How can I stop my 2 B's from eating other animals' poo?
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Hi there,
We have two lovely sisters, Lela (1 y. old) and Binti (2). They are generally very well behaved and sometimes even obey commands….
One thing bothers us, though. They love to eat faeces: from rabbits, geese, dogs (not their own), and we have a lot of it where we live.
They seem to understand that they are not allowed to do it, because they will always check on me to see what my action will be. And when on the leash, they will still do it, but - when corrected - are perfectly capable of sitting next to a tasty heap, looking innocently into the sky, with a look on their face like "how can you even THINK I'm interested in this poo?" and then seconds later attack the heap full on. I think you know what I mean.
We have tried:- distracting with a treat: does not work, because the poo tastes much better.
- correcting them by voice: will only work temporarily, and only when I am very close to them ( a few feet).
- correcting them with a Cesar Millan-style prod to snap them out of their poo-hunting state of mind: it will keep them off the poo at hand, but they will escape to the next heap an start all over.
- feeding banana because it contains some minerals that they might need: me no like banana.
Do they do it because they are hungry? Or because the poo contains stuff that they need (they get top quality food)?
Or because of some other reason?
What can we try or do we have to wait it out until they are older?
Thanks for your input,
Kees-Jan Donkers
Anne-Marie Mulder
Marken, The Netherlands
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I hate to say this, but I don't think this is something that is going to go away. I've found if they are going to eat it, they will forever! I believe this has been discussed in another post and there is a food out there that has something in it that is supposed to stop them from eating poop, but others on the forum are more well versed in that food type than I am. I have tried various things with some of my girls and I haven't found anything that works long term. I'm sure others will chime in. Good luck!
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A lot of dogs eat poop. There was a thread (there are probably many!) on this forum that went on several pages on the topic. I believe the consensus was that vigilance is the only way to deter this behaviour. That has certainly been my experience! (I personally have never met a dog that didn't like to get into cat litter boxes)
You know those dog food commercials where the dog "prefers" the advertised brand over brand "x"? Well, put a steaming plate of cat poop out as a choice, I know where that dog is going! Doesn't say much for the "taste test" as an indicator of a superior food! :)
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Both of our dogs will do it. Where we live in Washington State, we have lots of goose poop; in Arizona, it's cow and rabbit poop with an occasional coyote poop thrown in. We just have to be on the watch and get them away from it before they scarf it down. Even then, they still end up with some!
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I can keep Kipawa away from kitty poop in the house, but when we are on the dikes walking off leash and he sees/smells horse poop he is there as fast as lightning. It has to be 'medium fresh' (a few days old) - not too new and not too grassy. A few "eck" sounds and he knows I want him off of it. I'm going to look for that other thread to see what else was said.
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Malaika will do it, Kwame doesn't. Well when i say he doesn't he does eat other animals poo but not other dogs. To Malaika anything is fair game.
The behaviour has decreased with age but she does still do it on occasions, particularly if she finds a sloppy one (so sorry to be so graphic, i know it's sickening )
I was horrified yesterday to see Malaika go to eat Kwame's poo even before it touched the ground. I was able to stop her with a verbal command because i saw it. -
I think the only thing that will work is watching them so close for many months that they don't have a chance to eat poo. A behavior will often disappear when they haven't been able to perform it for a long time. But then you really have to make sure that they can't eat it for a long time. It's a self-rewarding behavior, so every time they are able to eat some, you can start all over again.
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I agree with VOOdoo as this is usually a habit except in certain cases . Habits can be broken but it'll take strict vigilance on your part. Remove all temptation immediately - attempting to make it unpalatable (as in spraying with Bitter Apple) does not usually work..
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Ours find bunny poop irresistible in the yard. One loves goose poop. We have a fenced in yard and somehow they still get in. The y will kill & eat them if they find them. We recently have had a great horned owl in the area and that with the coyotes, rabbit population has really declined. No Coyotes in the yard, but I am leery of them going out in the back yard at night with the owl. I know they normally dont kill dogs, but read a hungry owl will try to kill & eat animals larger than itself. Still a cool bird to have around.
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I have heard Pineapple helps and there is a pill that works so they say not sure about that..(Pill) I have a Shih tzu that eats Poo well did. we used Pineapple and she stopped after a while. I do know all dogs are different. I wish you the best of luck on this issue
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My 8 month B has a fascination with goose poop as well. We live 4 houses away from a lake and taking him for a morning walk before I'm fully awake is rough. He can get to more poo in 30 seconds than I can react to! I try to be satisfied with catching 75% of the lunges but its really icky when it makes him happy and he tries to lick me right after. Blech! I'm going to try Pineapple.
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Agreed. Sometimes I think the grosser it is they more they enjoy seeing our faces when they do it.
