I have a puppy that's 3 month old and she gets poop from out cat's cat litter box and eats it?

Question

Why does she do this and how do I make her stop? I've never had a dog that has donw this before.

Answer 1

For some odd reason some dogs just love to eat cat poo. The only thing that helped me is to place the cat box so the dog can't get to it.

A barricade that only the cat can get pass.

Answer 2

LOL, good luck with that one, it's one of the reason's I won't get a cat, too many tasty treats for my dogs, and my Weim would chase the heck out of it. No matter what my dog seems to find the cat poop buried in the yard outside (I live in a townhome) the only suggestion is to place the litter in a room and either have a cat flap installed on the door or have a cat sized hole installed so only the cat can enter. They do make doors that are remote controlled by a controller placed on the cats collar this way if you have a small dog she still can't get to the litter box. Or you are going to have to place the litterbox up high enough that only the cat can get at it.

Answer 3

Lots of puppies, and adult dogs, do this, it is not unusual at all and no one really knows why.

There is some speculation that the dog is looking for some nutrition she lacks, but that is not always the case.

You cannot stop your 3 month old puppy from doing this = what you need to do is either move the cat's litter box to where the pup can't get at it, or clean it every time the cat uses it.

Answer 4

yucky poo! I had a dog that used to do that, and my neighbor thought something was wrong with his cat, he went to clean the litter box, and noticed there was no poop in it, then he found out the dog had been raiding it! I got one of the litter boxes with the top- looks like a little kennel, the dog was too big to squish his head through the opening- second cat wouldn't go in it with the top on it, so I finally just moved it to a bathroom in another part of the house that the dogs weren't allowed into.

Answer 5

I've never figured why they don't make cat poop flavored dog food or mouse flavored cat food!
Every dog I've had has done this disgusting habit. Now my "new" 7 month old Golden has developed poop taste buds.
A) They may grow out of it
B) They may need some minerals (not likely if you are feeding good food)
C) He just likes the taste!
Just move the litter box for now.

Answer 6

Try putting tabasco sauce in the litter box. Apparenty tabasco tastes worse than poop to a dog...A trainer recommended this so I guess it's ok to do!

Another suggestion is to put up a baby gate so the pup can't get to the litter box. Depending on the sie of the puppy, you can put it high enough so the cat can get under but the dog can't, or get one low enough so the cat can jump over it but not the dog.

A covered litter box might also work (again, depending on the size of your dog and how desperate she is to eat kitty treats).

Answer 7

This is normal - cats cannot digest some protiens - so that is what your dog wants. We got a different litter box that has a top opening and the dog couldn't figure out how to get into - also place in a room that the dog cannot get into all the time - we used the laundry room. Then train your dog that it is not allowed in that room.

Answer 8

Dogs like cat poo as cats eat a very protein rich diet, much more so than most dogs. As someone has already mentioned, the leave it command is the one to teach here - you won't necessarily win everytime, but you need to reward the good behaviour and not punish the bad - punishment generally just makes the dog more devious & fearful, and a more fearful dog is more difficult to train effectively. So, dog goes to poo, you say "leave it!", if dog leaves it then give a treat/ praise, if not remove dog & say nothing more until the next occasion when the event occurs and you repeat the process. The leave it command, can be taught with toys - hold out a favourite toy, say "leave it!" if the dog leaves it, praise and give the toy. Develop this by holding out favourite toy, saying "leave it!", if the dog obeys hold the toy for a few moments (gradually lengthen the time), and then Say "take it!" moving the toy towards the dog's mouth so it gets the idea of what take it means. It's a useful command to teach, as there may be many things you want them to leave either in the house or when out & about exercising - not least the poo (or in the case of my mum's Whippet, a used condom she found in the park - ugh!)

Answer 9

Good luck with that. It's like caviar to dogs for some reason. My dog does it too. I put the litter box up on a little stand, out of reach of the dog but low enough for the cat to still jump up on it.

Answer 10

The dog smells fish/chicken in the poop because it was in the food. Which is the only reason your dog eats the chocolate coated crunchies.

My dog Tiger does it aswell. You can set up feeding times for the cats and put them in their own room with their food and litter. Keep them in there for an hour or two until they did all their busniess then take the litter and put it up.

We had our own cat room though.