Dogs eating cat sh!t??

Calibos

Do all dogs do this. Poor oul Remy(RIP) did but I thought it was just something unique to her. We let our 2 westie pups out in the back garden for the first time a few days ago. The first thing they did was dig up some cat sh1t deposited by the neighbours cat and started to wolf it down. Kisses on the top of the head from now on boys!! :D The question is whether it will do them any harm. Can they catch anything from it?? I know Remy did the same but she was about 10 times their size. Kinda like if she robbed a bar of chocolate it wouldn't do her any harm but it might harm a much smaller Dog.

watty

Not a good idea.


Probabily to do with Territory. Animals often "mark" their territory, others will remove the "mark". Dogs often pee to mark the territory.

Falkorre

Its called Copography (sp?) i think.
All types of animals practice it, usually it is down to one of two things, either a dietery defiency or just plain curiosity.
You should try to stop it tho, the problem is parasites, if the cat had anything it can be passed on via the excretia or any bleeding involved in the passing.
Maybe try getting a product to keep cats off ur garden, most garden centers sell that stuff.


Hope that helps.

B

Kalina

I caught my friends labrador pup eating horse droppings out in the paddock a couple of times, I don't like to see it cos I can't imagine it being good for the dog and besides she's always licking everyones hands. Not good, but I think she's grown out of it.

watty

Of course Hares, Rabbits and Cavies (guinea pigs) do TWO kinds of droppings, the first kind they die if they don't eat any, and the the 2nd kind they don't eat (the real droppings).

AFAIK these along with Guinea pig close cousins such as Patagonian Hare (kind of Cavy, not a hare) and Mara are the only anaimals that need to do this. Actually I just assume the Patagonian Hare and Mara are the same as they are same family as Cavies.


If cavies are at all rodents (some doubt now) they are very, very distant 85Million year ago relative to Rat. Rabbits and Hares are also rodentia, but even with them too some questions now raised due to digestion system (but they are far, far "closer" to Rats than a Cavy is regarded, even by the most arden Rodentia classifying biologist!).

Squirels are of course cute rats with bushy tails.


It is so quick and furtive that is was not realised for a long time!

Also the cavies will try to steal each others (free meal?) so may account for the quick furtive nature of the action. Quick bend forward and tuck of head between forpaws. It might not even touch the ground more than an instant.

Cows avoid this method of digesting grass (cellulose) by have lots of plumbing. Goats of course think they can eat anything (our two did anyway), but never took any interest in droppings. Eating the buttons of may shirt or the nieghbour's roses, yes.

R33F

I dont think there is a problem with it at all.

My lil' Staffy/ Whippet will often sneak off during his evening toilet break to find a bit of cat poo to munch on. Just dont let him lick you for a while... thats all.

Its also an added bonus if you have a "mentos" or 2 to give him before you let him back up on the couch.

SantaHoe

We used to have a dog years ago that'd pick up his own poo in his mouth and carry it around with him.
It's like as if he thought a bit of him "fell out" and he should keep it just incase.

AntiRip

years ago when we had our gran uncle (rip) living with us he used to go to the toilet down the field (old ways i guess). Our bloody red setter used to eat it !!

...not nice.....

eth0_

Originally posted by R33F

My lil' Staffy/ Whippet will often sneak off during his evening toilet break to find a bit of cat poo to munch on. Just dont let him lick you for a while... thats all.

Its also an added bonus if you have a "mentos" or 2 to give him before you let him back up on the couch.

Don't let him lick you 'for a while'?? Are you serious? You shouldn't let a dog lick you full stop. Think of the amount of germs a dog is carrying, especially one who is eating his own and other animals ****! Are you one of those people who lets their dog lick their face? That really really grosses me out *shudder*.

I had a lovely pedigree golden retriever that (along with having severe behaviour problems) used to eat her own ****. And she **** A LOT. The vet told us there was something lacking in her diet (I can't remember the specifics) and sure enough, when we altered her diet she stopped doing it.

