Dogs Eating Guinea Pig Poop?

Your dog and your guinea pig get along, that’s great! But you might have noticed an odd behavior from your dog.

Your dog has been eating your guinea pig’s poop? Don’t worry! Dogs eat poop, it’s what they do, and wanting to eat your guinea pig’s poop is no different.

There are a few different reasons they might be doing this, but it’s really nothing you should be too freaked out about.

Dogs Eating Guinea Pig Poop?

Dogs eat poop, and guinea pig poop is a nutrient rich treat in the dog world. When you find your dog devouring your guinea pig’s poop, don’t freak out. They won’t get sick and it won’t have any negative long-term effects on their health. Just the opposite, in fact! With the vitamins and minerals in the guinea pig poop, it can actually help your dog’s health. However, if you don’t want your dog eating your guinea pig’s poop there are things you can do to prevent it.

Is Guinea Pig Poop Toxic to Dogs?

Guinea pig poop is not toxic to people or dogs! It’s just poop, and as our favorite childhood book says, “everybody poops”. Poop is just the remains of whatever our bodies don’t absorb when we eat.

Because guinea pigs have such a short digestive tract, they don’t actually digest everything on the first go-around.

Your dog won’t get sick after eating guinea pig poop.

Guinea pig poop is actually packed with nutrients, so it can be healthy for your dog!

Is Guinea Pig Urine Toxic to Dogs?

Guinea pig urine is also non-toxic to dogs. It doesn’t really smell and can be a great indicator of the health of your guinea pig.

If your guinea pig is healthy, they’ll be peeing about one hundred times a day. It’ll be light yellow or slightly darker and is totally safe to be around.

However, if your guinea pig is sick then their bacterial infections can be transmitted through their urine.

Keep yourself and your dog safe by cleaning your guinea pig’s cage daily and avoid letting the urine build up.

Can Dogs Get Sick from Eating Guinea Pig Poop?

If your guinea pig is healthy then your dog won’t get sick from eating their poop. It’s basically just veggies!

If your guinea pig is sick, however, then they can transmit the disease through their poop.

Keeping your guinea pig healthy is the best way to make sure your dog doesn’t get sick. The most common diseases guinea pigs get are bacterial infections, which can be easily treated by an antibiotic prescription from your vet. However, if your piggie is sick, then they can get your dog sick if your dog eats their poop.

You can also work to prevent your dog from eating the poop in the first place.

How to Keep Your Dog from Eating Guinea Pig Poop?

For some people it might not be a big deal if their dog eats their guinea pig’s poop. They might just not care.

For others the thought of their dog eating poop grosses them out.

If you’re in the second camp, then you need to know how to keep your dog from eating your guinea pig’s poop. Some days, it can seem like an impossible task, but it’s not!

There are a few ways to keep your dog from eating your guinea pig’s poop.

• Clean your guinea pig’s cage every day.
• If you have multiple piggies then make sure you clean their cage twice a day.
• Keep your dog away from the guinea pig cage to take away the opportunity for them to eat the poop.
• Mix your guinea pig’s poop with soap before putting it in the garbage to deter your dog from digging through the trash to get to it.
• Train your dog to stay away from your guinea pig cage. It might not be the easiest task in the world, but it’s definitely doable with time and dedication. There are many online sources that can walk you through the basics of dog training, but if you’re not having luck with those then hiring a professional trainer is always a good option.

Remember that your dog has a great sense of smell, so prevention is really the best way to keep your dog from finding those tasty treats.

Is Guinea Pig Poop and Urine Toxic to Breathe?

It is okay to breath the smell of guinea pig poop and urine.

Neither guinea pig poop nor urine has a strong smell to us, but to our dogs the smell will be very strong. It might make it hard for them to stay away from your piggie’s cage.

If you let the poop and urine build up in the cage, then yes, it will start to smell and can become a health hazard. Urine as well, when it sits too long, starts to build ammonia, and put it into the air. Ammonia is not a healthy thing to breathe in, so it’s essential to make sure you are cleaning out your guinea pig’s cage every day.

My Dog Ate Guinea Pig Poop What Should I Do?

So you just caught your dog eating your guinea pig’s poop? After the initial reaction of “Eww!”, you might be wondering what to do next.

First off, don’t freak out!

Your dog isn’t going to keel over and die. As a matter of fact, nothing bad is going to happen at all.

The first thing you should do is take your dog away from the guinea pig cage.

Then clean the cage to get all the poop out and dispose of it (toss it in the garbage).

