ArcaMax

Merrick Pet Foods recently conducted a contest via Facebook, asking readers to ask me: "Why does my dog...?" The first 20 responders received a copy of "Decoding Your Dog: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Dog Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, NY, 2014; $27). The book was written by members of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, and co-edited by myself, and veterinary behaviorists Dr. Debra Horwitz and Dr. John Ciribassi.

Here are some of those questions, just the sort of queries we answered in "Decoding Your Dog."

Q. Why does my dog eat cat poop? -- N.J., via cyberspace

A: There are three reasons:

1. It tastes good.

2. Because they can.

3. It tastes good.

For dogs, there's simply no better condiment. Cat poop is rich in protein. Also, consider canine sensibilities; delicacies may even include their own stool.

The problem with eating cat droppings is that -- aside from being gross to us -- it can throw off a dog's housetraining, there's a potential for parasite transmission, and there are lots of calories in cat poop.

Another issue is that some cats are offended when smelly canines investigate and invade their meticulously cared for litter boxes, potentially causing some cats to avoid their boxes and have accidents.

...continued

(c) 2014 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.