I wonder how much testing they did on this product. And how they came up with it in the first place...

Small dogs love to eat their own poop. I know of several small dogs that can be litter trained - tiny dogs like Papillons and Chihuahuas that poop in the litter box and then go back for snacks later.

Adolphs meat tenderizer does the exact same thing and is probably cheaper. Most vets not out to make a quick buck will tell you to try that on their food first.

I've heard that pineapple works, too.

I have not tried it, though, because I've found it's easier to just clean up the poop.

I was told by a vet that the dogs do this because they are not getting enough nutrition from their food. I listened then changed to IAMs and my dog stopped. I have been using IAMs since and no problems for years.

is having to justify the concepts of "best friend" and "eats her own poop."

Reconcile > justify

/copy editor

@Dave J.: Drat. You're right. The first draft said "reconcile." Maybe my dog changed it as a prank.

What about children?

@Franklin Comes Alive!:
a local coyote expert said once that the modern dog food is so full nutrients that dog poop is like a powerbar for coyotes.

I think it had to do with it being partially digested, but still full of nutrients that were easily digested by the coyotes. Maybe there is something like that with the rabbits for the OP and the tiny dogs you are thinking of.

That's why, no matter how winsome the expression, how imploring those deep chocolate brown eyes or how furiously the tail wags, when I'm at the dog park, I back off after they try to slip me tongue.
A man needs standards.

Number 3,456 that cats > dogs: a cat owner would have only two bloody stumps left after trying to place a feather boa on its pet.

@temporaryerror: Boy, I'd hate to be an intern at that company.

When growing up, our cat used the flower planter boxes out front as a litter box. Our dog used to snack out of it all the time. I thought it was the funniest thing ever. I don't know if I'd want to give my dogs anything that prevented that.

@Trai_Dep:

And that is good because..?

You don't embarrass your pets and at the same time, yourself? That's really all I can think of.

@desertdust: That's sometimes the case, but not always. Some dogs just like to eat poop.

And Iams isn't very good food, really. I think most varieties are in the one star category on dogfoodanalysis.com, right down there with Old Roy and stuff like that.

@temporaryerror: It's been around for many years, I don't even see why this is on the site.

@downwithmonstercable: You wouldn't have given the dog anything to prevent that; you would have given the cat the pills to make its poop unattractive to the dog.

Ol' Scooter up there has an occasional hankering for poop and his cousin does the same thing. It's mostly a small dog thing and something you have to get over really quick if you're going to own small animals.

Why is this even on the site??? There are lots of products for coprophagia in dogs ... they've been on the market for many years and there are lots of them.

@Trai_Dep: Yea. Atleast Dinner and a movie before they try to play tonsil hockey.

There's an unresolved asterisk in the post and it's killing me!

@Trai_Dep: Reason 10million that dogs are better than cats. Dogs let you play with them, like friends do. Cats play with you like they play with their food. With evil intent.

We had to buy a small table to put the cat litter box up on to keep our small dog from snacking out of it. She never eats her own poop though.

@Charlotte Rae's Web: And only old pet owner consumerists know that. People who never owned pets, or are just starting to deal with this have no idea.

This story left me with a shit-eating grin.

@annexw:

That's not a great analogy... Powerbars already taste like dog shit.

@Charlotte Rae's Web:

Because you don't have a sense of humor? I think that'sa possibility.

@Trai_Dep:
To each his own, but i've never seen the appeal of having an animal that is trained to take a dump in a box in your bathroom. Cat people don't realize that their houses always smell faintly of urine, no matter how clean their place is.

I won't fully excuse dog people, because I've been hit by the 'wall-o-dog smell' in my time, but fully 100% of cat owner's homes smell of cats.

@silver-bolt: Didn't realize this was New Pet Owner Reports.

I get that Laura posted she didn't know about that but it's pretty common knowledge and there are lots of products. This is something that should be on a personal blog about things you didn't know, not a consumer site.

If we go with your thought, the site is going to post about things you should know about pets and life, it's gonna be overrun by junk posts and lose focus.

