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Ok, first off, I've never had a dog before. Our little girl was brought into our home and life when our DD returned home to go back to school. She brought an adorable puppy home with her!
I don't know what breed it is, if any. I just say she's a mutt. She's about 25 lbs, 1.5 years old. black, white, brown. The vet "guesses" she's a terrier mix.
We also have three elderly cats, two male, one female. They get along ok, in that the cats tolerate her!
The issue here--doggie eats cat poop! I thought the cat boxes were being unused, until I observed DD (dear dog), eating the turds! I asked the vet, she said this is a rather common albeit gross habit of some dogs. The cats and dog also go in the backyard. My son does the yard work. I asked if he ever found doggie waste, he said no. Cats bury their waste, so they either use the litter box or bury it in the flower beds. But what about the doggie stuff? A neighbor said he once saw DD go poop, then turned around and ate it! I wonder if she eats all her excrement, because we don't find evidence of any in the yard.
Also, she loves kitty box treats (cat turds). We recently found a little pile in our daughter's bedroom, buried under the bed. We do feed the dog! She likes and eats what we feed her, its not like she's starving!
So, it appears she eats kitty box treats, and her own poop! I don't know exactly when this started or if there's a cause, or if she's just being a dog. The vet says its not harmful, but I still find it unsettling, just the idea!
Has anyone had this problem? What do you think may have caused it? How did you manage it? Thanks for suggestions!
Your dog is probably eating his
Own poop too. This is not uncommon. Put the cat box where he can't get to it. Walk him on a leash at potty time. Problem solved.
Products are sold to make it less palatable but they don't always work. You can try adding unflavored, no spice, canned pumpkin in his food.
Dogs are disgusting, vile creatures. Remember, you are dealing with an animal a half step removed from the wild. In fact, many can and do revert back to being wild, and in some places packs of formerly domesticated feral dogs do roam. I never let any of my dogs on the bed, or on furniture considering where their paws, mouths and butts have been.
All that being said they are great pets, friends and family members. Yes, some do eat the cat poop and their own poop. I put a cover on the litter box, and place it so only the cat could get to it. Problem solved. My dog NEVER ate his own poop, but I would clean it up immediately.
There was a thread within the last year about dogs eating their own excrement and there were helpful suggestions of things to add to their diet (pineapple was one I think?). You should be able to find it if you search.
There was some debate on this but I don't think it is common. I have had about 12 dogs in my lifetime including rescues and I have never seen a dog do it's business and then turn around and eat it.
Excrement of other species is a different matter and it is more common for dogs to raid a cat's litter box. You need to put a stop to this behavior. Most people use clumping litter and it can cause a dangerous obstruction in a dog.
I don't have a place to move the litter boxes as my cat's need convenient access and I am not a fan of having gates all over so I trained my dogs to avoid the litterboxes with a stern "NO" or "drop it" if I caught them. I would physically open my puppy's jaws if necessary to make him drop it so he got the message pretty quick. It's all worked and I probably screamed a few times too. Not that I would normally do that but it was an involuntary reaction to being so grossed out and yelling, "What the...???" if I would see that disgusting behavior.
My dog eats the cats' poop too. Like a previous poster said we just try to keep vigilant with the box - by far the best strategy. HOwever, it has gooten better since we switched to a Booda Dome litter box (the kind with the entrance sort of on the "side" with a series of steps, not the simple jump in style). It seems to be sufficient discouragement most of the time.
My dog eats her own. I'm not great at picking it up. We have a big yard and a small dog, so it's easy to miss or ignore for awhile. Then I catch her bringing a dried turd into the house. Yech! I've had dogs for 70 years (my whole life) and never seen this before.
Proverbs 26:11. As a dog returns to vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.....
lol this has been going on for centuries. Back in the 70's my golden retriever loved eating the neighbors dog doo. Never his own. He also loved to roll in other dogs poo when he would escape off leash to adventure!
Welcome to life with a dog! None of mine have eaten their own poop (or I never caught them in the act), but enticing treats left by non-canines were fair game. My current dog is a connoisseur; she only indulges moose nuggets and they must be frozen solid. Bonbons perhaps?
Yup, not unusual. Most dogs don't eat their own, but it happens often enough pretty much everyone who deals with dogs will know of it. Cat poop is not preferred by most dogs, but plenty do. More dogs will eat wild critter poop - like deer (in my experience). Or even more gross - our poop. Coprophagy is what it is called. And it is just a part of being a dog.
Some dogs do it more than others. You CAN discourage it, but it will be difficult. It is probably easier to avoid it - move the litter box - do doggie poop walks - as suggested earlier. I would just try to be observant so you can catch the behavior and make it clear you don't like it. I'm not talking about punishing the dog, just removing the dog from the poop, if dog is on leash. Or telling the dog "leave it" or "stop" - if you've taught one of those commands. I use "leave it" and "bad".
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I asked the vet, she said this is a rather common albeit gross habit of some dogs. The cats and dog also go in the backyard. My son does the yard work. I asked if he ever found doggie waste, he said no. Cats bury their waste, so they either use the litter box or bury it in the flower beds. But what about the doggie stuff?
A neighbor said he once saw DD go poop, then turned around and ate it!
I wonder if she eats all her excrement, because we don't find evidence of any in the yard. 
We do feed the dog! She likes and eats what we feed her, its not like she's starving!
I don't know exactly when this started or if there's a cause, or if she's just being a dog. The vet says its not harmful, but I still find it unsettling, just the idea!
