# Dogs eating chicken poo



## kahiltna_flock (Sep 20, 2012)

Any one else have a dog that cleans up all the chicken poo? It hasn't seem to hurt her at all short term anyway. Anyone know of any long term effects?


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

My one 5# chihuahua has been eating parrot poo for 6 years. No issues what so ever. My only concern would be coccidia as ascarids are generally species specific. Coccidia or Giardia could possibly be a problem in a dog. Nasty habit but the poo itself should not cause problems.


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## kahiltna_flock (Sep 20, 2012)

Other than the breath, milk bones can't even touch that nastiness. Thanks for the reply


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

My youngest rat terrier thought those things are a delicacy when I first got her in March. =P She's since learned to understand the meaning of "no chicken nuggets" and won't eat it.


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## Pinkter (Aug 19, 2012)

Our dogs aren't allowed near the chickens. It's not pretty. However we have bunnies inside in a huge condo house and their poop apparently is ecstasy.


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## MatthewBK (Sep 24, 2012)

My dogs do that. Well, mostly with the calves poop, but I mean... Poop is poop. 
I don't really see it as a problem. If they ate their own then I might be worried about coccidiosis, but I don't think they do.


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## Pinkter (Aug 19, 2012)

You know I had a black lab that ate every other dog's poop in the yard and he lived to be 14. My husband and I decided poop must be the fountain of youth!


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## kiwicsi (Sep 24, 2012)

So true. My two dogs eat their own whenever they get a chance. The fresher the better!


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## Roslyn (Jun 21, 2012)

I increased my dogs protein in his diet and he has slowed down. I came up with a theory that high protein vegetable matter is high nitrigen in the soil, so therefore chicken poop, which is VERY high nitrogen for the soil may be high in proteins.

I've been having an issue over finding the right dog food. For two years I have been buying two foods and mixing them for the dogs, no issues. Thank you purina, they changed the dog food with minor changes to the bag, so both dogs were VERY sick for about 4 days before I put two and two together. I've been trying other foods, but the big dog, Jake has been pooping 6 or 7 times a day and is constantly hungry. So, I upped the protein and he has returned to normal. During this time he was eating chicken poo like crazy, yet now that he's on more protein, he has slowed eating the chicken poo.


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

Coccidia will cause animals to crave calcium. Not a well known fact but true none the less. So, I would run a dog poo sample to your vet just to be sure. I understand that you're talking about protein and I'm talking about calcium. I also understand that Purina's "changes" may have triggered something. Could also be salmonella or aflatoxin in the fog food. These are commonly found in dog foods and result in recalls. Sometimes they are there and no recalls. Anyhow, consider your dogs symptoms as an alert that all these things need to be ruled out. Kaopectate 3X a day works wonders for dogs with loose stool BTW.


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## Roslyn (Jun 21, 2012)

Energyvet said:


> Coccidia will cause animals to crave calcium. Not a well known fact but true none the less. So, I would run a dog poo sample to your vet just to be sure. I understand that you're talking about protein and I'm talking about calcium. I also understand that Purina's "changes" may have triggered something. Could also be salmonella or aflatoxin in the fog food. These are commonly found in dog foods and result in recalls. Sometimes they are there and no recalls. Anyhow, consider your dogs symptoms as an alert that all these things need to be ruled out. Kaopectate 3X a day works wonders for dogs with loose stool BTW.


I dropped the purina food that was changed immediately after realizing that it was probably the new version. Once I laid an old bag that I had re-used for recycling next to the new bag I could see the slight difference in the "new and improved formula". I went to three grocery stores and found three bags of the "old" version and have been using the old stuff to wean them onto something new. I dumped the bad new stuff out in the woods for the racoons and bears.

Once I hit the bottom of the second bag I had them completely on the new formulation and the big dog was pooping constantly. Not loose stool, but 6 or 7 huge piles per day and twice he had an accident in the basement because he couldn't make it through the night. So, I upped the protein and both the monster poos and the chicken poo eating stopped (chicken poo eating slowed a lot, I think he likes it) and my little dog is pooing once a day again instead of three or four times, with accidents.

My vet retired several years ago, and I'm not totally pleased with the new vet that took over his practice. I really loved my vet, he was a great guy and had been taking care of my families animals since I was a very young child. I found another vet that has great verbal reviews from people I have talked to, but he is lowering his hours and is in partial retirement, so I don't want to get into his practice just to lose another vet. I don't want to go out of the area in case of emergency etc. I'm at that spot where I need to have one to call, but I need to find one *before* I need one.

The dog food companies changing the food without telling the customer that it is a new formula just totally pi$$es me off. Both my boys had tummy aches and were quite ill for three or four days before I realized it had to be the food. The change was obvious because the shape was different, and a plain looking food was now weird looking. It took me a year to get them on a dog food that they both did well on without poo problems or gaining/losing weight just to have it changed.

I read the packages and I just can't believe what is in there!! WHY does high fructose corn syrup belong in dog food???


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

People and dogs have been living together for hundreds of years. Suddenly we invent dog food and no one can live without it? That's just silly. 50 % of what my dogs eat is the same stuff I eat. Of all the dogs I saw clinically, those eating table foods were generally the healthiest. Those strictly on dog food had chronic ear and skin problems, kidney stones, bad teeth. 

Anyway, it used to piss my employers off when I would tell the clients to change foods and all their expensive ear and skin medicines and antibiotics would no longer be necessary. Turned a cash machine into a healthy pet. They hated that. That's why I left vet medicine. It became another vehicle for the drug companies to make customers not cures. Lol

Okay...stepping down from soap box. Lol

XXX. Roslyn


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

I had problems with my cats and IBS. The only thing that stopped their constant diarrhea was switching them to an all-meat diet and loading them with pro-biotics. I bought the meat off Oma's Pride and made sure they had the right requirements (i.e. cats need a lot of taurine so I made sure they got at least some heart meat every day which is high in it, etc.) My vet at the time told me to stop and put them back on kibble! Uh... no. I fix what needs fixing and keep what's working! I have been considering doing the same with my dog but I need to do more research. Dogs seem to need a more complicated diet as they're more omnivorous than a cat would be. In any event my dog follows around my chickens like they're Pez dispensers. She loves their poop. *rolls eyes*


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

Look at a dogs teeth and tell me just how omnivorous they are. Lol. Yes I agree though, they will eat digested grains in the intestines and are more open to suggestions. You won't hurt a dog by going raw. My dogs have been raw for 10 years. Best thing I ever did. Recommend it to all my clients.


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## mcderry1967 (Oct 14, 2012)

Pinkter said:


> You know I had a black lab that ate every other dog's poop in the yard and he lived to be 14. My husband and I decided poop must be the fountain of youth!


 We have Labs too and like chickens have cast iron stomachs and will eat anything & everything!


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## chkntrktr (Jul 7, 2012)

Our dogs eat chicken poop like it's candy for them. I always say they think the chickens are PEZ dispensers.


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

That's pretty funny, really.


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