Ideas Please!

[kolarik1]

So I have a fenced yard with a dog door...while gone, the dogs are muzzled. The first couple of months weren't too bad, but in the last couple of weeks, Pop has been getting worse. I pick up the yard a couple of times a week so that there's not so much dog crap everywhere. Well, Pop thinks its FUN to rub his muzzle in it, then come inside and smear it on the baby gate, walls in the hallway/dog room and the doors...plus he occasionally gets sick from it and that's a fun mess to try to get out of the carpet after it's been sitting for a few hours. I've included a pic of his muzzle taken this morning to show it's not a normal muzzle, although I do still have normal muzzle for him...I swear he has what's called a Kan Sel muzzle so he's not supposed to be able to eat as well...notice that his muzzle is covered in dog crap...I didn't catch it last night because he hid it from me, so this morning it's time to scrub the muzzle again...and I have to keep the muzzles hung up or my foster will chew on them :angryfire

 

 

I don't know if he's acting up because of my foster, or if he's just being a pain...but I'm absolutely fed up with cleaning dog crap up constantly. I cleaned up the yard yesterday before I went on a date...come home 4 hours later (went out with some friends after the date) and his muzzle is covered in dog crap... :angryfire :angryfire

 

ANY ideas?!?!? He is currently on the food he has now because he improved on it (he has Lupus)...he gets plenty of food each day...now it's either boredeom or he just loves to piss me off. Yesterday when I came home from errands and his muzzle was covered in crap (yes, he did it twice yesterday) I cleaned it up, stuck the muzzle back on him and proceeded to give the other 2 dogs rawhides and not him...as he loves rawhides and I was *hoping* that he would realize being naughty equals no treats...but that didn't work.

 

I am absolutely sick and tired of cleaning dog crap up constantly...and when I'm home I am constantly catching him trying to eat stuff off of the ground and I get after him every time...but it doesn't seem to matter. I don't want my carpet ruined because he feels the need to eat dog crap, then come inside and vomit! And I don't want bacteria covering all my walls because he feels the need to smear dog crap everywhere (I do thoroughly clean each spot that I find).

 

Thanks.

[Guest BrianRke]

Oh wow, sorry you are going through this. It sounds like a terrible situation. Have you tried any of those supplements that make the poop taste really bad? If you close off access to the dog door, would he poop in the house? Have you always muzzled him or did you just start doing it when you got the new foster? I would be going nuts too.

[kolarik1]

Oh wow, sorry you are going through this. It sounds like a terrible situation. Have you tried any of those supplements that make the poop taste really bad? If you close off access to the dog door, would he poop in the house? Have you always muzzled him or did you just start doing it when you got the new foster? I would be going nuts too.

 

Always muzzled while gone and he would occasionally do the poop in the muzzle, but now it's gotten much worse. I have not tried those supplements...but it's a thought. And I don't dare close off the dog door because if a thunderstorm comes through he has no issue with peeing in the house...if the door is open, he's fine.

 

I'm making him stay in the dog room right now, I don't even want to see him...sounds bad, but I'm not happy with him at all. Pop has no issues with going in the house if he really has to go but he doesn't go just to go, whereas Zelda will absolutely hold it as long as she can (she's my good little girl).

[Batmom]

No point in punishing him -- he has no idea why you aren't giving him a chewy or what he did wrong.

 

Here we pick up poop as it's deposited so nobody steps in it, eats it, or rubs their muzzle in it.

 

In your situation, might be worth trying the coprophagia food additives.

[Guest BrianRke]

I would try those supplements. I've also used pineapple juice. Just put a couple tablespoons in their food and it makes the poop taste terrible to them. I tired this with Frank and it worked great. I only had to do it for about a week and now he wont go near his poop.

 

and that was about a year ago.

[kolarik1]

I would try those supplements. I've also used pineapple juice. Just put a couple tablespoons in their food and it makes the poop taste terrible to them. I tired this with Frank and it worked great. I only had to do it for about a week and now he wont go near his poop.

 

and that was about a year ago.

 

Are you serious about the pineapple juice? I could grab some today while out...they still eat their food though, right? If this works, I could almost kiss you! :lol

 

No point in punishing him -- he has no idea why you aren't giving him a chewy or what he did wrong.

 

Here we pick up poop as it's deposited so nobody steps in it, eats it, or rubs their muzzle in it.

 

In your situation, might be worth trying the coprophagia food additives.

 

The only issue is, while I'm gone they're making their deposits and I can't get those picked up until I'm home...and by then he has it on his muzzle.

