Seriously. I jokingly asked this question at the end of my talk at APDT (more on that in the next post), but although it’s not exactly a burning question related to training and behavior, I still wonder about it.
Honestly… what do they think? We collect it and object when they try to eat it. One of my dogs had no interest in coprophagia until he watched me collect dog feces after the snow melted in late winter. Could it be that they think we prize it in some way? Hoard it for ourselves? Or do they think about it at all? Anyone else wondered about this, or I am the only crazy one who thinks about such things?
Ah, now we’re back to the beginning of my talk… thinking about thinking. (Try defining what you’re doing when you’re thinking. Think about it about!)
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Sooo good to be home. I came home early from the conference, too much to do here between fall and the farm and work.
It’s lovely here, although some wouldn’t say that. It’s been damp and cloudy, and we had a glorious rain most of Friday night, most welcome after weeks of lovely but very dry weather. It was starting to get terribly dry so it is great to see the plants get watered before winter sets in. It’s still beautiful though; not as showy as earlier, but I love the combination of still-green and orange-brown that still surrounds us.
Ellen Pepin says
I don’t know what he is thinking, but our GSD/Rottweiler/Boxer mix will eat his own and that of others. I wish I knew why he does that. Our collie does not seem to be interested in such behavior, but then, she is a very fussy eater.
Alexandra says
My dogs always look at me like I’m nuts when I throw something even remotely edible in the trash or pull them away from roadkill/carrion on a walk. I wonder what they think about my picking up their poop, too, but I suspect it makes a reasonable amount of sense to them as investigating the poop of other species is one of their favorite subjects (not to be gross, but holy cow was Copper amazed/fascinated the one time I had to go on the woods myself on a long hike!).
em says
Complicating the poop question is the fact that I throw Otis’ poop in the same bin at the park that I use to dispose of other confiscated ‘goodies’ (last time it was clearly a section of innards–donor unknown–that he’d uncovered in a thicket beside the path. It was fresh and doubtless delicious (the coyotes have been on the move in the park early this year-we don’t usually start finding their signature half-eaten kills until winter). I wonder what he makes of the fact that I seize this kind of thing for myself, only to throw it away? He gives me some very incredulous looks when I do it, I must say.
He’s never shown any interest in dog poop as a desirable object, but years of daily off-leash rambles have made him particular about where he likes to poop. Given his druthers, he’ll choose a spot deep in the woods or fields, a good distance from the path. He’ll go in the yard in an emergency, and grudgingly on leashed walks, but his distress about it is palpable. He’s clearly not happy unless his poop is at least ten miles from our house, and he’s not altogether wild about the idea of being within ten feet of me when he’s attending to business. This places a bit of pressure on his humans to provide the ‘proper’ sort of walk at least once a day, but seriously reduces the amount of collection that needs to be done.
The poop that does need picking up tends to get disposed of immediately (in proper receptacles, of course), and far from the house, so it probably satisfies his criteria for proper distance, but I really have not the foggiest idea what he thinks I think I’m doing by picking it up. On the one hand, he clearly appreciates pooplessness in his environment, on the other hand, it is pretty weird to carry it around….
On a related topic, while watching Otis pick up and follow a scent trail left by his friends who arrived at the park earlier than we did, I did wonder aloud to my husband this morning, ‘I wonder if living with humans who can’t follow a smell is to a dog like what living with a blind person is to a human? Do you think he realizes that we can’t ‘see’ that trail?’ Hmm…
Mary says
I have wondered about this too. My dog seems totally embarrassed by the whole thing. When we’re walking and I have to pick up the poop Rex stands as far away as the leash will allow and won’t even look in my direction. He was an adult when I adopted him so I’ve wondered if he was punished for pooping in his earlier home or is it just so uncool according to doggie etiquette >g<
Roberta Beach says
My tweenie Dachshund, Danny Quinn, is going to be “Poopzilla” for Halloween.
Frances says
I have also wondered about this – when they are puppies we shower rewards upon them for doing it in the right place; we stand over adults, bag poised; I spend forever searching for my toy dogs tiny, leaf coloured droppings in a bed of fallen leaves … I suspect mine believe it is very, very valuable to humans, and therefore an excellent payment for walks, home cooked meals, toys and treats!
