eating habits

[bandara]

We have a 7 month old black lab and he keeps eating out of the cat litter box. Does anyone know a way to stop this habit?

[wolfsoul]

Have you tried putting the litter box up somewhere where the cat can use it but the dog can't get it? Cat feces is something that should really NOT be eaten. Not only is it a bad habit but it can cause health problems. Try putting some food in the box with hot sauce inside it. He might eventually think tht everything that comes from the litter box will be spicy. Those labs will eat anything, won't they?!

[finn's mom]

I had a roommate once that his siberian husky would come out of our bedroom's bathroom and have a kitty litter moustache. It's disgusting. All we could do was put up a baby gate. My friends taught their cats to use the toilet, that worked! Or maybe a good investment would be one of those self cleaning litterboxes. Good luck!

[Maja]

Dogs love catshit, maybe its cause cats have a fattier diet?
Anyway it wont cause any harm to the dog ,just be sure to deworm at least every 6 months cause cats usually have more worms.

[K9soul]

Originally posted by Maja
Anyway it wont cause any harm to the dog

I disagree with this. Eating feces, especially feces with cat litter on it, can cause some serious problems. My girl Tasha found some cat feces in the yard a couple weeks ago and ate it before I could stop her. The next day she was vomiting and ill the entire day with acute gastritis, scaring the life out of me.

I'd definitely try to find a way to prevent the pup from having access to the litterbox.

[Maja]

Dogs are really smart so she shouldnt do that again.So far none of mine have ever had that prob so they just keep on doing it..

[wolfsoul]

Also, the dog could eat the poop, lick someone and contract toxoplasmosis to the person it licked. It's a deadly disease.

[pnance]

It's not really the cat poop that's bad for them (assuming your cat is indoor only and healthy, if not all bets are off) its the litter. Most people don't use biodegradable litter, and even more use the clumping stuff. Well if it clumps when it gets wet think what it does in the dogs intestine. Basically you could get a blockage in the intestine. Not only that but I agree it's really disgusting. I've now had 2 dogs that do it. My terrier mix did it when he was younger, then we put the cat litter up where he couldn't reach it. It stayed that was for years (3 years), until we moved and w/o thinking put it back on the floor. He never touched it in the 6 years it was back on the floor till he went to RB. My lab/shep/chow mix (2yrs) does it as well, I don't really have a place for it to go up now, so I've turned it towards the wall of the shower it's in, making really difficult for a dog his size (70 lbs) to get to, but the 12 lb cat has no problem.

[K9soul]

Originally posted by Maja
Dogs are really smart so she shouldnt do that again.

She is VERY smart, but she can't make an association with a sick stomach to the cat poop she ate a day before, their minds don't work that way. For a few days afterward, she ran to the spot the poop had been at, looking for more LOL

[Maja]

they do get used to it though.my baby is a real fiend and can smell it a mile away..and sometimes im to late...she still sleeps in my bed though...its a time machine

[sumbirdy]

They have some special sprays to put on them in most pet stores that are not harmful to the dog. Just ask the store owner or something about it because i really dont remember what its called. They have different flavors like sour apple that dogs dont like.

[mruffruff]

The only real solution is to keep the litter box where the dog CAN'T get into it. Maybe put the litter box in a closet with the door 6 inches open. Use two rubber wedges, one on each side. The cat can get in but the dog can't.

Or move the litter to a shelf that the dog can't reach.

If you can't do either, then a baby gate is definitely the way to go. Just don't count on it to be unmovable, tall enough or not climbable. (Is that a word?)

7 month old Labs can be very resourceful!

Mary

[Pandi]

All the suggestion are great, but I have an 8 month old poodle puppy and she can get everywhere the cat can get. She jumps higher then the cat, so the gate isn't an option.
I never thought it could be harmful to her health, I just thought it was disgusting. Now I am very concerned and don't know what to do.
Now about the stuff you spray in the litterbox, wouldn't that bother the cat? I am concerned the smell would keep the cat away and I will her have going to the bathroom all over the house.
Thanks for any other suggestions.

Naomi

[ginagt]

I have a 9 month(she was 13 weeks old when I got her) old Golden Retirever and 2 cats, what I did was first get a covered litter box, with the opening facing the wall with just enough room for the cats to get in. When I first got my puppy and I caught her in the act of eating out of the litterbox, I quietly snuck up to the litterbox, hit the sit of the litterbox (lid) with my hand and said "NO" she quickly pulled her head out and ran away, the next time she did it, I repeacted the "No" with the slam on the side of the box. She now assoicates that box with loud scary no. She no longer goes into the litterbox... Give it a try and let us know how it goes.