[Guest BrianRke]

Oh yeah, the pineapple juice worked great. I know of several other grey owners who also swear by it. Yeah he should still eat his food. THey love the taste of it going in, not coming out for some reason. Not sure how or why it works but it does

[kolarik1]

Oh yeah, the pineapple juice worked great. I know of several other grey owners who also swear by it. Yeah he should still eat his food. THey love the taste of it going in, not coming out for some reason. Not sure how or why it works but it does

 

In that case, all 3 pups will be getting pineapple juice as I'm not sure if he's eating his or one of the other dogs...YUCK is all I can say.

[Guest iconsmum]

Does he get any exercise? or, do you just use the yard as his entertainment? the solution is a lonnng walk daily that he can count on - I'm talking 1 1/2 hours at one go, close the dog door - you take him out onleash every time he needs to pee i.e. four or five times a day. Bored dogs eat crap and find things to do - tired dogs sleep - it's just management.

[JohnF]

That is the behaviour pattern of a very bored (and upset with being bored) dog.

Instead of punishing with treat-denials and time-outs which he cannot possibly understand, get him exercized more (could a dog walker call in when you're out?). Work on stuff that will keep his brain involved like finding and taking ages to empty a frozen Kong.

Try reading the Calming Signals link here he will be sending you (impossible with that darned muzzle .. yes I know muzzles are safety-issue. You can then send the appropriate Calming Signals back to him.

It will, for him, be something like when you talk to someone in a call center that just doesn't get it, nor want to get it, what you're talking about.

[Guest BrianRke]

When I just had Diamond I think she got bored when I wasnt home. Now that I have 2 others with her, they dont seem to care at all when Im gone. I come home and their toys are everywhere and all the rugs are displaced.

 

If he has other dogs to play with and the whole house and the back yard to wander around in while you're gone, I wouldnt be so sure it was boredom.

 

In my opinion, he is eating/trying to eat the poop because some dogs just do that. When he goes inside he is raking the muzzle on the walls and carpet because he is trying to get it(the muzzle) off, and in the process, is smearing the poop everywhere.

 

We have over 40 greyhounds at Star City Greyhound Adoptions and everytime I go over there, about half of them are trying to get their muzzles off by raking them on the fence in the turn-out. These dogs have always known a muzzle so it isnt anything new to them.

 

My dogs get hour long walks in the morning and the evening. They also have a back yard in which to play and run around. They do sleep some while Im gone but they also play hard while Im gone too.

Edited October 2, 2011 by BrianRke

[Anne]

I have 2 poop eaters currently. I had 2 others, but they've gone to the bridge.

I've tried, pineapple juice, meat tenderizer (more than one brand) and the pills and even hot hot hot sauce. I tried them for prolonged periods of time. They did not work for any of my dogs.

We use a kennel muzzle with a stool cup. No, that does not prevent them from rubbing the muzzle into the poop, but very little gets into the stool cup. I hear that duct tape works well too. The only way to prevent that is to be there whenever they are outside. Poop must be picked up almost as soon as they leave it on the ground. I do poop patrol 2x a day now, that's down from about 5x a day when I had more dogs.

 

If this is a foster, and you have such negative feelings towards him, sounds like maybe it's time for him to go to a different foster home. That happens, sometimes certain dogs just don't jive with a family or a foster parent. Best maybe that he go somewhere where he is not alone all day.

 

And for whatever it's worth, my dogs don't have to be bored to eat poop, it's just that some dogs love to eat it, doesn't matter what you do, they love the taste evidently, at least that's what every vet and trainer I've talked to said about it. I accept it. I have had the poop puke in the house, it's so lovely!!! BLECH! But I love my dogs and it is what it is, nothing I can do to change it, I can just prevent it the best I can.

 

Looking at the picture of his muzzle, I can see why he's eating it. He can get it right in those big holes. Get a kennel muzzle with a stool guard, they work pretty well, much better than the one you are using I could imagine. Good luck.

[kolarik1]

No, it's my own dog...and I'm frustrated because he didn't used to do this! Sure, I'd catch him eating grass, but not getting into poop...years ago at my ex b/f's house we'd catch him eating bunny poop, which is why he has the muzzle that he does. I can try long walks with him and hope it works...but he is very sneaky. He is trying to get his muzzle off as he has never liked having a muzzle on, which more than likely explains the smears everywhere, but it doesn't explain why he now feels the need to get into the dog crap in the first place.

 

Basically, I'm not happy that he is trying to destroy my house...I've accepted the silver marks on the hallway walls from him rubbing his muzzle, although if I catch him in the process he gets a very stern 'no' or 'ut uh.' But the digging into dog crap, yuck! And then coming inside to vomit...

