This dog is driving me insane! Please help!

[KK812]

We have a 8 month old month old miniature pinscher who recently has decided she likes to eat our cat's poop! Aside from being utterly disgusting(I know they do it because it has a lot of nutrients :rolleyes:), she makes a huge mess. She kicks the litter out of the box(which has a cover) all over the floor, drags it on the carpet leaving stains, and then marks over top of the stains when she's done! She is about 95% trained, but I think when she has "accidents" she's marking-they're in the same place every time. She uses puppy pads because she's so small (5 lbs) and we live in an apartment. Up until now she has slept with us, but she often goes on her little scavenger hunts in the morning before we wake up, so I've decided she will start sleeping in her cage. I can't leave her in the cage all the time though, so what's a girl to do?

Please help!

[Sherb]

We keep our small terrier out of the kitty litter by placing the box in a room behind a baby gate. Cat can jump over but not the dog.

[Sophia]

Yep. You need to make sure the cat has access but the dog doesn't.

[fuzzy]

Yup, baby gates are your friend. :)

[NotDesperate]

Well baby gates wouldn't work me, Cosmo can jump right over them. He can *almost* reach the kitchen counter and he is only 8 pounds!

Anyway, I know that if a dog eats his own poop, you put canned pumpkin in with their food and it makes their poop taste bad (like it didn't before!!). So I don't know if you can do this with your cat or not, they can be pretty finicky but it is worth a shot!

You could also try putting the litter box up high.

[Tandis]

My dog used to do the same thing, so I tried this For-Bid stuff from Drs. Foster & Smith. It seemed to have worked. Now she just occassionally tries to sneak into the basement for a little "Kitty Crunchies" but it's no where near as often as it used to be

http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20060323153255/www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p_1172_FS7292D.jpg

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3547&Ntt=feces&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2002&Nty=1

[ivansbabe]

We put our dog in the crate at night. I feel somewhat bad but she's usually sleeping in there half the time when we go to bed anyway. We had our cat first and for awhile our dog didn't seem interested in the litterbox. Well, eventually she discovered what it contained and she began taking out the cat pooh and kinda eating it. Seriously it makes me gag thinking about it...because sometimes she'd throw it up, does it get any worse? We moved the litter box to a different spot in the house and so far that has worked. We don't have a gate yet but we may possibly have to if she discovers it again. I feel for you cause it is just disgusting!

[sublime311]

I'm all about crating at night. I have two big 50lb galoots that have run of the house during the day, but the kitties get the night shift!

Our litter box is between the washer and dryer in the laundry room so when one of our dogs was a puppy and had a taste for cat poop, we just turned the covered litter box around so the kitty had to jump on top and down the other side to get to the opening. The puppy's snack was foiled! Can you do something like this?

Also, potty training is much easier if you keep your dog confined in smaller spaces until they're fully trained. I started out with the bathroom until she outgrew that, and then transitioned her into the kitchen with a bunch of papers/pads scattered in one corner of the room. She missed the papers a BUNCH of the time, but soon she got the hang of it and not long after that we came home one day to NO messes at all! It took about a month and 1/2 of CONSTANT work, but we did it! She hasn't had an accident since.

I would recommend you use a potty command phrase like "hurry go" (this is what we use) or "go potty" EVERY time your puppy does it's business outside. Follow it with LOTS of praise and love. If we go outside with our dogs and use the potty command, they know we're not out there to play so they'll go right away - it makes it less stressful in the morning when we know we'll be leaving for work.

Also, when you are home it's best to keep the puppy confined to small areas where you can keep and eye on her. Try to get in the habit of taking her out every hour (or sooner) to avoid an accident. I think it's better to praise and love the puppy for doing their business outside than to catch her having an accident inside, ya know? We use a gate to keep the dogs out of the cat's areas (the hall and the bedrooms).

Hope some of this helped. You're a brave woman. I swore I'll never adopt another puppy! TOO MUCH work!

[KK812]

Thanks everyone. The baby gate wouldn't work because our dog seriously has springs in her legs. She is no taller than 8" but can clear a baby gate. We crated her last night and she did pretty well(and the cat loved that she got to sleep with us for once!), and I'll look into the stuff that you posted Tandis. We have an 800 sq ft apartment, so moving the litter box is not much of an option. sublime311 your idea with the washer has made me think maybe I can put her box on top of the dryer. She's a pretty clean cat. Our "laundry room" is just a washer/dryer with doors, so I'd have to remember to keep them open.

Thanks again, ladies :)

[Kate&Joey]

I was going to suggest putting the litter box up high also. Ours is in the basement on top of a workbench. Cat can get to it, but our terrier mix cannot. Putting it on the dryer might work, but I would be afraid the heat would make the "contents" of the box smell worse. It's worth a try though.

Another idea (but it probably won't work because your dog is so small). During the winter when it was too cold to keep the basement door open to the rest of the house, we would keep the litter box in the bathroom, wedged between the toilet and the wall, with the opening facing the back wall. Our terrier couldn't fit back there but the cat could.

You might need some inventive positioning and deterrents for your dog. Good luck!

[KK812]

eww good point kate&joey..guess ill have to think of a better place :p

[jcharley]

we did the baby gate thing too, but before that we had a tall fire place protector that we put around the box, next to the counter in the 2nd bathroom. The cat had to jump on the counter to get in and out of the box area, and the dogs couldn't get in.

[greenbunny]

You could put the litter box in a closed room with a collared pet door. The collar uses a magnet to open the pet door (like a garage door opener). That way the cat can get in and out, but it will stay locked to the dog.

(I was going to suggest a regular cat door, but I'm guessing, based on the breed, that your dog is similar in size to your cat, so that wouldn't help.)

There are a variety of sizes and models, some use a method other than a magnet to unlock the door.

Foster & Smith Magentic Door (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=2248&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Portal-_-BizRate-_-Cats-_-Additional%20Keys&GCID=C12188x002&ref=3474&subref=AA&ctt=62)