Question:
I'm very gratified to see the strong animal advocacy evident in your writings as you answer people with questions about "getting rid of deer," etc. Bravo!My question concerns my 5-1/2-year-old Boston terrier. She's indoor trained due to the challenging Minnesota climate (often too hot or too cold to go outside in extreme weather). She does go outside and leaves her droppings without a second thought (I remove them for later disposal). However, when she eliminates in the kitchen where I've taught her to go (on a "puppy pad" or paper towel "runner"), she often eats her feces. If I don't enter the kitchen right away after, she'll eat them. She doesn't eat other dogs' feces when outside, just sniffs them.I've heard that dogs suffer no particular ill effects from doing this, but I'd like her to stop. Is it too late to train her?.
S.W., Minneapolis, MN Oct 08, 2006
Answer:
A dog's natural concept of toilet and the accepted spot to evacuate is outdoors. Some, like one of mine, like to have cover in long grass or bushes before she feels comfortable enough to evacuate!Training dogs that it is acceptable to evacuate indoors can cause some conflict and confusion. Adult dogs naturally eat the stools of their pups in the den and lap up the pups' urine, the voiding of which the mother dog stimulates by licking so the den stays clean. Your dog sees the inside of your house as her "den," and she's trying to be a good den mother.
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