Cat box/won't listen problem

1073 Views 8 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Kat_Renee, Jun 28, 2009

uptothesky

Discussion Starter · Jun 28, 2009

I have a kitty box puppy problem.

I do know alot of dogs go through this, which is really gross. And I need a way of getting my puppy to stop. She is 3 months old. So here's what is happening.

Okay, so we were outside exploring and sniffing around some dirt in one of our gardens. She suddenly took a big interest in something, and I looked to see what it was, and it turned out to be cat poop. Wow. Okay, so no bid deal I thought, I'll just have to watch what's in the dirt more, no biggy.

But, this is where the trouble comes in. We have a cat box inside (I live with roomates who have cats and dogs, and there is no way I can move this box to a different location) and after she had her little free for all outside with the cat turd, now she's realized there's a cat box inside. She's stealing poo! I make this "EEH EEH" kinda noise but she won't listen, and when I tried to get it out of her mouth the first time she did it inside, she just tried to eat faster. And here's the bigger problem. Since I tried to get it away from her, now she won't even let me get close and will run away with the cat turd in mouth, as she's scarfing it down. And now she's starting to do this with other things.

She's pretty good with "Leave it" and "Drop it" commands, but will not listen at all with this one. There are two other dogs in the house who had this problem but do not do it now. Their owners told me they really had to get after them to make them stop. They would never hurt their dogs believe me, but they told me they gave the more polite one a little "slap" and she stopped. With the other one they would put a little hot sauce on his tongue.

I would really like to not try either of these techniques. I'm not a very dominant person, and I feel she can tell that. She's a black goldador, (Golden retriever and lab) very smart, and friendly. I love her!

I'll get pics up soon as I'm sure I'll use this site alot. Thanks!

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GroovyGroomer777

· #2 · Jun 28, 2009

Ugh.... been there, done that, wanted to puke.

Unfortunatley the best you can do is put the box in a place where the puppy cannot get to it. Would you expect your dog to ignore a big steak you kept lying around? Especially if you are not in the room? You can eh eh, no, shhh, bad dog, all you want but you are talking about an animal and that kitty box has some good sh*t in there!

Get a baby gate to block the way, or put the box in a higher place.

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zimandtakandgrrandmimi

· #3 · Jun 28, 2009

get a large size dog crate. put the cat box inside it. tie off the door so that the cats will fit but the dog won't.

that's what I did anyways.

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LittleFr0g

· #4 · Jun 28, 2009

We had the same problem with our dog. What we did was build our own dog proof litter box. We bought one of those large rubbermaid bins from Walmart, and cut the first quarter of the lid off, and presto! Cat can get in, dog can't.

Works like a charm.

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RottieMomx3

· #5 · Jun 28, 2009

[Since I tried to get it away from her, now she won't even let me get close and will run away with the cat turd in mouth, as she's scarfing it down. And now she's starting to do this with other things.
/QUOTE]

Sounds like this may be a game to her. She gets a kitty krunchie (what we call them here) and you chase her...woohooo let the games begin....lol.

Our cat box is in the basement, a cat door in the basement door that dogs can't fit through. We did have a problem with our little dog eating kitty krunchies so we bought a tall rubbermaid container that he can't get in but the cat can. It works. Cat seems not to mind....lol.

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Cracker

· #6 · Jun 28, 2009

Yep...you have to keep puppy away from the box. Put up a gate or box off the box etc so only the cats can get to it. Cat poo is YUMMY to dogs...cats food is very high in protein usually and the stuff out the other end can be pretty dang enticing.

And chasing the pup around when he has anything in his mouth you don't want him to have is simply teaching him the keep away game. Not fun as time goes by. Keep working on leave it and drop it and work on trading for the items you don't want him having. The difficulty with getting him to drop the poo is that it is most likely higher value than pretty much anything you offer to trade for..lol. So don't give him the opportunity the best you can by managing his environment so he doesn't have the chance to practice the habit or the keep away game.

And your roomies are lucky that I'm not nearby...tabasco on the dog's tongue? Simply freaking dangerous..what if the dog moved and they got it in his eye? Torture. I'm glad you are hesitant to follow their advice about punishment. Good for you. Grrr.

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melgrj7

· #7 · Jun 28, 2009

We had to make the boxes so the dogs couldn't get into them.

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TooneyDogs

· #8 · Jun 28, 2009

The cats food and litter box are kept behind a wire mesh gate (with a cat sized hole cutout) in our house. That's much easier than doing the training.

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Kat_Renee

· #9 · Jun 28, 2009

We had a problem with that also. I bought the booda dome clean step box and haven't a problem since. We have it wedged between the couch and the wall and he's too big to stick his head in and around the corner. It's worked great and the cat loves it.

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