Common Behavior Problems
Eating Feces and Other Things That Aren't Food
While dogs can ingest most anything, eating rocks, socks, or feces
seem to be the Big Three that prompt calls to us. Wool, wood items
and plastic products are often favorite targets for cats. These
behaviors seem to be more common in Siamese cats and related breeds.
Some items that your pet ingests can create life-threatening intestinal
blockages, so your pet’s life may depend on stopping this
behavior. The technical term for this behavior is pica – eating
things that aren’t food.
Eating feces is called coprophagy. Dogs are prone to eating both
their own and other animal’s feces, but we’ve never
known cats to do this. Coprophagy is often more bothersome to people
than it is to dogs. People become annoyed by feces eating when it
causes the dog to vomit, creates bad breath, or because the behavior
just seems disgusting. For more detailed information purchase our
CD called Understanding Dogs
That Eat Poop: Coprophagia.
Pet-proof your house if possible, so that your pet can’t
get hold of the things he likes to chew and eat. If you can’t
keep your pet away from the items, use products to make them taste
bad, or harmless ‘booby-traps” to keep pets away. We
recommend SSSCat™.
If these general suggestions aren’t working, and especially
if the pica is causing life-threatening blockages, schedule
an individual consultation, because of the seriousness
of the situation. Through a combination of environmental management
and the appropriate use of aversives, it may be possible to stop
the behavior.
|