I don't know *how* you can think a dog eating **** is 'normal'...

R33F

eth0_

I totally understand what you are saying.

A dogs tongue is its wash cloth, toilet brush, and on occasions poop collector.
There is also a large amount of bacteria that breaks all these down.

I have browsed a few sites to find out what is worse, a humans mouth or
a dogs mouth as it was long believed that a bite from a human is worse than a bite
from a dog.

If you swab a dogs mouth, it will take about 3 days for bacterial culture to grow.
if you swab a humans mouth, bacterial culture will be present in 24hrs.

Do I let my dog lick my face ?? No.

Do I let my 3yr old niece give me a kiss after she has been in the yard eating dirt and snails
and whatever else she desires ?? Yes.

My lil' staffy will occasionally eat cat poo, and never his own or other dogs.

My dogs diet is not in question here, (unlike my nieces) as it is prepared specially for them.

I also have an Australian Blue Cattle dog. After she has competed in trials
and finished her work, the reward (pats, treats & rubs) I give her makes
her happy. Do I let her lick my hand when I am putting her in the back of the ute
for the drive home ? Yes

karlin

Dog breeders say eating poop, cat or dog, is normal but not desireable. Some dogs like eating dog poop, their own or others, and some show no interest (mine doesn't, fortunately). According to vets and breeders, sometimes it seems to be due to diet and other times they just seem to like it, no matter what change is made in the diet. To stop this issue with dogs and their own poop, a couple of dog breeders on a US list I am on have had success with alfalfa pellets == the kind you feed rabbits -- added to their dog's food. Not a huge amount, I don't think, and it should be the pure alfalfa pellets, not with additives. Or you can try other remedies, commercial or otherwise (google the issue and lots will come up). You can also sometimes train them to stop.

Almost all dogs seem to like cat poop (aka kitty snacks). It may be that cats' diets are higher in protein (cans or kibble both have more protein than dogfood as cats are pure carnivores and dogs are not). It is not a pleasant activity but a *perfectly normal* animal behaviour, according to every animal behaviourist I've read.

Dogs are dogs, not small people, and do a lot of stuff we find disgusting (like rolling in dead things). The book The Other End of the Leash is fascinating on this subject -- the differences between primates and canines; why some of what we do is baffling to dogs and vice versa, and how this can cause real problems in behaviour and training. Highly recommended for any dog owner.

RainyDay

Just proves that dogs are much dumber than cats, doesn't it?

Kazu

dirty little ****ers and people let dogs lick their face and even kiss dogs

dudara

Don't let him lick you 'for a while'?? Are you serious? You shouldn't let a dog lick you full stop. Think of the amount of germs a dog is carrying, especially one who is eating his own and other animals ****! Are you one of those people who lets their dog lick their face? That really really grosses me out *shudder*.

Come off it, I'd rather have a dog lick me than a person. Dogs are cleaner, depsite all their fondness for rooting around.

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by LurkingIcon
Of course Hares, Rabbits and Cavies (guinea pigs) do TWO kinds of droppings, the first kind they die if they don't eat any, and the the 2nd kind they don't eat (the real droppings).

Squirels are of course cute rats with bushy tails.

Rodents don't have four stomachs like cows and don't chew the cud in quite the same way. They are simply putting half digested food back through the system for a second pass - cows can simply cough the stuff up - evolution has not been as kind to the rodents..

Even with us humans a lot of vitamins we get are not in the food when we eat it , but are made in the gut by bacteria which we late adsorb in the large intestine or something.

BTE: remember the Woody Allen quote about pigeons ?
"Flying Rats"

R33F

Originally posted by RainyDay
Just proves that dogs are much dumber than cats, doesn't it?

sniffer cats ?? guard cats ?? work cats ?? and to bring the sheep in of a nite....

a sheep cat

give me a poo eater any day thanx.

RainyDay

Originally posted by R33F
sniffer cats ?? guard cats ?? work cats ?? and to bring the sheep in of a nite....

a sheep cat

Thanks for proving my point beautifully. You wouldn't expect an animal with dignity to lower themselves down to mere manual labour to help you out, would you?

