Obsessive rabbit and bird poo eating problem
My corgi Barkley is almost 4 months old and he loves eating rabbit and bird poo. I try scolding him, scaring him, pushing him away, squirting him with water and even tapping him on the nose but he is obsessive about eating this poo. He does not ever eat his own poo only that of other animals. He likes all kinds of poo, especially rabbit poo and bird poo! I know there are health risks associated with the eating of animal poo so I've been really trying to work on this habbit but I feel like its completely in vain. I can even call him away from his regular dog food but when it comes to eating rabbit poo there is nothing I can do to distract him from it besides physically removing him from the poo, which can be challenging. I've been working on ridding my property of rabbits but this will be a constant battle and not one I'd like to continue for long. Barkley has a real knack for finding poo that I am unable to see until he has gotten a mouth full. I would like to be able to spend time with Barkley in the yard playing fetch and just running about but if I can't resolve this issue I'll need to have him on a leash any time he is in the yard. Someone please help me with this issue!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Our yard backs up to a large nature park and we have all kinds of poop. Deer,rabbits,raccoons, possums etc. I have never been successful in stopping them from eating it! I just have their feces checked every year. Sparty had a parasite one year but I moved the bird feeders to an area of the yard that is not fenced and no problems since. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Bob Bedard on
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Well I guess that kind of gives me hope. My main concern is the health issue, if I could be confident that he would remain healthy I'd say, "Hey if it makes you happy eat all the poop you want!" I just don't want him to get sick. I already have his poo checked so I will just keep it up.
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Permalink Reply by Wendy Hixson on
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I realize that you may have only had one occurrence, but if those kind of animals are in your yard a lot, I would have your dogs checked every 6mos. Also get the vaccine or be tested for lepto which can be passed from raccoons to dogs via urine. Also be sure to be up to date on distemper which can also be passed from raccoons.
I am sure you do this already but I am just saying...being from a rural area myself.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on
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Honestly, I think Ethel could develop an entire poo rating system. She prefers grass eaters' poo -- nothing is better than horse poo, with deer a close second. Goose would be third. I think she may have eaten bear poo one day. So far, no illness has resulted, but I try to get her away from it. One thing that has helped -- well, okay, maybe 75% of the time -- is the "leave it" command. Ethel has learned that if she leaves it, she gets a good treat -- just the treat has to outweigh the poo. But the command does help. Unless the poo is particular fresh and tasty.... One time there was a dead fish in the woods and all the dogs were rolling on it for that special smell. My Bertie went over and ate it first, then rolled in the remains. I was sure he'd be violently ill -- but nooooooo, he was fine. Dogs have shorter GI systems then we do, which makes it harder for those bad bacteria to establish themselves -- but still, I do try to keep them away from the poo, and use "leave it" as much as I can.
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That is so funny Susan! We came across a dead fish one day at the beach and it was an immediate free for all. Everybody started to roll, it was disgusting! Baths all around! Sparty thinks "leave it" when it is wild animal poop means Eat faster! Izzy and Misty will stop. Which is good because EVERYTHING makes Misty sick. She has the world's most delicate stomach and since she is a doberman the result is gigantic.
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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Finn has taken up eating bird poop. We'll be walking along and if we pass by some poop on the sidewalk he'll snatch it up without even pausing. I don't even have a chance to tell him to leave it. :)
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Permalink Reply by Kelly on
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It's Gibson's goal in life to find & eat every piece of kitty, squirrel & bunny poo in his near vicinity lol.
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Permalink Reply by Jenna, Jasper and Cersei on
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Jasper was into eating goose poop for a while, but the geese haven't been hanging around as much so it hasn't been a problem. I can only offer one possible solution and it's kind of weird, but I was thinking that we used to spray Bitter Apple on everything Jasper wanted to chew on that he shouldn't (table legs, carpet, leash) and after a couple of times of putting his mouth on stuff and tasting it, he left it alone and still does to this day. Maybe if you found some in your yard and sprayed something aversive like the Bitter Apple on it and then directed him towards the "treated" poop Barkley would learn to associate it with a bad taste instead of something yummy. You'd probably have to douse it in stuff to overpower the poop scent. I don't know if it would work because I'm sure he's mostly attracted to the scent of it and of course you can't go around forever spraying stuff on all the poop before Barkley gets to it, but that's the only thing I can think of...good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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First, I am thrilled to find out that my dog isn't the only one, and second that I'm not the only one that doesn't catch him before he's snatched it up. I've tried to be more attentive since Bear had a bit of e-coli two weeks ago that the vet said could be from the bird poop that he constantly consumes. :)
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I've tried the apple bitter treatment. The problem is the poop is pretty much invisible to human eyes but not to Barkley's nose. Not to mention I think my yard is the official public rabbit toilet for my county so there is a whole lot of poo. Actually what I've found to be at least somewhat effective or more so than anything else is to not make as big a deal about it when he eats. He has become less obsessive about it and can be distracted with a toy or a treat. I believe my effort to get him to stop eating actually made him want it more. That said, he still tries to eat the poop any time he is left to his own in the yard.
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Permalink Reply by Boo Buchheit on
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My only solution to this is to keep the yard free of other animals (and not everyone can I know) and not to keep a bird feeder in the yard where the boys play. Leo is good at keeping other animals out (like the zillion stray cats around here and the squirrels) so there is no poo available but theirs and they don't eat that.
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I do have a bird feeder in my yard. I'll be getting rid of that right away!
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