Our home is magnet for people throwing out their cats and sometimes dogs. We have 10 cats, 5 dropped off, 5 are born of the drop offs, 4 dogs, one of which was dropped off. All the cats are inside with 3 that go in and out. everyone is neutered and vaccinated. We have numerous cat litter boxes that are protected from the dogs "munching" from them. Here is our problem. Because we live out in the country and have so much used cat litter my husband gets rid of it by dumping it out in the woods. Hauling it to the dump would be astronomical in expense.

Up until recently the dogs never went near it but we recently caught our pit bull munching away. I am of course concerned with him getting into it and getting his intestines blocked. He is very healthy and on excellent food so I believe it is not a lack in his system but a tasty treat to him. We are wondering what if anything can be put on top of the piles to deter him from eating the litter covered feces. Someone suggested we put our cooled wood ashes over the litter and my husband was questioning pouring sulfur on the used litter. This will keep snakes at bay but I'm not sure about the dog and I definitely don't want him eating or even getting into the sulfur and licking it off. There must be some kind of deterrent that will keep the dog away, not hurt him or any other animal that might investigate. Any suggestions?

Hi, and welcome to TCS

It might be worth trying anti chew/repellant sprays, such as bitter apple. I've no idea if they'd be strong enough to counteract the yumminess of cat poop (it seems to have a magnetic attraction for some dogs ), but it has to be worth a try.

Obviously, this is NOT a solution for around litterboxes, but is just fine for outside

As commercially made sprays will work out fairly expensive for the quantities you'll like you need, you may find this article on how to make homemade alternatives useful
Dog deterrents that are safe for you dog

If all else fails, you could look into electric fencing for that area, but that really is a last resort (to my mind, at least ).

Good luck! I hope you find something that works very soon

Dogs are so weird.  Maybe you could have your husband dig a hole out there and put a fence around it and just dump all the litter in that hole?

30 years ago I had a lovely German Shepherd named Iggy. She was so sweet and friendly, she'd lick you skinless, the cats too. A mother cat had kittens under the sofa and she let Iggy lick and hand them with her mouth full of prehistoric-looking teeth!

And, she loved cat poop, the fresher the better. She'd wait till TC the big male, got done and reach in and grab it before he could turn around to sniff it. (ACK!)

Never did figure out how to make her stop doing that. Never got sick that I know of. She once drank transmission fluid, straight from the "tranny" metal chips and all. That didn't seem to bother her, either. (Left glittery poop all over the yard, though.)

Eew, my Axel loves to eat poop. He eats his poop and Allison's (our cat). I read that pineapple juice or lemon juice sprayed or poured over poop will deter a dog from eating it. I've also been told vinager will do the trick. I've personally not tried it so I don't know how it works. Ally has free roam but I've gated my bathroom so Axel can't get in the litter box. She is very streetwise and can maneuver any contraption I set for him lol. I also dump her used litter in the woods and walk him on a leash when we go out. He's a plott hound pit mix and I worry that he will wonder if he tracks a scent. Both our pets live inside with us and don't potty on the floor so it's been easier to monitor. The poop eating has slowed down a little.

tdaniel said:

 I've also been told vinager will do the trick. 

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I've heard this also, mix 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar.  But I don't know if it will evaporate and lose the odor when left out in the woods.

Alicia88 said:

 
Dogs are so weird.............

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Not really........it may be all about coprophagia........and, I didn't make that up !

This appeared in Dr. Karen Becker's mailout last week:

The Real Reason Dogs Eat Poop — and How to Make Them Stop

http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...=20170118Z1&et_cid=DM131223&et_rid=1846853874

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I love my dogs, but man I don't understand why they go after the cat poop either!! The only thing that has worked for my family and I is that we put a gate up that blocks the walk way for the dogs that leads to the litter box. There's a tiny cat door so the cat can either slip through that or he just jumps over the gate.

I know one of my dogs used to it her own poop, and we read that if we put a little bit of MSG in her food, she would be turned off by her poop and wouldn't eat it. I'm not sure if that's safe for cats, but maybe that could be a solution? I really don't know though...

I hope you figure something out!!

HelloBecky said:

 
........man I don't understand why they go after the cat poop either!!

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Are you able to read the (SHORT) article linked in the previous post?

White Shadow said:

Are you able to read the (SHORT) article linked in the previous post?

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No. It tells me that it is a suspicious website and might hack my computer....