Our place is covered in trees, so our dogs have an extensive stick collection for random chewing during the day. But we also give them raw, meaty bones on a regular basis, and they’re a lot more effective at cleaning their teeth than anything we’ve tried. We get a regular supply from the local butcher.
She’s not very big and a small bone might splinter. Thanks though.
And stick bark bits can get lodged in the intestine I’ve been told.
Skipper
3404
Raw bones should not. This is a common fear for -cooked- bones, especially chicken bones. Do moderate them though. Give a bit and let her chew then take it away. Too much of anything different like that can cause tummy issues and poop issues. But raw bones get a big thumbs up from my vet.
Our cats all love the Greenies, thankfully. They still have terrible breath, though.
Skipper
3406
@YakAttack if you do find something, let me know. I’m willing to try anything for our little, “stank breath,” girl.
As @Skipper says, raw bones are great, but there are lots of bone sizes, shapes etc. Ribs work well for smaller dogs. Chicken necks are also great, easily chewed up but enough bone to help clean those back teeth. You can chop the necks into smaller pieces as required (a decent pair of kitchen scissors works well).
As for sticks, I’ve heard that idea do the rounds before but given the billions of sticks chewed by dogs over the years compared with reported problems, the chances seem to be… slim, set against the advantages of helping clean the teeth.
My dog keeps eating cat poop. I don’t know how to make her stop.
Nesrie
3409
You can’t really stop that; you put the cat box where the dogs can’t easily get it but the cat can.
No, it’s outside and from other people’s cats! (There’s also a groundhog occasionally, but dunno if he poops here.)
Nesrie
3411
Oh well, then I guess a leash or do a run around before you let them out.
This, by the way, is one of the many, many reasons I don’t let dogs lick my face.
Is there a way to get rid of the cats? Some kind of anti-catnip maybe?
Nesrie
3413
From your yard? Well you can plant prickly things where they like to go, like pine cones, egg shells… just things they won’t want their paws to touch. Come spring and summer you can plant things they don’t like, as in strong smells, too. Hopefully your dog won’t like those things.
I think dogs can really mess up their mouths on pinecones if they try and eat them.
I love dogs but they can be so gross. They will eat vomit and poop and take their super strong noses (1000 times more powerful than ours) and basically shove them up another dog’s ass.
But a dog will love you like no other creature.
Nesrie
3415
I like dogs too. I grew up with them. The only reason I don’t have one now is they require planning when I just want to get up and go somewhere.
Every dog I grew up with though quickly learned not to lick my face. They had my sisters for that. Heck I don’t like it when my cats take their wet sandpaper tongues and apply it to any part of my body either. But yeah I can’t get over where dogs put their mouths and tongues to ever allow licking my face. Heh
Fortunately for Yak, cats are actually kind of picky, which means if you take spots they like to use and make them… not like it they will usually go elsewhere.
Except they’re pooping in the yard, within reach of the 40ft lead, which my dog is attached to. It’s not just some isolated spot in the garden. (But they poop there too.)
Nesrie
3417
Cats don’t usually just go in the middle of the grass. They have spots, usually dirt/earth kind of areas. If you need to you can use rocks or gravel… they don’t like things that get in the way of pawing at the ground where they go. I’m telling you if you put something where they go that they don’t like, they’re not going to go there again. The little furballs are picky little things.
Yeah, I would be surprised if a cat was pooping in a grassy spot, they really like to kick stuff around, so they look for sand or dirt. Are you sure it is a cat, not a squirrel or something else?
There are many DIY approaches to keeping cats from pooping in your yard. Like others have said, cats like soft, sandy soil to bury their poop in.
If they’re going in a flower bed, try using mulch (something large like coarse cedar or pine bark). If it’s a small area, maybe place some chicken wire over the dirt, then hold it down with rocks or the aforementioned mulch.
You could try sprinkling the area with red pepper flakes, but these can get caught in the cats paws and cause irritation. If you don’t like cats this may be seen as a bonus, but as a cat lover myself I’d just let the pepper flakes soak in water for a day or so, then spray the pepper-water liberally around the affected area. Might keep the dog away, too.
Cats also really hate the smell of citrus, so spraying something like that around can deter them too.
Maybe it isn’t a cat, but the poop sure looks like cat poop, and there are tons of cats running around at all hours. I haven’t spotted the groundhog in almost a year, and I doubt their poop looks the same.
