Written by Misha Stone on October 6, 2017 at 10:16PM
For animal lovers, having multiple pets is less of a want than it is a need. It always starts with one pet - then comes that small nagging feeling that your One True Pet Love needs someone to keep them company when you’re not home. So, being the pristine and kind ruler that you are, you get a second pet. But then 2 seems like an odd number, because shouldn’t it be a pet family… and, well, you know how it goes from there.
Now interspecies cohabitation can go a multitude of ways, but between cats and dogs, things have always been far more interesting. For examples, dogs like to eat just about anything. Socks. Vomit. Cat poop.
Susan C. Willett from Dogster had this very problem within her own animal kingdom:
“I live with three dogs and four cats. For the most part, it’s a peaceable kingdom. So what if the cats sleep in the dog beds or if my dogs think that mouse toys are meant to be shredded. The joys of living with both dogs and cats outweigh the small challenges of an interspecies household. Except for the part about the dogs eating the “snacks” they steal from the cats’ litter boxes. In case that’s not clear, I mean that I’m dealing with a dog eating cat poop out of the litter box.”
If your dog is also stealing, uhm, presents, from your Cat’s litter box, don’t worry - the worst of it will probably be the cat poop breath kisses. But if you’d like to get your pup a bit more in line it’s time to change their behavior! Here are a few summmarized tips from Susan’s story on getting your pup to stop, drop, and not eat that poo:
- Teach your dog (or re-enforce) the ‘leave it’ and/or ‘drop it’ commands. Try to prevent your dog from eating the poop in the first place, if possible.
- Teach your dog to 'wait’ properly, giving you time and space to clean the litter box of the offending present without a snout in the clumps. On the same note, keep your litter boxes clean! Your pup can’t eat what isn’t there.
- Keep your dog busy and active. How you decide to do this is up to you and your pup, but when your pup is having fun, poop will be the last thing on their mind.
- Consider using a baby gate or latch door. Susan suggests the Door Buddy, the Peek a Boo (that’s the one she started with) and the Latch’nVent.
- Put the litter box up high! Keep it in a place where your cats can happily do their business, but the cannot salvage the, hm, treasure.
If you have a dog that’s eating things they shouldn’t (not just cat poo, but we understand your concern if that’s what they are eating), remember to always use a positive reinforcement training strategy to get those sessions to really stick.
Want to be a bonafide training expert? Check out the full training post Is Your Dog Eating Cat Poop Out of the Litter Box? Get Him to Stop at Dogster.
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