storyweaver 7 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I have been teaching Theodore the "leave it" command. So far he has been doing good except when we are outside. Theodore loves to eat crawdad (or crawfish) houses which is made of mud. It is so nasty. I tell him to leave it and when he does, I give him a treat. Then he goes back and eats it again! Sometimes I just give him praises so that he won't look at me like I'm a treat dispensing machine. Yet he still goes back and continues to eat mud. I think he's associating that eating mud is good. How can I train him where I'm saying mud = bad, leave it = good? Any suggestions? By the way, I've read that I can get rid of the crawfish houses by using a pesticide, but I'm not sure if I should since it might not be safe for Theodore. Also I've read somewhere that we're suppose to leave the houses alone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JasperandAkira'smom 4 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Wow, crawfish houses...I have never heard of these. Mine go after Horse crap on our walks. They do really good with the leave it command in the house but for horse poop, forget it. I have tried leave it and tug on their leashes and at times it works but other times they just fight harder to get to it. I have gotten to the point I try to walk where there is not much of the stuff on the path (of course they can always find little morsels). LOL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Seastar 44 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Keep him leashed. Best way to keep dogs from doing something you don't want is to control their access. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beau1124 2 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 For us, it's goose poop! I have to be really diligent on walks. He is beside me with a taut lead. I give him a lax leash in certain areas for his "sniff time". I sometimes have to tug on his leash and he'll leave whatever it is that I don't want him "sniffing." Are the crawdad houses all over? Is it possible to get him to leave it, praise him and then lead him away from the area? I live in a residential area so it's easy for us to walk in the street away from temptation. I also have a walking trail and I can pick my "sniff area" for him. Even then, he's gotten into the goose poop. One time, it was so disgusting on his face, I had to put him straight into the tub after the walk. Even after the bath, I was still a little grossed out getting close to him because I knew what had been in his mouth. EWWW!! Beau is rarely off leash outside for the very reason that I don't know what he'll get into (plus we don't have a fenced yard). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storyweaver 7 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks all. Paula, I'll try the leash. Theodore won't like it but tough luck for him. Goose and horse poop? Ew. Theodore snacks on the mudhouses like they're the best delicacy in the world. Ugh! Nikki, I'll post a picture for you later. They're weird looking tower-like mud houses. They have been more common at this time of the year since we get rain every couple of days. And yes, Theodore gets crazy if I try to keep him away from it. He just keeps going back to it. Julie, actually, there are more crawdad houses on one side of the yard because the land is lower and there's more moisture. I try to keep him on the other side by distracting him with a toy or treat. But every once in awhile those little suckers show up on the "good area" Grr. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storyweaver 7 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Here it is, Nikki. Crawdad/crawfish house. I just call it a mudbug house. That's a small one. Theodore already demolished the big ones. Haha. They don't look too different from poop. (Here I am with my obsession with poop, Julie. LOL) Sometimes the crawfish just makes a hole in the ground. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ParadiseTzu 11,275 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Well, you know eating poop is eating poop and disgusts us humans. But as far as horse poop goes, the horse eats and poops hay which is much better than a meat eating animal. If you let horse poop dry up, it turns back into about one inch dried hay peices. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storyweaver 7 Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Well, you know eating poop is eating poop and disgusts us humans. But as far as horse poop goes, the horse eats and poops hay which is much better than a meat eating animal. If you let horse poop dry up, it turns back into about one inch dried hay peices. I did not know that, but then again I don't know much about horses either. So that means whatever that one inch piece is something they don't digest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beau1124 2 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 YUM!! Actually, that is a pretty interesting tidbit about horses, Sandra. Helenita, those crawdad houses do look like poop! I wonder what Theodore finds so interesting about them? There must be a scent that draws him or maybe it just that it's something different. Probably the only way you can keep him from eating them is to keep him on a leash like Paula said. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storyweaver 7 Posted February 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I think it's the smell. Theodore loves fire ants hills too. Boy, did he have some adventures with those this past summer! He actually got bitten twice in the face. He pooped on an ant hill after those two incidents. He's quite a little Anyway, I got off topic as usual. I tried to put him on the leash when we went out in the backyard. There were times when he would try to eat them, but I gently tugged the leash to lure him away. I either said come here or heel. He obeyed me. I either gave him a treat or praised him. I did let him loose (my backyard is fenced) so we can play. If I saw him getting close to one, I tried to distract him by encouraging him to play with me, which worked. :blush: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beau1124 2 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 He pooped on an ant hill after those two incidents. head_hurts_kr.gif He's quite a little devil.gif That's hilarious!! Hopefully, you can continue to keep him away from the mudhouses. These little dogs are just too curious for their own good!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storyweaver 7 Posted February 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 LOL, yes. Theodore's gotten better now that I've leashed him. Maybe once he is older I would be able to trust him to go out in the yard unsupervised, but for now that's not going to happen. Oh, well. Puppies aren't suppose to be left alone anyway. It is what it is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JasperandAkira'smom 4 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Wow, I don't think I have every seen a mudhouses like that. I bet mine would go after it too. That is pretty interesting about the horse poop, but it still grosses me out! That cracks me up that Theodore pooped on the ant hills. Akira got bit by something on the nose over the summer and I thought it was never going to heal because she would not leave it alone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storyweaver 7 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Nikki, I remember I had to pick him up to another area to poop. I stood in front of him with hands on my hips and asked, "Aedre you crazy?" He looked up at me and just wagged his tail like he did nothing wrong. Thankfully, fireants aren't active during the winter time. I could already see those anthills popping out today. I've got bags of fireant killers ready to go. Here's the thing about ant hills though, they just appear at random within the yard unlike the mudhouses where they thrive on just one side. I will continue to leash him since he might get in contact with the pestcide, but if I recall he never messed with them. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JasperandAkira'smom 4 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Yes better safe then sorry :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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