The sun is shining, the temperatures have moderated a bit, and the snow is melting. Could it be possible that spring is in the air? (Oh, wait, this IS Michigan, and it’s only March.) Anyway, the melting snow means that some interesting (to a dog, anyway) things are emerging from the frozen tundra we call winter. There may be a toy or two, forgotten from last fall, that your CBF (canine best friend) has the pleasure of re-discovering…or perhaps he’s found something a little more unsavory, like ‘kitty crunchies’ left behind from some neighborhood stray (or, if you live in my subdivision, that feline likely is someone’s pet allowed to run loose–never a good idea). To you, these frozen objects are something to be disposed of as quickly as possible, but to your dog, they’re delectable ‘poopsicles’. I know what you’re thinking: Why on earth would a dog want to eat something that gross?

There are several reasons why most dogs enjoy munching on cat feces. First of all, a cat’s sense of smell is not as keen as a dog’s, which is why cat food (particularly the canned variety) is so highly aromatic (or stinky, whichever you prefer). To a dog’s highly sensitive nose, this smell is extremely enticing. Second of all, many animals (such as dogs and cats) have a very short digestive tract in comparison to a human’s. So with food, it’s fast in, fast out. This speedy trip through the system means that the animal’s waste contains undigested protein. Since dogs are opportunists, the chance to grab some extra nutrition is one they can’t pass up. (Actually, some animals, such as rabbits, will defecate and then consume their own feces to extract the remaining protein. Yuck.)

Poop-eating may also be the result of an increased appetite without food rations being increased accordingly–in other words, the dog is hungry. (It would seem that the dog could find something a little more appetizing, but that’s just my opinion.) It may also be a case of ‘monkey see, monkey do’. Since mother dogs eat their young puppies’ waste to keep the nesting box clean, a young dog may just be imitating his mom’s behavior. (The habit of mother dogs eating their pups’ waste also is a throwback to earlier times, when the mother dog had to do what she could to protect her babies from predators. Eating feces is one way of eliminating the pups’ scent.) You also must keep in mind that dogs do not have the same qualms about disgusting stuff as humans; otherwise, we’d all be eating poop, getting into the garbage, and rolling on dead animals.

Still find the whole thing disgusting? There are a few things you can do to remedy this nasty habit. Your local pet-supply store sells tasty supplements (no, they don’t taste like poop) that can either be mixed into the dog’s food or offered as a chewable treat, depending on the brand. Look for ‘anti-coprophagia’ supplements (coprophagia being the technical term for feces-eating). Please be advised that these supplements will work only if your dog is eating the waste of another dog and the other dog receives the supplement as well.

But probably the two most important things are to keep your dog’s play areas (such as your yard) clean. Pick up waste daily and dispose of it where your dog can’t get to it. The other thing is to keep a close eye on your dog when the two of you are out and about. If you’re vigilant, you can keep him from finding and consuming something he shouldn’t have. (Our little Border Collie mix, Tara, shows no interest in feces or any other ‘food’ she finds on the ground, whereas our Golden Retriever, Cosmo, will gobble just about anything he can find, including cat feces. He’s also good at finding old sandwiches, pizza crust, hamburgers, french fries–we live near McDonald’s–all are fair game, and he will grab it and lock his jaw around it because he knows I’m going to try to take it away from him. Yesterday, he found an empty single-serving package for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes near an elementary school. He picked it up and carried it for awhile but didn’t try to eat it because, although it smelled like cereal, it was empty.)

Keep your yard clean and be vigilant with your CBF, and enjoy the mild weather!