 

What gets me is, if I don't baby gate him into the back half of the house at night, he'll go into the dining room to vomit...but if I baby gate him in the back half of the house, he'll actually go outside. So now I have to baby gate all 3 dogs into the back half of the house, rather than letting them enjoy the beds in the living room...which the other 2 (my female and the foster) are never happy about having to leave the living room at night...but once the baby gate is up, they wouldn't have access to outside or their water.

 

Just frustrating in general...so I'll start up the walks now that it's cooler...he can't handle much heat with his Lupus...and I'm going to try pineapple juice...my foster leaves on Friday, so I'll see if this is a behavorial thing associated with another dog being here, or if my male is really just being a bonehead...I'm thinking he's just being a bonehead because he tried to eat bunny crap all those years ago.

[Guest LuvNLennox]

When one of my dogs was on a different diet due to medical issues, she would go after the others poop and they would go after hers.

At first I did not make the connection, it was after a year long search to find a food that worked for everyone -

that I realized now they all eat the same food - none of them go after the others poop.

Just another angle for you to consider.

[Guest KsFrets]

>I pick up the yard a couple of times a week so that there's not so much dog crap everywhere<

 

Our dogs poo up to 3 times a day, and between three dogs, that's 9 piles a day, and if I picked it up twice a week, that would be 27 fun cake land mines. I couldn't imagine the mess our three would make with that much poo in the back yard. We pick it up as it happens whenever we can, or at least before the next time they go out. We have one that's known to step in the pile that the last one just did, and one that also thinks poo is a snack.

 

Ours also get two walks a day minimum. Rain or shine heat or cold. We bring a canteen on hot days. In the colder weather I'll jog to help get them tired out (and stay in shape myself). If they don't get their walk, Magnus become a terror with displaced energy... barking at nothing, wrecking the beds, sending half the back yard dirt into the neighbors yard etc. He also hates his muzzle and will not stop fighting it, until it's off... fortunately he doesn't have to wear it often. When they get their walks, he's fine and chills like the girls.

[kolarik1]

When one of my dogs was on a different diet due to medical issues, she would go after the others poop and they would go after hers.

At first I did not make the connection, it was after a year long search to find a food that worked for everyone -

that I realized now they all eat the same food - none of them go after the others poop.

Just another angle for you to consider.

 

Thanks...I was going to ask the vet anyway about switching him back as this food really is not good at all, but he did improve... I want to keep his Lupus managed, but I'm tired of the bad food and the poop smearing habits. I love my boy, but I've never had these problems with my female...I'm starting to say it's a boy thing, because my foster will eat things/misbehave...and my last foster was a male who no matter how long you walked him, wouldn't always potty on a leash, but as soon as you got him inside he'd gladly crap in the corner or in the crate while you were gone (I was in an apartment at the time)...I'd walk him for up to half an hour and he'd just refuse to go, but when I came back at lunch 4 hours later he had gladly gone in his crate :angryfire . My first foster was female, and aside from being very snarky I only ever had one accident with her and that was right after she came in and I didn't read her 'I have to potty' sign very well...

 

So from my personal experiences, the male hounds have been PIA while the females have been pretty easy...I think for my personal hounds I'll be sticking with the females from now on!!!!

[Batmom]

Not a boy thing. Not at all.

 

Gidget is a poop eater. She will seek it out anywhere, no matter how small a piece, how well hidden.

 

Not misbehavior either. Some dogs like the taste, some do it out of boredom or plain old hunger, some out of longstanding habit. They really don't do it to drive the people nuts.

 

All of mine have eaten rabbit poop and any cat poop they could find. Totally different topic from eating dog poop.

[kolarik1]

They really don't do it to drive the people nuts.

 

Some times it feels like they do! I'm just tired of cleaning up the dog poop...it'd be nice to come home from work and not have to worry about where I may find his latest 'gift' for me...

 

I love him, but I can't stand the dog poop smeared all over...and to have Zelda go outside and do her thing without getting into stuff makes me wonder why Pop is so hell bent on driving me nuts!

[grey8greys]

My only suggestion, would be to pick up the poop as soon as they go. Kerri will sometimes eat poop, but if there is none in the yard she can't get any. Good luck.

[kamsmom]

Is Pop ok being kenneled during the day? I have a lab who if not kenneled will seek out and destroy whatever isn't nailed down. He is fine in it and the others have full run of the house. I don't think he has a complex about it at all .

 

I also have a female grey who is a poo eater. :vomit. Who knows why but I have to be diligent about picking up. I don't have a dog door but if I did she would be kenneled as well.

