![]() ![]() In some instances, it might be a displacement behavior resulting from “insufficient stimulation” or anxiety, or a combination, the doctor says. “If the behavior is excessive to the point that the dog eats everything all the time, then you have true abnormal behavioral pica. When the pica gets out of handĭespite the fact that it is totally normal for a dog to eat things with no nutritive value, there are instances when consumption of non-food items is “out of context and out of scale,” Dr. Some dogs are very “proud” to carry their special ball or other object while out on a walk. Maybe you can even get the dog to carry something in his mouth that’s incompatible with chewing sticks and other non-food items he comes across. You can also teach your dog an alternate behavior - like looking at you rather than chomping down, in return for a delectable treat. They have no way of connecting their action to the operation that follows.) Not true, as we know firsthand from the dogs who pass through our surgical suites a second - and sometimes third - time to have objects removed. ( Note: Some owners believe that a dog who needs surgery because of having ingested a foreign object will learn from the experience and not do it again. In some cases, you may want to use a basket muzzle if, say, the dog has a penchant for chewing up sticks little slivers of sticks can cause various problems if they get stuck behind the eye or certain other areas. And having a dog who tends to swallow non-food items wear a head halter outside rather than just a leash with a conventional collar can help you readily tug his head away from something that could cause a blockage once inside his body. Because of the danger of gastrointestinal obstructions, you may have to “keep your house picked up,” she says, so your pet can’t get at things that could end up in an emergency visit to the vet’s office. But that doesn’t mean it can’t result in problems. In other words, eating non-food items usually does not signify a behav-ioral issue, especially in young dogs, she comments. Eating grass may also be a natural anti-parasitic action, she says, “cleansing the system,” if you will. Heinze that sometimes a dog may eat something like grass as an emetic to find relief in instances of GI upset. We think their eating used tissues is naughty, but they think it’s yummy.”ĭr. They think of horse and cat feces as food items. “What they consider to be a food item is often different from what we would think of as one. “You have to think about it from the dog’s perspective,” Dr. ![]() While it can be dangerous, causing obstructions in the stomach or intestines that require surgical fixes, it does not signify that something is askew, either nutritionally or psychologically. “Chewing is normal canine behavior,” she says. Heinze that chewing and then swallowing a sock is not abnormal for a dog. The head of the Tufts Animal Behavior Clinic, Stephanie Borns-Weil, DVM, agrees with Dr. “And while it makes no sense to us for a dog to eat a corn cob or a barbecue skewer, they do it all the time.” An animal behaviorist weighs in “Eating a sock is pretty normal behavior for a dog,” Dr. It’s not clear that pica is a sign of a psychological disturbance in most dogs, either. “It’s kind of the chicken versus the egg,” she says. Heinze says, and that may make them nauseated rather than relieve nausea. In fact, some dogs may eat grass simply because they can, Dr. But that has nothing to do with insuring adequate consumption of nutrients. It appears that some dogs will eat grass to help them throw up and get relief when they’re feeling nauseated. Heinze doesn’t rule out occasional pica in dogs to handle an upset stomach. I’ve never been able to say that when we fed a dog x nutrient, the eating of non-food items went away.”ĭr. The dogs I see because their owners are worried are generally eating balanced diets that I have no concerns about. But that’s a totally different situation. ![]() “Birds eat certain kinds of clay in the wild, and we think they’re doing it for minerals. “But eating non-food items has never been clearly linked to a nutritional deficiency in dogs - or cats,” she points out. “Dogs eating rocks or dirt is usually what brings clients to me worried that their dog has a nutritional deficiency,” says Tufts veterinary nutritionist Cailin Heinze, VMD, DACVN. But pica in people is characterized almost exclusively as a psychological disorder rather than a nutritional one, especially in industrialized countries like the United States it’s extremely rare that a person will crave something that isn’t food to satisfy a nutritional need.ĭogs don’t eat non-food items to correct nutritional deficiencies, either, even though many people think that’s the case. Say “pica,” and many people will think of a nutritional deficiency, as in eating a non-food item to get enough of a mineral or vitamin that’s missing from the diet. ![]()
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