My dog eats horse poop. How can I stop it and is it dangerous?

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.

Hello. Yes, your pet can pick up parasites from eating manure, but for the most part, parasites are host specific. Your veterinarian may see some eggs on Costa's next fecal exam, but your heartworm preventative will eliminate the parasites, so this is not anything to be concerned about. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Horse feces does not cause cancer, so there are no worried there. Willow should be fine, at most you might see some GI upset in the form of vomiting or diarrhea. Dogs eat feces all the time, including their own, and it's a normal but gross behavior. You don't have to worry Sharn!

Aside from preventing her from having access to the area, it is almost impossible to stop her. Deworming every 3 months with a broad spectrum deworming including praziquantel for tapeworm would be a good plan otherwise. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

While eating deer and goose feces is gross it is probably not going to cause any illness. Most parasites are specific to the host. I suppose Giardia could potentially be transmitted in either deer or goose feces but I think it would be unlikely. His diet sounds balanced as long as the raw food is a commercially available balanced diet or comprises <10% of his total calories. The only way I know to get him to stop would be to restrict access - for some reason dogs seem to find the feces of most other species irresistible.

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.

Unfortunately the only way to prevent it is either keep a strict eye on Bailey during his walks and try to distract him with treats and toys or use a muzzle to prevent the ingestion. You could use the muzzle for a limited time just to break this habit. Sometimes they lose the habit while growing. Please post again on the forum if you would like to discuss it further. I hope my answer was helpful.