[christinepi]

Now I don't know why your dogs wear muzzles. It seems they can eat poop whether they were muzzles or not. Clearly, the problem with poop smeared inside the house is a mechanical one, since it's attached to the muzzle. If he weren't wearing a muzzle, he probably wouldn't be able to smear poop. And since he'll eat poop no matter what, why not just let him eat it w/o muzzle, and then it's INSIDE him, not sitting on his muzzle, therefore no smear in the house?

 

Also, I know it's hard not to think that way, but he's not "trying to destroy your house". Dogs' brains don't operate that way. The muzzle happens to be sitting on his face, so it just gets in the way. Of course I understand how frustrating this is, but thinking dogs do things to get back at us can be a slippery slope.

Edited October 2, 2011 by christinepi

[greysmom]

According to what "they" say, if you try the pineapple juice, it needs to be FRESH juice not canned or frozen juice. If they will eat fruit, try putting some chunks of fresh pineapple in their food.

 

They don't eat poop to punish you. Period. This is a behavior that some dogs have and some don't. Sometimes they learn it, sometimes they're born this way. You have a poop eater and you need to figure out a way to deal with it. Food additives, crating, baby-gating, MORE EXERCISE, a frozen Kong when you leave, closing the dog door and having someone come let them out, cleaning up the yard more often - it might mean changing your routine, but if you're that stressed about it, you need to make some big changes to aleviate the problem.

 

FWIW, if this has gotten worse with this foster at the house, it's probably the foster. My poop eaters will definitely eat certain dog's poop over others, and more with deposits in certain parts of the yard than others.

[kolarik1]

Well foster leaves Friday for his new home...and I do partially think it's jealousy over the foster. As for crating him, he's fine crated but when I go to 10 hour days I'd really rather NOT crate him...

 

No, he's not really trying to destroy my house, but some days it SURE FEELS LIKE IT! And I can't leave him with a kong because then he wouldn't be muzzled...while I trust my dogs not to be snarky with each other, when you throw the foster in the mix you just never know. I'm just aggravated and probably should have put this in soap box because I'm fed up with cleaning up the dog crap inside the house...and I don't want him eating it period, whether he has a muzzle on or not!

 

I don't trust anyone to come into my house and let them out midday...and the dog door was so that I wouldn't need someone to come let them out! I'll try the walks, but those will be in the evening, not in the morning as it'll be dark and people don't exactly do the speed limit around here (25 mph)...but I may just have to get up and take them in the morning and try to stick to the sidewalks...that's the other problem...parts of the neighborhood has sidewalks, other parts don't...all depends on the year that the house was built as to what the code was back then. And if there's a storm drain, there's no side walk there....because I have a storm drain next to me and the city sure as heck doesn't even mow it, much less care to put a sidewalk there.

 

I was hoping by buying the house things would become easier...rather than me bundling up for subzero weather 5+ times a day, I was hoping they could use their dog door...plus rather than Pop peeing on my apartment floors because the neighbors drug a chair and he thought it was a thunderstorm that he could have a dog door to go outside and watch the storm...that's how I found out the dog door has to remain open...thunderstorm came through and rather than wake me up to let him out he just started peeing in my bedroom.

 

Years ago at my ex b/f's house when he was on steroids, rather than wake me up to let him out he literally went over to my closet and started peeing on it...so I know I can't trust him to always tell me when he needs to go out, which is why a dog door is great. If he's not on steroids and is on a schedule, then he's very good about holding it until it's schedule time...unless a thunderstorm comes through and I used to accommodate for that by taking him out right before the storm would hit.

 

I think in the almost 4 years I've had Zelda she has had I think 3 accidents inside...whereas Pop has had more, but usually due to steroids or thunderstorms....it just gets extremely aggravating after awhile. And I don't want my house to end up smelling like pee/poop all the time...I want it to be a place where I can come home to relax, not come home to mess after mess!

 

So I'll try the suggestions and see what, if anything works.

[kolarik1]

I left for 1 hour today to get some pineapple and some gas so I could mow the yard...came back and Pop's muzzle was covered in dog crap and he had smeared it on the clean sheet that I keep over the dog beds in the dog room...so Pop earned a dog crate. While I'm out mowing tonight he's going to be crated along with while I'm at work until he can learn to leave the dog crap alone. I'm hoping the pineapple kicks in by this coming weekend so he'll hate dog crap again...plus I'm going to be diligent about picking it up. Pop is literally going over to a fresh pile of dog crap and rooting around in it...no way I can pick it up while I'm at work, so I have broken down and set up a crate...

[kamsmom]

The crate isn't going to " teach" him anything but it will give you a break in cleaning.

 

Seriously, some dogs just like it and there may be no changing it.