Help! My dog keeps eating cat poop. Is it safe or dangerous?

There is not way to get him to stop except to restrict his access to those areas. This does have potential to spread bacterial and intestinal parasite infections so I would make sure he is on a regular dewormer (most heartworm preventions already include this) and monitor for any vomiting or diarrhea.

Cat feces are unfortunately very attractive to dogs - I have never known a dog who would pass up a chance to eat some, if they're available. The only real way to prevent Kacey from doing this is to keep her from having access to the feces. I would put the litter box in a separate room and use a baby gate to keep her out - this way, the cat can still get to the box by jumping over the gate, but Kacey won't be able to reach it. Outside, if you have stray cats defecating in your flowerbeds, you may need to use a sprinkler system or some other method of deterring them. Alternatively, you could put up a barrier so that Kacey can't reach the flowerbeds, or keep her on-leash outside so that you can control where she goes.

Unfortunately, dogs love eating poop! They find it tasty, and while that is completely gross, it's not uncommon. My own dogs try to treat the cat's litter box like a buffet. Eating the poop can at most cause them some GI upset in the form of vomiting. You can try elevating the litter box so your cat can jump up to it, but Farrah can't reach it. You can layer baby gates on top of each other, one with the bottom touching the ground and the other right on top of it. That should prevent her from wriggling under the gate and jumping over it. You might also consider keeping the door shut to the room where the litter box is, and installing a cat door in the door. That way, your cat can get in the room, but your dog cannot. I hope one of these suggestions help.

Keeping Beast away from the cow poop is a good first step to stopping him from eating it. If he isn't being monitored he should be kept out of areas where it is available. If you're with him and he starts to eat it, calling him off and distracting him with another job to do or a treat or appropriate chew instead is best. As cow poop can carry bacteria and parasites, it is a good idea to make sure Beast gets regular fecal exams done to watch for any potential infections.

Coprophagia (eating poop) occurs in some dogs for no particular reason. It is not an indication of hunger or something lacking in their diet. There is a product available (in the US at least) called For-Bid that can help prevent dogs from eating poop. There is certainly a risk that KC could get worms from ingesting feces including cow manure. I would suggest keeping her on a monthly preventative that would prevent worm infestation.

There really isn't a way to stop them from eating other animals stool. I would keep Precious on a leash and just not let her near it. Since she is so young she may grow out of it but there isn't anything to give her that will stop it. I would also make sure she is on a high quality food. I would check a stool sample with your veterinarian to make sure Precious has not picked up intestinal parasites from eating other animals stool. I also recommend heartworm prevention. The reason for this is not only for the heartworm prevention but it also prevents against the most common intestinal parasites that she could pick up from eating other animal's stool. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Small amounts of cat litter can pass through a larger dogs digestive tract fairly uneventfully. If hazel snuck in the box and ate some of the cat poop covered in litter that is pretty small amount and I wouldn't worry. Dogs love cat poop and most if given access will sample it regularly. You could try turning the cat box to face the wall with enough room for the cat to get in, but close enough to the wall that hazel s head couldn't fit. Or you may need to block the area off in someway so only cat can fit through to use the box - maybe a baby gate?