Dirt’s Hidden Treasures
Some puppies seem to be drawn to different kinds of dirt or want to chew rocks. Its possible that smell plays a role in the attraction. Thats particularly true if some other critter has urine marked the area. Puppies may taste the dirt to better understand what the message says.
Some dogs may prefer specific areas, such as mulch piles that may have a mushroom-like aroma or taste. Too much dirt munching can obstruct your puppys digestive system, but an occasional taste probably won’t cause issues.
Chewing rocks, on the other hand, is a habit that should be prevented. Not only is this destructive to your puppys teeth but it also presents a danger of choking. If your puppy is teething and has an intense desire to chew, provide him with pet-safe chew toys. Ask your veterinarian for options.
People whose dogs eat feces find it to be a disgusting habit, and its common in puppies. Pups may be particularly drawn to snack on cat box nuggets, cow patties, or horse droppings. Some of these animals don’t always completely digest their food, so there may still be nutrients left in their waste. This behavior should definitely be discouraged, though, because any feces may harbor harmful parasites. The good news is that many puppies grow out of poop eating as they mature.
Examples of Problematic Dog Eating
While some dogs find things to eat outside, others search inside the house to find intriguing items to chow down on.
We’ve compiled a list of frequently consumed things here, broken down by where they tend to be found (note that we’ve also covered some of the specific items dogs often chew or eat, so be sure to click on the links below to learn more).
Prevent Your Dog From Eating Things While Inside
When you’re at home with a dog who has been demolishing and consuming odd things, there are a few management solutions that can help.
The first step is to remove tempting items from your dog’s reach and keep them put away. This will help prevent your dog from jumping up on the counter and accessing things, which will help protect her (and your sanity).
Then, provide enough proper toys for your dog to safely play with and chew on (it is a natural doggo behavior after all). Many dogs who chew and consume inappropriate objects simply want to chew more often, and directing those instincts to safe toys will give you the opportunity to reinforce your dog for choosing good items for chewing.
Many owners think they need to stop their dog from chewing, period. But chewing is a natural behavior for dogs that shouldn’t be shut down.
In fact, chewing can relax dogs and provide a calming effect.
Instead, work on redirecting your dog to appropriate dog chew toys so that your pooch can get the benefits of chewing while keeping your furniture free from teeth marks!
You can also try to manage the problem by keeping your canine’s cranium occupied. Offering more mental stimulation to your dog by providing treat-dispensing toys is an excellent way to keep her busy and focused.
There are also a few special things to keep in mind with young doggos. Because they are busy exploring the world with their mouths, puppies will always need a larger number of toys and chew items available than the average adult dog will.
Providing a large variety of toys (and regularly rotating the available toy selection) can make your pup’s toys seem more interesting and novel. This will help her choose to grab her toys when she’s feeling mouthy.
Bored, energetic dogs will always find ways to occupy themselves, and chewing and eating things is a common way that dogs deal with extra energy.
So, make it a point to exercise your destructive chewing doggo more thoroughly, or more often. This may make all the difference as you try to get your problem chewer to take it easy.
If your dog has been excavating snacks out of the trash can, finding an inaccessible place to keep it (like inside a pantry with a closed door) or acquiring a dog-proof trash can is often an excellent management technique.
Extra supervision will also help. For example, you may want to limit her roaming space in the house by using indoor dog gates, baby gates, or dog playpens. This can help keep her nearby and easier to manage. It can also give you the opportunity to reward her when she chooses good, safe things to chew.
Another strategy, known as umbilical cord training, consists of attaching your dog’s leash to your body. Like playpens or baby gates, this will allow you to keep a good eye on your little four-footer and prevent her from eating things she shouldn’t.
Crating your dog is also a good short-term strategy if she can’t be well-supervised otherwise.
Just understand that this is not a good permanent solution. Your dog cannot spend her life constrained to her crate. So, at best, it’s a stop-gap fix you can use while working on training solutions.
But don’t just start locking your doggo in a crate right without any prep work. Make sure she likes spending time there first, by using positive reinforcement training methods to crate train her.
Keep in mind, good management only works as long as you are willing to consistently put forth the effort.
Since no behavior modification training is involved with this solution type, your dog will only be prevented from repeating the behavior you don’t like, and not learning how to do something different.
How to Stop Your Dog from Eating Trash off the ground! (Better Human Better Dog)
From toys and grass to feces and roadkill…some dogs will eat anything. If your dog eats things it shouldnt there may be good reason to be concerned. In todays post our Richmond vets look at why some dogs keep eating everything and tips on how to stop this problematic behavior.
If your dog wont stop eating anything and everything it sees, rest assured you are not alone. While this behavior can be stomach-turning to many pet parents its actually a natural scavenging behavior in our canine companions. Puppies can be particularly keen on eating things they find including leaves, trash, stones and dead animals.
For both people and pets the term for eating non-edible items is Pica. Dogs with pica have an almost compulsive urge to eat non-digestible items such as rocks, dirt and sticks. It is believed that animals with pica may be missing essential minerals or other nutrients from their diet. If you feel that your pups urge to munch on nonedible items could be a sign of pica, see your vet.
Dogs will often nibble on grass, although some dogs enjoy grass eating more than others. Provided that your pooch is otherwise healthy, eating grass is generally considered to be safe provided that the grass is not heavily coated in chemicals.
It is believed that dogs eat grass for a variety of reasons including introducing more fiber into their gastrointestinal tract, relieving boredom, and simply because they enjoy it. If your pup is eating an alarming amount of grass speak to your vet about ways to curb this canine behavior.
In puppies, eating dirt is a common behavior. Why dogs choose to eat dirt is unknown but it is generally believed that its due in part to the different scents given off by different areas such as a field, forest floor, or your mulch pile. It could be that eating dirts helps puppies to better understand the world around them. If your pup takes the odd taste of dirt theres probably nothing to worry about.
That said, eating large amounts of dirt can be problematic since too much could clog up your dogs digestive tract. If your pooch loves to eat dirt, speak to your vet about what might be causing the behavior and what you can do to stop it.
Many dogs love to play with and eat rocks, which can be a real health concern. Chewing rocks can lead to damage to teeth and gums, and choking is a very serious hazard. If your dog is a teething puppy, try supplying your pooch with lots of fun chew toys.
If your adult dog is obsessed with rock eating its a good idea to head to the vet. Rock eating could be a symptom of boredom, anxiety, or attention seeking. Your vet will be able to help you diagnose the cause of your dogs behavior and recommend some ways to curb your dogs appetite for stones.
Pet owners often come to us at their wits end with their dogs disgusting poop eating habit. “Why does my dog keep eating poop?!” In fact, poop eating is so common it actually has a name coprophagia (kop-ruh-fey-jee-uh), and may be due to a combination of behavioral, genetic and psychological factors.
Eating their own poop is generally considered harmless for dogs, however eating the poop of other dogs or animals is a cause for concern since parasites, viruses, and toxins can be transmitted through feces.
One theory suggests that poop eating could be part of your dogs innate scavenging tendencies, developed as a survival tool for times when food is scarce. After all, when there is no food to be found a dog just cant afford to be too picky.