Dog eating chick poop

[MiMito3]

Suggestions to stop dog eating chicken poop.

My female, 12 year old border collie eats chicken poop, licks her vulva nonstop and gives herself a uti... then proceeds to wake me up every night at 2am cause she thinks she needs to pee. This is an ongoing issue with her. I don't care about eating the chicken poop, it's the obsession with licking herself and getting a uti. But unless she stops eating the poop, this is going to keep happening.

I had the chickens in a tractor enclosure for a couple of months and she didn't get to eat any poop and didn't have a uti the whole time. But as soon as I let the chickens free range, she goes at it again.

I tried giving the chickens pineapple to make the poop taste gross and it does work, but I can't remember to give them pineapple every single day, plus too many treats isn't good for them. Yall know of anything I can add to chickens water or food to make it gross to the dogs?

I'm just tried of being woken up at 2am because she has to go pee and I am tired of having to give her uti medication all the time.

My other dog eats the poop, but he doesn't lick himself constantly so he doesn't have this problem. He eats all the poop he wants and I don't have issues with it.

A shock collar would fix this quickly but many people think they are cruel. If used properly they are not. It’s cruel having a constant UTI IMO. That’s how I would fix it.

 

[Awaytome]

Have you tried cranberry extract? Apparently the proanthocyanidins in it can prevent the e coli from sticking to the bladder wall. You'd have to ask your vet or do some research to get dosing info.

https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2023/08/can-diet-prevent-or-treat-urinary-tract-infections-in-dogs/

 

[PeachyPeckers]

A shock collar would fix this quickly but many people think they are cruel. If used properly they are not. It’s cruel having a constant UTI IMO. That’s how I Dogs often become more fearful and for the wrong reasons and redirect their fearfulness in other ways. Dogs often don't understand or associate the shock to the thing that you are trying to stop them from doing. Example, a dog might think that they are being shocked for standing near a certain tree, not shocked for eating poop. So you've successfully made the dog afraid of the tree and not the poop. You think that you've solved the problem, but you just inadvertently made another problem. Shock collars don't work, if you think they do work, you probably have created another problem. My dog got shocked by a fence that I put up to keep coyotes away from the chickens, instead of understanding the fence is what shocked her, she is now afraid to come near the chickens when they are out. This is absolutely not want I wanted to happen and I'm sad that she won't come out with me anymore to nap in the hammock when the chickens are out. So anyway, shock collars often create other negative or unwanted behavior, or they create more redirected fear. Positive training using a clicker noise has worked for me to correct other behaviors. I treat her immediately upon the first signs of a UTI. It sounds like you think I just allow her to suffer and be in pain, which I don't. I would never use the electric shock of a collar, I would only use the vibration or beep setting if I were to try that.

Have you tried cranberry extract? Apparently the proanthocyanidins in it can prevent the e coli from sticking to the bladder wall. You'd have to ask your vet or do some research to get dosing info.

https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2023/08/can-diet-prevent-or-treat-urinary-tract-infections-in-dogs/

Yes I have talked extensively with my vet about treatments for her. I give her cranberry, marshmallow root, and acv which treats the uti but they'll just keep coming back until she stops eating the poop. I was hoping for something to give to the chickens that would prevent her from eating the poop in the first place. She doesn't get uti's unless the chickens free range and she has access to the poop. When they are locked up during the winter or if I keep them in an outdoor enclosure, she doesn't get uti's. But I really would like to allow them to free range, everyone seems much happier.

 

[kittyvamp1884]

I have a male 7-year-old hound dog that does the same thing. I actually use unsweetened cranberry juice in his water every single day. It works well for preventing UTI's, but not for treating one that's already instantiated. I highly recommend it.

My daughters and I take an oz a day prophylactically to prevent UTI's, and my 4-month-old son gets about 1/16 oz a day in his frozen teether for the same reason.

 

[mcguffinvalley]

I know this is an old thread, but why not just stop access to the licking? A comfortable surgery collar, looks like a travel pillow, can be worn. But better yet, to stop the snacking have your dog wear a properly fitted, plastic cage muzzle for outdoor time keeps her face unable to get close enough to the ground. Watch appropriate training videos to get the dog used to the muzzle.

 

[Loving my girls]

Both my dogs adore the little treats on the ground for them but, after many years, I have given up trying to stop them. Alfie had to go to the vet once and had a course of treatment but I still believe it’s not possible with two dogs and 8 hens.
(the little one is also after cat poo which is a totally different matter and I have to brush his teeth which he hates … serious breath issues)