Our Lacey, will not even poop in the yard. She prefers to go to the wooded area in our backyard or a ditch in the front. When we were visiting relatives on a farm for a week she would walk out into the cornfield to poop. In fact she was visibly disturbed when the other dogs would poop in the yard. She would look at them as if she was thinking, "But why are you pooping in the playground?". Even if we picked it up she would avoid running over the spots while playing.
Pumpkin and the bunny poop
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Sounds like a children's book, but its for real. We have tons of wild bunnies here, and while I believe she has scared them all to pack suitcases and find other suitable residences, they have left behind sizeable amounts of bunny poop in our mulch (coincidentally the same color as the poop). We cannot keep her from eating the poop. My son will play with her with outside, but Pumpkin is easily distracted and back in the mulch, having a little "snack" and not interested in playing with him. Since she has already been playing, when we try and redirect, she thinks it is a game, and plays "catch me if you can". By the time I catch, she has no idea what I'm so agitated about, and I just end up putting her on her lead to have outside time. She is not getting ill by this, and other than me being grossed out, I'm wondering if I just need to get over it, she is just doing what any dog would do, and eventually the earth will take care of this problem.
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All dogs will, but they can pick up stuff from rabbit feces. It isn't that common. Can you hose down the area to wash it into the ground?
http://www.dailypuppy.com/articles/dog-diseases-caused-by-bird-rabbit-feces_1233.html
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Eating poop is not uncommon, nor is it unnatural for dogs: poop contains many ingredients that dogs need, fibers, vitamins etc. Binti used to eat a lot of poop (from rabbits, dogs, geese) and I found out it is a complex issue: poop eating can taste good, it can be nutritious, it can be an emotional issue (getting the human's attention, anxiety, boredom). For Binti it was a combination of some extra vitamins (B, D), peet water when the seasons change (especially from winter to spring and from summer to autumn) and giving her the right amount and right type of attention during walks. She is much better now. Good luck!
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My Basenjis would head right for the horse poop and the only question was whether it would be eating or rolling in it. Usually eating......they preferred to roll in more disgusting things. My niece's GSD was attracted to goose poop. Hard to do a tracking test across a field where geese had been. It can be very difficult or impossible to keep a loose dog out of poop. As Debra says, perhaps you can hose it away. Good luck!
(BTW, this is one of the reasons.....and there are many.....why flex leads are not a good idea. Most owners have no idea what their dogs may be consuming at the end of a long lead.)