@radleyas: yawn, weak.

@MyPetFly: that's the best thing posted on here, ha!

@silver-bolt: A better way to say what I think should have been done is that if this is what they really want to post they should have linked to other products, a FAQ or talked about how meat tenderizer can work, or about it being nutrition related (no idea). It just seems like that would be of more consumerist benefit than this which reads like a 'oh wierd, check this out' post. Peace.

@annexw: That sounds plausible, because rabbits tend to eat their poop too.

@trujunglist: It's not the feather boas I mind as much as the thin lips that dogs have. If you can't wear lipstick when in a boa, what's the point?

@Secret Agent Man: To be fair, that's more the fault of the owner. If you're not cleaning at least once a day, you need to do better.

@silver-bolt: What's even more eerie is when your cat draws blood, then cleans it for you and you think, "How nurturing, how sweet!" until you see the predatory gleam in his eye as he tastes blood and likes it.
Happily, we're too big to take down and devour before our flesh goes rotten, so I guess us cat owners are safe. For now.

@Secret Agent Man: OK, I'll bite. How do you know what dog sh*t tastes like? :P

@Charlotte Rae's Web: Because some people, including the author of this article, had no idea a product like this existed.

I don't have a dog but this is good to know if I get one. I for one shudder whenever my GF's two dogs lick my face knowing that moments before they could have been ramming other dog's/other animals feces down their throats. Gross.

Super-Poll: We've heard about the mad amount of dog owners whose dogs "likes the poops" but how many cat owners have furry friends who have the same predilection?

I'll go first: I've never had a cat who ate his/her/other's poop. And I have owned many a cat in my time.

@H3ion: If your children are really that delicious, perhaps you should dress tham as monarch butterflies.

@Charlotte Rae's Web: I agree about the meat tenderizer, and I'm going to add that and other DIY solution info to the post.

However, I've had dogs for just about 20 years now, and I've never even heard of these products. Maybe it's because we never asked the vet about it, figuring it's just something that dogs do. Maybe it's because they're only well known in yuppie dog owner circles.

To me, this product is just as weird as Yogurt Pepsi, [consumerist.com] and was just an odd thing to post on a Friday afternoon. Your mileage evidently varies. That's great. If everyone on the site had the same consumer and life experiences, it would be incredibly boring.

@Trai_Dep: She drew the line at four tiny stiletto heels.

@larrymac: It's resolved!

My rabbit eats his own poo and it actually aids in his digestion, apparently. I just try not to think about it when he starts licking my furniture, or he gives me a quick lick of approval. ...or is it disapproval?

@tbonekatz: For some reason, this is more disturbing to me than a dog eating its own poo.

Dogs carry many zoonotic diseases that harm humans. In American, every year some 40+ children go BLIND because they've played around dog feces and picked up roundworm, which finds it way to the optical nerve and destroys it. Dogs are filthy. Anyone who lets a dog's mouth near their mouth is nuts.

I had a wiener dog that would go poke his head in the litter box and eat the cat's poo. I finally broke him of it when I covered it in red pepper (making sure the cat didn't go in there and get any on his butt). Dog stuck his head in, chomped up some poo, promptly spit it out, ran and hid behind the sofa and never went back for poo treats.

Is it wrong that the first thing that hit my mind was

"Hi, Billy Mays here for Dis-Taste, the most powerful fecal bitterant in the world. If you need to make dog $%# somehow taste worse, there is nothing more powerful than Dis-Taste! And if you act now, I'll double your order right now! But wait, I'm not done. Call in the next 5 minutes, and I'll throw in this handy Poop-Scooper! Just pay separate shipping!"

@pecan 3.14159265: Would you lick someone of whom you disapprove? My guess is that some bunny loves you.

@tbonekatz: Would you call that a poodestal?

@Secret Agent Man: wait, wounldnt that would make it a great analogy?

@Trai_Dep: "I eat pieces of sh*t like you for breakfast!"
-Shooter McGavin