My dog eats cat poop. What are the risks and how can I stop it?

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.

Sadly, there isn't a great way to stop this gross behavior. There are products that are just really high amounts of MSG, that sometimes make the stool less appealing to dogs, but I don't love that idea for puppies (or really any dog). For the litter box, you need to block Gretchen's assess to it and for eating her own stool, try to take her for walks for her bowel movements whatever possible so you can pick it up right away. You can offer a high value treat right after a bowel movement when walking so she learns to look for that special treat instead of turning around to instantly eat the feces. To be honest, it's not a habit that is easy to break. As far as the diet question, there is actually increasing evidence that grain-free diets may be harmful, so I recommend staying away from them and feeding a regular high quality puppy diet. Royal Canin, Hills, and Purina are all good brands.

You can try either mixing 1 tsp of meat tenderizer in your cats food for a couple of weeks or a medicaiton called Forbid which will cause the cats poop to taste bad. Hopefully this is enough to deter Odie from eating the cat poop in the future. Also placing barriers around the litter box or a lid can also be tried. Best of luck. Take care.

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?

That is a difficult habit to break! What has worked well for me in the past is to create A space that the dog can not access. He is a big dog so you can try a covered box and see if that limits his ability. You can also cut a Small hole “door” in a cabinet to let the kitty in but too small for the dog and place the box in the cabinet. Also putting a baby gate in front of the room to block the dog from entering works as well. You can certainly just work on training, but it needs to be consistent every time he shows interest in the litter box which is often difficult when you are not home etc. Best of luck and I hope one of these ideas works well for you. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

It is a bad habit of your dog, possibly jealousy. It is not the cat's fault. Clean out the litter box more often and keep the dog away from the litter box (e.g. with a little fence where the cat can hop over but the dog cannot.)

Oh dear! It's very common for dogs to do this, unfortunately - most of them love cat poop, and will eat it any chance they get. The good news is, it rarely causes any problems apart from some mild stomach upset as long as he only ate a small amount. If he ingested a large amount of cat litter, there is a chance that this could cause an obstruction in his intestines - this is unusual in my experience, but can happen in dogs who consume really large amounts. Signs of this problem would include repeated episodes of vomiting, not wanting to eat, and not having bowel movements. If you notice any of these issues over the next day or two, then I would recommend taking Marcellus to the vet right away to be checked. But as long as he is eating fine and acting normal, you shouldn't need to worry.