If you don’t want your dog to eat your guinea pig’s poop, then now’s the time to take some steps to make sure they don’t.

• Start training your dog to stay away from your guinea pig’s cage.
• Check your dog’s diet. Guinea pig poop is full of nutrients, so it might be that your dog is looking for something they’re not getting from their food.
• Consistently clean your guinea pig’s cage to keep the poop level down to a minimum.

Why Does My Dog Like to Eat Guinea Pig Poop?

There are a few reasons your dog might like eating guinea pig poop. We know that dogs like to eat poop, but guinea pig poop in particular is a special treat for them.

Guinea pig poop is full of half-digested veggies, meaning that it’s a super yummy nibble for your dog.

Your dog has an amazing sense of smell, and what smells good to your dog is also going to taste good to them!

Your dog could also be looking for nutrients that they may be lacking in their every day diet. It might be a good idea to take a look at your dog’s food to make sure they’re getting all the vitamins and minerals that they need from their food, and it could help them stop feeling the need to eat your guinea pig’s poop.

What Happens to Your Dog’s Gut When He Eats Guinea Pig Poop?

Because guinea pig poop is full of veggies it’s loaded with vitamins and minerals.

When your dog eats guinea pig poop it can introduce a lot of good bacteria into their gut.

It introduces wonderful nutrients into their body, and can actually help aid in digestion, making your dog healthier.

Do Guinea Pigs Eat Dog Poop? Is It Safe for Them?

If you’re in a situation where your guinea pig is able to access your dog’s poop then they might try to eat it.

It’s very unlikely that your guinea pig would be tempted to eat your dog’s poop.

When guinea pigs eat, they do not fully digest their food the first time around. So, when they poop, their poop is full of half-digested veggies. They eat their poop in order to get the most nutrients out of their food by making sure it gets fully digested.

Dog poop contains far less nutrients because dogs absorb most of the vitamins and minerals from their food. So, guinea pigs are probably not going to want to eat your dog’s poop.

That being said, if your guinea pig does eat your dog’s poop, they’ll be just fine.

Can Guinea Pig Poop Be Used as Dog Treats?

There’s no real reason that you can’t use guinea pig food as dog treats.

However, guinea pig poop is organic material, so it doesn’t have a very long shelf life.

If you can get past the fact that you would be feeding your dog the excrement from another animal, guinea pig poop could be a decent dog treat.

A few things to keep in mind if you do want to use guinea pig poop as treats:

• The poop will go bad very quickly, so you would have to use it within the day you collect it.
• You will probably get some (maybe a lot) of judgment from other people if you tell them what you’re using as dog treats.
• It will normalize eating guinea pig poop to your dog. Feeding the poop to them as treats will tell them that it’s okay to eat the poop whenever they want. If you don’t want your dog eating guinea pig poop, then don’t feed it to them as treats.

Can Dogs Eat Guinea Pig Food?

Guinea pigs have a rich diet of veggies. A varied diet keeps them healthy and happy. They’ll eat things like lettuce, carrots, bell peppers, and cucumbers. They also need to have hay to munch on to keep their teeth short. Some people like to supplement their guinea pig’s diet with pellets that have other vitamins and nutrients to keep their piggies healthy.

So if your dog does eat your guinea pig’s food, it’s all healthy stuff!

However, it’s good to note that if your dog eats a lot of vegetables, it can make them gassy. It can also give them diarrhea. And your dog won’t be able to digest the hay that your guinea pig needs, so they will probably end up throwing it up.

So it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your dog when it’s feeding time for your guinea pigs.

My Dog Wants to Eat My Guinea Pig?

Dogs are descended from wolves, and many of them still have those ancestral predatory instincts.

The instinct to chase and attack small animals is called a dog’s “prey drive”. Some breeds have a high prey drive, meaning they are more likely to chase, attack, and kill smaller animals. Dogs with a low prey drive are less likely to react to small animals.

The level of prey drive varies from dog to dog, so knowing if your dog will want to attack your guinea pig will be based off of your dogs past behavior.

Does your dog chase cats? Run after squirrels in the park? Lunge at smaller dogs when you’re on a walk.

If your dog does any of these things then it’s likely that they have a high prey drive and would not be a good dog to have with a guinea pig in the house.

High prey drive dogs need extensive training to overcome their instincts to hunt. Even then, sometimes their instincts are too strong, and they may react badly, hurting or even killing smaller animals.

If your dog has a high prey drive, then there is a possibility that they could attack and kill your guinea pig.

References

Guinea Pig Pee – All Your Questions Answered