etc.

Don't want a stairgate on the hallway door though as that would be too much. The plan is to keep living room door shut at the moment.

I tell you....puppies are worse than babies, but yup, I love him. Wouldn't give him a kiss right now as he smells somewhat suspect.
 
You're almost right but I advocate hooded litter trays of models without swinging doors because if the cat can work out how to open the flap, so can the dog....
Maybe it is a Spitz thing but I've tried the "I get super angry if you so much as think about eating cat poo" approach and it have just made them realise it is something they must do without a human audience. *sigh*



If you're like me Patches, you'll get used to hearing the sound of cats scratching around inside their litter tray and after a while your brain will sort it away in the catagerorie of irrelevant sounds that you don't need to wake up because of.



You could also try and put your litter tray with the "door opening" facing in towards a wall, with only a narrow passage of about up to 10 cm. between the litter tray and the wall. Cats are much more bendable than dogs and will be able to bend their bodies enough to get into it but dogs are less likely, so at least when Harvey is older, this method should keep him out.



I have a vague memory of Victoria Stilwell saying and showing that the taste of pineapple in poo makes the dog dislike eating it? Maybe if you're desperate, you could try pouring some pineapple juice over the cat poo and allow Harvey to eat the deviously prepared cat poo?

Good luck.
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I had this problem with my dog
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he kept eating dog & cat poo, it was grim..... so when I took them for their monthly check up I asked the nurse what I could or should do? She told me we have pills to "sort of" stop it but first try feeding him pineapple chunks.
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So I did, both of them were on a mixed dinner with pinapple chunks and two days later he stopped eating the poop
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Patches, cat poo eating has become a feature in our home too. We have the same cat tray as you but both dogs end up head first in it as soon as you turn your back. Ruby knows full well its not allowed!

Cant wait until the builders leave and we can relocate the cats to the other side of the house and be poo free again!

I think you were lucky with Jasper, Harvey sounds like a normal spaniel to me!!
 
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