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Rubbing in OWN feces?


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So my 11 month old boy has developed a nasty habbit over the last 3 days. He will, well, take a poop in his dog bed (which he hardly ever uses, he sees the crate as his bed) and then... rub himself in it! This would not worry me if it was other animal feces, but it seems quite unnatural for him to rub in his own, doesn't it?

 

This has happened every day for three days the moment I take my eyes off him, each time less than an hour after we return from a two hour walk where he has already popped! I swear he is saving it.. I'm wondering if he is stressed about something even though he seems fine. We just moved to a bigger place about two weeks ago and he just started agility classes. He seems to love the new place and his classes. I've been keeping my outside cat inside since the move, since I'm trying to put him out of harms way, and the introduction of the two has gone better than expected, but now I'm wondering if this only child is somehow marking his territory?

 

He is house trained and hasnt had an accident for many months, so I'm pretty sure he is doing this intentionally.

 

Does anyone know what could cause this and how to stop it? I'm tired of cleaning the carpet for hours and he's tired of all the baths..

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I'm sure someone will have some better suggestions, but maybe he should be crated when you can't devote 100% all eyes on him to catch the act when it first starts. By the time he has rolled, it's too late to correct. Perhaps getting rid of the dog bed may also combat this situation. This could help prevent the many baths and clean ups. Good Luck! :)

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I'd suggest you remove the dog bed (that you say he doesn't really use). Make sure that you clean any soiled spots with a enzyme cleaner formulated for this. Regular cleaning products don't really remove all the odor and the presence of the odor says, "This is the place to go."

 

Since he's doing this at fairly predictable times (after your walks), you may wish to consider tethering him to you (attach his leash to your belt or chair) to prevent the opportunity. Like Bullet87 says, you need to keep him under constant supervision, at least until you reach the point where he is trustworthy to not do this any more.

 

One other, long-shot thought is that the use of papain (meat tenderizer) on food can make feces unpalatable - I wonder if it might also make the feces less-appealing in this instance? Like I said, a long-shot idea.

 

A move can be stressful and so can any change in living arrangements, for both animals and people. If you can prevent/avoid the behavior and give him a chance to re-establish his previous good house manners while he's adjusting to a new place, new animal interactions, and other new experiences and situations, you may be able to solve this problem in pretty short order.

 

I am sure others with more experience and better advice will be chiming in to help you with this. Best wishes!

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Toss the dog bed. Give him routines that he can count on - feeding/training/play/downtime, etc. - at the same time daily. If you had rituals at the other house, revive them. For example, one ritual might be - walk at bedtime, then a little time on the couch with Humans, then bedtime.

 

Act as if everything is normal. Make sure the cat isn't terrorizing him. Srsly, I had an Evil Orange Cat who LOVED to torment the dogs. Can't say I miss him.

 

If you still have boxes around that haven't been unpacked, see if you can finish that process. He might be seeing them as Portents of Doom. With all the change in your lives, it's possible that he's pretty stresed. Normalize, normalize, normalize.

 

Hope it's really that simple.

 

ETA - Are you sure he's not constipated? Stress can do that, too. Or he might be stressed by the new neighborhood, barking dogs, strange noises, etc.

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

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Thanks to everyone. I must say I feel pretty silly, because I caught the bandit in the act today, and it turns out that while we walk, the CAT is using his bed as a litter box... I threw it away just now, and hopefully he'll now go where he needs to. Even though I now have a different problem on my hands, it makes me feel better to know that Koda isn't the one doing this. Thank you all for great responses though.

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AHA! I knew the cat was involved.

 

Anyway, glad it's not Koda, because that would be a little strange. Much of the advice still stands - toss the dog bed, normalize routines,etc. Make sure Kitty has a safe quiet place for the cat box, and also a quiet place to eat.

 

Cats take even the smallest changes very personally. We had to change our cats from outdoor/indoor to indoor only when we moved several years ago. Feliway, the spray that mimics a nursing mom cat, helped enourmously. You can get it online or at PetsMart, etc. Yes, it's expensive initially, but it's soooooo worth it.

 

Give Koda a head pat for me, and tell him I never thought he was guilty.;)

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

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Too funny! That explains everything - "But he already went outside." "They don't usually rub in their own poop." "The moment I take my eyes off him."

 

Leave it to a cat to let the dog take the blame! Glad you got it all worked out.

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