Beckmann says
Only thing is that seems like my dog does not like it when I pick his poop up. Most probably, he thinks that I am jeopardizing the poop
Kat says
I suspect Ranger is rather puzzled and somewhat conflicted about the clean up protocol. He won’t go in the yard except in dire emergency and then it has to be against the fence behind the laurels or some other discreet and distant location. On walks I politely stand at the end of the six foot leash until he’s done and then move in to clean up. The product of his efforts is surprisingly small for a dog his size and of course well camouflaged in color and sometimes as I’m searching he’ll circle back to show me where it is. Other times he stays six feet away and pretends he doesn’t know me and then there are the weeks he’ll only go in thick ivy or juniper bushes where I don’t/can’t clean up. I’ve always suspected that when we’re in the has to be hidden where I can’t get it type week he’s renewing his sign posts and message boards. I’ve also come to the conclusion that when he’s pee marking things it’s the canine equivalent of posting a facebook status (peebook?) crossed with a graffito’s scribbling of I was here on everything.
You’re not alone, Trisha, I suspect everyone that loves their dog wonders what they’re thinking and of course poop is a big deal to both species even if in very different ways.
Lacey H says
My little foster dogs have showed quite a range of poop-consciousness. Some, like one of my own two dogs, seem to include droppings in the category of food and regard it as rather piggish of me to insist on claiming it. Some do indeed want to hide it – and since I live in an apartment-type setting and am preparing dogs for such possible homes, this has to be overcome. As with pee, some (more often females I believe) seem to want a pristine spot where other dogs haven’t marked, while others definitely want to overmark a spot. I suspect that my putting it in the trash is considered like burying it for future use.
By the way, here at least putting animal waste down the toilet is said to be hazardous to the sewage purification process.
Melissa says
Haha, I’ve wondered, too. Particularly when they are on leash and I’m waiting for them to finish with a bag in hand. They always do a little foot scrape and then try to walk off, but that gets foiled when I stop to pick it up. They give me looks like “What? Why? That’s disgusting.” And then there are the moments when you accidentally hand them a treat from the same hand that’s holding the bagged poop. They go “What the -? Um, okay, gross, but I think I can get the treat without putting my face too close to it.” I think it must be a bit rude to offer them treats and simultaneously shove their own poop in their faces. I try to remember to carry it at my waist instead.
My partner’s parents think it’s funny that when their dog does a really smelly one on a walk they tie it to his collar. I think that must be unpleasant. Most dogs don’t like to have it near places they eat or sleep at least, so I imagine they really don’t want it around their necks.
Heidi Meinzer says
Ah, I read this just as our 7 month old black lab pup, Boomer, is recovering from giardia. Again. Seems we’ve caught him eating his older sister Sophie’s poo on the sly…. We pick up the poop religiously in the back yard because Sophie was eating so much poo as a puppy. And now he starts….
Ravana says
I’ve always wondered about that too. I still praise him when he goes outside even though he is ten, then I pick it up, carry it for a long distance then pitch it in a garbage can. I figure he thinks I have a really bad memory, or I caching it for later use. He is a rescue who used to poop in his room then sleep on the pile even though he had plenty of space to not have to do so. Now he will not poop in the yard unless he absolutely has to and has started pooping in bushes which makes cleaning up after him more than a little difficult.
Joan says
Sarah says
I’ve often wondered about that myself, but my guess is that they lump it in with other inexplicable human behavior. I think that dogs are pretty good at just accepting that there are things people do that makes no sense.
Denise says
Given how much my dog loves to eat poop – anybody’s poop – I’d guess he’s thinking “oh, #$#%^!” she snagged it AGAIN!
🙂
Cynthia says
Just curious-what DO you do with poop? I just got an e-mail with information on a poop digester that I’m thinking of constructing: http://sites.google.com/site/sustainatwood/. Do you bury it? Throw it in the trash? Flush it down the toilet? Right now I bag it and throw it in the garbage but I feel sort of guilty about it.
Karissa says
My oldest started to eat poo last winter. It was shortly after he had been diagnosed with Addison’s Disease and his digestive system was struggling to get back to normal. He had to go on a round of metronidazole and it was shortly after that when the poo eating started. He didn’t tend to eat fresh piles, but would dig frozen ones out of the snow. My BC puppy started to imitate his behavior. YUCK. My only defense was to accompany them to the yard and pick up poo as often as possible (often hard in a snowy Wisconsin winter!). When the spring thaw came, the poo eating stopped. Absolutely no idea why they only wanted frozen poo! I hope it doesn’t return this winter.
