Dog eats kitten's food and POOP!?

Question

We have a one year old Boarder Collie and a new kitten, both the kittens litter box and food dish are in our room. It seems every chance we aren't watching the dog, she goes right into the room, eats every bite of the kittens food, then digs in the litter box for desert. Not only is this annoying and disgusting but she gets litter and cat poop everywhere on the carpet. What can I do? She knows she's not supposed to do it and wouldn't dare do it in our presence, but thinks she can get away with it if no one sees.

Each time she does it I've spanked her, told her no, and put her in her kennel, but this doesn't seem to be enough to get the message. Please tell me what I can do to correct my mistake.

Answer 1

Wait, you know the dog likes cat food and cat poop, but you leave it out and then hit your dog when she gets into it? How AWFUL!!!!

You leave the food & litter out. So, pick it up and put it on a riser or on a counter or use a baby gate to keep the dog out of those rooms.


Hitting your dog isn't going to solve anything. You are simply making the dog more scared of you and being a terrible owner. Dogs are not kids. You can't explain to them what they did wrong so beating them doesn't accomplish anything. Keep your hands in your pockets and puppy proof the house!

And it's Border Collie.

Answer 2

dogs are known to do this you might think it disgusting but its a doggy thing and as for spanking a dog is not the solution as the poor wee thing probably does not know why you are hitting it perhaps it would be a better idea to put the litter tray and the kittens food out of the dogs way where the dog cannot reach it we keep our three dogs from getting at our 3 cats food dishes by putting a child gate across the door they no longer have cat trays but we used-the sane method when they were kittens also you probably need to worm the dog too just in case the kittens have any (they usually do unless wormed)

Answer 3

As long as dogs and cats live in the same house, this will happen. Cat food is sweeter than dog food, therefore the poo is also sweeter in taste to the dog. So they are attracted to it.

I've gone through it as well with my dogs and there's two options you can try:

1. If you call your vet there is a product called 4-BID, you can add to the cat food that makes the feces taste terrible. So doggy goes to get his treat from the litter box and all of a sudden its not as tasty as they remembered it. Of course you have to let your dog actually eat out of the litter box a few times to train them into thinking kitty-poo is yucky tasting. And it may not work permanently, but worth a shot.

2. (This is what I had to do) Find a room to have the cat litter box in and put a cat sized pet door in. We chose a bathroom in our house that we don't use as much. The litter box is in there and on occassion we will feed the cats in there if we aren't around to supervise. Otherwise we have to feed them at seperate times and control what they eat. For example, My dogs sleep in the bedroom at night so I feed the cats before bed and shut the dogs in with me. In the morning the cats are fed while the dogs are outside playing or sleeping.

Answer 4

i remember watching this program just the other day about this woman who helps people with dog problems. What she was doing was shouting or banging pans together just before the dog was bad but not actually shouting at the dog. She wouldnt even look at the dog. The loud noise made the dog stop what he was doing. When the dog stops the woman would give the dog a bit of fuss, telling him that hes a good boy etc. It seemed that after a while the dog caught on to the fact that the loud noise was connected to the bad thing he was doing and when he wasnt doing it he was a good boy! im not sure if it will work for you especially if its only happening when your not about but it might be worth a try. Its a pity i cant remember was the program was called.

Answer 5

My dog also eats cat food and cat poop. No matter how many time we have told her no, she just can't help herself. It is like candy to her. So we moved the cat stuff to the basement. The food and litter box is up on a long table. So the cats can get to it, but the dog can't. This is the ONLY solution that I found worked for my dog.

Answer 6

Take the cat food AND the litter box and put it where the dog can't reach it. Food can go high. Cats can get up in high places where dogs can't get to. Litter box can go in a room the cat can get into (kitty door) or a space the dog can't go into like separating his area from her poop with a kiddie gate.

Answer 7

Both are high in protein and irresistible in the dog world. Get a covered litterbox or put it under something so the kitten can get to it but the dog can't. You can do the same with the food or just feed you kitten twice a day and pick up the dish when she is done.

Answer 8

The dog probally wasn't trained right as a puppy. When the dogs are little they tend to eat their own poop because it smells like the food they just ate and don't know the difference. Try feeding your dog more and spray the poop with vinegar because they hate the taste and smell of vinegar. That way it won't eat the poop. The vinegar is okay to use, so don't worry.

Answer 9

just let her. My friend's dog eats chicken, donkey, and horse poop daily, and she is fine. A little on the chubby side, but fine. Spanking a dog will not work. Perhaps build a sturdy shelf and put the litter box up there, where the cats but not the dog can jump to? I don't know.
hope this helps!
x o x o
;)

Answer 10

keep the litter box in another room where the dog can't get. For the food mix some cat food with the dog food! It is not bad for the dog!!