Litter box issue

[sherrymyra]

I wasn't sure where to put this. My dog (small a 13 pound westie) has decided that she wants to go into the box and eat poop. Ugh. In the past week I have been raising the box up higher to make it stop. The last time the top of the box was at 17 inches. I think the dog still jumped in. Now I have raised it up to 19 1/2 inches. So far Isabel the cat has been adjusting to raising it up ok (from about 12 inches to the 17). I hope the 19 and a half she will still adjust to. Has anyone else raised the box up and how high and the results.

 

[kissthisangel]

Hey, try a covered box. Before you splash out on a plastic one, stick a cardboard box with a hole in it over the one you have already. if the dog leaves it alone winner winner get a covered box. Your cat sounds very well trained to use the litter, I don't think you'd have any problems. If the cat doesn't like it, you'll need to elevate the box more.

 

[sherrymyra]

The dog would go in a covered box for sure. That would not stop her. I am hopeful that this height will be ok for the cat. I guess I will know soon enough.

 

[neely]

What room do you have the litter box in? Our dog loved to snack on kitty poop too. Dogs think they are gourmet treats. You can try the Booda Dome box: BOODA Dome Cleanstep Litter Box | Chewy (Free Shipping)

Or else block off the room where you keep the litter box so that the cat can enter but not the dog. I did this by putting up a baby gate that did not touch the floor so the cat could get underneath it but not our dog. Also, have you caught your dog in the act of going in the litter box? If so, you can work on training her to stay away from the box whether by using praise, treats or a favorite toy, etc.

 

[klunick]

We had an Alaskan Malamute that would grab a cat turd on her way out the door everytime she went outside to go potty. No idea why dogs find them so appealing.

 

[neely]

No idea why dogs find them so appealing.

One of the reasons they are attracted to cat poop is because the feces take like cat food which they like and they are drawn to the protein content in the poop.

 

[sherrymyra]

Previously the litter box was in the "cat" room. I had a gate with a small opening that the cat could go through but not the dog. However I was in the cat room one day and the dog just came barreling in like no big deal. I'm figuring this had been happening for some time. For a few weeks prior the cat had been refusing to use the litter box and was peeing in other areas of the house. So after researching alot about this I understood that the cat had most likely felt trapped with no escape route when the dog was in there. So I put two litter boxes in the areas that she was peeing. I had them raised up about 7 inches and thought that was working to keep the dogs out. But no I heard a big racket one night and dog had been in there. So I raised it up a couple more inches. I caught the dog in it again. Well I now have raised it up so the top rim is about 20 inches up. I don't think the dog will get in it now. So as far as putting up a barrier or using a covered box I think that the cat would be feeling trapped again. There isn't much room so putting up a barrier isn't really possible either. What a mess this has been .

I was considering trying to put a litter box back in the "cat" room again to see if she would use it in there. It's been a couple months since this all started and maybe she would have forgotten her fears. I don't know.