As for what do we do with it — I have a poo garbage can in the garage. Every day or two (I have four dogs….) I pick up poo from the yard using a scooper and a plastic grocery bag. Each bag gets tied shut and put in the poo bin. Every two weeks I put the giant poo bag on the curb with the rest of the trash and it disappears. I use the black garbage bags so that their “prizes” can’t be seen.
My dogs are very helpful. Usually when they see me wandering around with the poo scooper in hand, they are sure to leave me a fresh deposit.
Laura says
Every time I do yard work of any sort my border collie brings me something to throw for her relentlessly. It is really a pain when I am trying to work but she is so cute I do the best I can to accommodate her. She never ever tries to get me to throw something when I am picking up poop. I think she thinks I’m weird.
I have often thought about what they might think when we are on walks and I pick up the poop and carry it with us. I think they just think I’m weird in general but they still love me.
Barb says
My girl Trio covets my boy’s Rudy’s poop so much that she will stand behind him with her head cocked to beat me to it! And she appears appalled when I throw it over the fence. (I live in the country surrounded by a farmer’s field.)
Interestingly, she has yet to go on poop searches when she has access to the other side of the fence. Prefers it warm? Or is it a game with me to see who gets it first? Don’t know.
We’ve just been joined by a new puppy. It will be interesting to see how he fits in to the poop protocol!
JJ says
Cynthia: Thanks for the info on the digester. What a great concept! I have recently started composting and knew that dog poo was not allowed in a compost. The digester idea is great.
Jonathan Klein says
That is a great way of looking at it. It certainly can be behavioral, and them watching us play so religiously with poop can’t help. I have always felt the vets say coprophagia is behavioral and the trainers say its physiological, so then no one has to deal with it. If we rule out the physiological component, a diet change usually solves it in many cases for most of my clients. If it really is behavioral, then of course we probably are responsible for having taught our dogs the wrong thing in the first place. But as trainers, aren’t we blaming the owners for causing the problems all along. OK, back to the education process.
Erin says
Is it really insulting to say that I thought of you while scooping poop in the backyard yesterday? Or, more specifically, I thought of this post? Riley hates to have an audience, but shows no interest in the actual picking up process.
lorena says
I think the dogs think that I am helping to spread their scent and mark more territory when I pick up the poop and transport it even further into a trash can or dumpster- the old team effort!
brandy says
Mine are mostly annoyed that I make them stay close to it (well, up to 6 ft away since that’s how long their leashes are) while I clean it up. Once they go, they want to get away from it as quickly as possible, and I often have to remind them that no, we don’t go anywhere til I’m done cleaning. They must think I’m insane for wanting to hang out with it, pick it up, and carry it around with us for the rest of the walk!
Linda says
I have also often wondered what my dog think I do with her poop – and why I go to the trouble of picking it up even if she has carefully chosen a pooping place under a bush…
I have followed your blog now for a few weeks and think you have such interesting thoughts on dogs and on their cognitive abilities. And I am very curious about if you at the APDT got to discuss the study on pointing gestures with Hare and Tomasello? I would be interesting to know what they said about the learining aspect of it!
martha says
I still giggle 4 years later thinking about my first foster pup (potential service dog) frantic in his efforts to find a grassy area after the first snowfall. He was 12 weeks old and scurried from spot to spot. He had to go so bad- but each area didn’t smell quite right.
We ended up shovelling out an area for him!
This is the same dog- that in the yard (when there were other people about) would go off to the same far corner with his back to us. We always gave him his privacy.
It’s not the dog poop by boys have cared about- it’s the lovely taste of kitty poopy-all wrapped up in a sweet bar. yuck!
Annette says
My Border Collie Bonnie will always follow me around (usually with a ball) whenever I’m out working in the yard. But if I’m picking up her poop, no way. She won’t have anything to do with me, she’ll sit on the porch and give me disgusted looks and if I call her she’ll hesitate before coming over to me. If I throw the ball for her while I’m picking up poop she won’t retrieve it, despite being ball mad. She also has never pooped on a walk and when we go to other people’s places she’s not too happy to poop there either.