Dogs have owners, Cats have staff....

Lafortezza

This has been the funniest post I've read in a while....

R33F

Originally posted by RainyDay
Thanks for proving my point beautifully. You wouldn't expect an animal with dignity to lower themselves down to mere manual labour to help you out, would you?

Dogs have owners, Cats have staff....

I cannot believe we are getting into the dog v cat issue on a "dogs eating cat poo thread"

But......

As well as owning 2 Fantastic dogs, our house has also a feline "poobox".

His best assest apart from providing the occasional "poobox snack" for my lil' staffy is simply......

The dogs luurrrve chasing him !!!!!

Must leave this for you to check out as well:

http://www.wfthecoliseum.com/articles/animals/dogs_better_cats.html

Jip

A bit of a coincidence as I only read this yesterday in the New Scientist magazine

Ecologically, excrement is so dangerous, so valuable and so versatile that it pervades interaction within and between species. Even though animals avoid their own dung, many relish the dung of other species: wild dogs covet the droppings of jackals, while hyenas eat the dung of both. Many a cute domestic dog loves the ordure of humans and cats. Tortoises eat weathered carnivore dung for its minerals. Chicken manure is valuable cattle feed and, in a shared enclosure, rabbits will gobble the droppings of cats before the flies get a look-in.

and also

The smelly substance in excrement is skatole (3-methylindole), and it is the substance to which the human nose is most sensitive on a per molecule basis. No doubt it is present in faeces because it is a breakdown product from haemoglobin that enters the gut via bile. We have evolved to be repelled by it because excrement transmits disease and we should steer clear.

However, skatole doesn't always trigger the disgust reaction in humans, nor is the reaction shared by the whole animal kingdom. The substance is used in small amounts as flavouring in food, notably in vanilla ice cream. Dung flies are attracted to it, and the phallus-like spadix of the arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) synthesises skatole to attract flies that pollinate the flowers. The civet cat also has glands that produce skatole, presumably to mark territory and repel others. This gland is used in perfumery.

Michelangelo

If you people let your dogs eat cat **** or any kind of **** for that reason, you(the person) needs help. If you sit there watching your dog eating **** saying "look at my cute little dog eating ****". You need help. Badly. It ain't normal. Stop letting it happen. It is disgusting. Would you eat your own ****? Better say no or else I will shoot you.

R33f I think you love your **** eating dog a bit too much. :dunno:



































:ninja:

koneko

Huh, I would have told michaelangelo off for being mental, but it looks like he's banned from the boards already.

Asok

There is nothing like the look of innoscence on a dogs face as it looks at you with cat litter on its nose.


tbh dogs eat lots of different animals crap ours is rather partial to a big of horse crap.

Falkorre

Originally posted by Asok
There is nothing like the look of innoscence on a dogs face as it looks at you with cat litter on its nose.

Quick note: Be careful, becuse any cat litter ingested with the fecal matter, can cause gut impaction which can kill or require surgical removal.

B

R33F

Originally posted by koneko
Huh, I would have told michaelangelo off for being mental, but it looks like he's banned from the boards already.

Michelangelo is entitled to have his own opinion.

Mrs R33F is a vetinary nurse and yes apart from eating "kitty snacks" with litter on them doesnt have a huge problem with it at all.

As far as loving my dog(s)..... Yep ! 110%

My parents live on the mid nth coast on a reasonable size property. During the X-Mas break father and I were felling trees. On the 3rd or 4th day the Staffy X (poo-eater) was barking and growling up around the felled trees one morning. As we drove up there we found him sitting there with a dead 1m long brown snake he had killed. (will try and find the picci to d/load for you guys)

He can eat as much "kitty-poo" as he likes.

koneko

He's entitled to his opinion, it's his manner of posting I meant was mental not his opinion.

Nala

A metre-long snake? Roaming free? :eek:
ST PATRICK COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!