She wont stop eating dirt

airstang93 · 01-07-2012, 03:23 PM

We have a 10week old GSD. We feed her twice a day, 2 cups per serving. Her schedule is pretty constant, wife feeds her at 530 when she gets up for work and i feed her around 5pm before i go to work. We started her at 1 1/2 cups each serving when we got her at 8 weeks but she simply inhaled it. She loves when its food time, she gets crazy excited and she always finishes her food. Ive been noticing that when i let her out, she likes to eat little acorns, and chunks of dirt. ive corrected her several times, opned her mouth and pulled out the dirt but yet she still keeps doing it. Any suggestions to stop this? Also, we feed her Purina One Pro Plan large breed puppy food.

thanks

anniej · 01-07-2012, 03:59 PM

Eating dirt is a red flag for malabsorbtion issues - when a dog does this they are not absorbing what they need from their food. I would take your pup too the vet and get some blood work done. My GS had this as a pup - gradually got worse and she would eat stones as well as her own poo. Diarrhea and vomiting was also a big issue - turns out she was allergic to the food she was on ( and every other food the vet suggested) so was not absorbing enough nutrients.

Dont punish her for eating soil etc as she cant help herself - just take her away.

jetscarbie · 01-07-2012, 04:03 PM

Welcome

It's always been my experience that my dog's eat dirt or other nasty stuff....when their food is lacking something or doesn't agree with their stomach.

If your vet has ruled out any health problems....you should try changing her food to something else. GSD's are notorious for sensitive stomachs.

There are many options. You may have to try lots of different kinds of food to find one that agrees with her. Some can't handle chicken, some can't handle grains, etc....

Check in the Health section on this forum to get some ideas. There is also a Raw sections that lots of members do.
Diet & Nutrition - German Shepherd Dog Forums

B.A.R.F./Raw Feeding - German Shepherd Dog Forums

BlackGSD · 01-07-2012, 04:55 PM

Puppies are like children, EVERYTHING goes in their mouth. I've seem a LOT of perfectly healthy puppies and dogs eat dirt and all manner of other things.

rustilldown · 01-07-2012, 05:15 PM

I wouldn't be too concerned in my opinion. If the dog was older, then I think it warrants more lookin into. Our pup did the same thing, LOVED eating dirt, eventually as he aged she grew out of it. She is a year now and doesn't do it at all.

As BlackGSD said, babies put everything in their mouth, and a pup is a baby!

Pattycakes · 01-07-2012, 07:13 PM

My dog ate dirt, rocks, sticks, her poop, etc as a puppy as well. It would drive me crazy. LOL I had her checked out by the vet and all came back normal. I fed her twice a day. But then I switched to feeding her a little less and added another meal to her day - 3 meals a day instead. After a bit, she stopped eating rocks and the dirt, but she still liked to chew on sticks and eat her poop. But as she got older she outgrew the poop eating and the stick chewing. Just an FYI...I realized later (before she turned 1 yrs old) that she was allergic to chicken.

1sttimeforgsd · 01-07-2012, 08:09 PM

My boy also ate dirt and poo when he was a puppy, he grew out of it thank goodness. I thought that all pups would eat dirt and find rocks to carry in their mouth, like it was a normal thing to do.

You may check on the acorns, I don't remember if they are harmful or not.

Barb E · 01-07-2012, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackGSD

Puppies are like children, EVERYTHING goes in their mouth. I've seem a LOT of perfectly healthy puppies and dogs eat dirt and all manner of other things.

I'm forever pulling acorns, twigs, grass bunches, well heck you name it, out of Kaos' mouth!!

carmspack · 01-08-2012, 06:23 AM

soil has the bacterium which becomes vit b 12 . soil also has homeostatic soil organisms - a commercially available source would be Garden of Life Primal Defense. I don't think you need to go there , just improve the diet over all.

review your food choice - add digestive enzymes , probiotics .

are you feeding enough for a growing dog - ?

01-07-2012, 03:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
airstang93 New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: near St Louis Posts: 4	She wont stop eating dirt We have a 10week old GSD. We feed her twice a day, 2 cups per serving. Her schedule is pretty constant, wife feeds her at 530 when she gets up for work and i feed her around 5pm before i go to work. We started her at 1 1/2 cups each serving when we got her at 8 weeks but she simply inhaled it. She loves when its food time, she gets crazy excited and she always finishes her food. Ive been noticing that when i let her out, she likes to eat little acorns, and chunks of dirt. ive corrected her several times, opned her mouth and pulled out the dirt but yet she still keeps doing it. Any suggestions to stop this? Also, we feed her Purina One Pro Plan large breed puppy food. thanks

01-07-2012, 04:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
BlackGSD Crowned Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Eastern Washington Posts: 7,795	Puppies are like children, EVERYTHING goes in their mouth. I've seem a LOT of perfectly healthy puppies and dogs eat dirt and all manner of other things. __________________ Tracy Siren vom Banach { Sable female GSD 3-20-08} R.I.P. Wrangler male ACD/Aussie mix. 9-29-99 to8-29-11.

01-07-2012, 08:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
1sttimeforgsd Crowned Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: West Virginia Posts: 4,891	My boy also ate dirt and poo when he was a puppy, he grew out of it thank goodness. I thought that all pups would eat dirt and find rocks to carry in their mouth, like it was a normal thing to do. You may check on the acorns, I don't remember if they are harmful or not. __________________ karen, mom to: ace-gsd (bi-color) 6/14/2010 mandy-yellow lab 1/31/2009 baby-terrier mix 11/25/2000

01-07-2012, 03:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
anniej New Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Ireland Posts: 10	Eating dirt is a red flag for malabsorbtion issues - when a dog does this they are not absorbing what they need from their food. I would take your pup too the vet and get some blood work done. My GS had this as a pup - gradually got worse and she would eat stones as well as her own poo. Diarrhea and vomiting was also a big issue - turns out she was allergic to the food she was on ( and every other food the vet suggested) so was not absorbing enough nutrients. Dont punish her for eating soil etc as she cant help herself - just take her away.

01-07-2012, 04:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
jetscarbie Master Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 745	Welcome It's always been my experience that my dog's eat dirt or other nasty stuff....when their food is lacking something or doesn't agree with their stomach. If your vet has ruled out any health problems....you should try changing her food to something else. GSD's are notorious for sensitive stomachs. There are many options. You may have to try lots of different kinds of food to find one that agrees with her. Some can't handle chicken, some can't handle grains, etc.... Check in the Health section on this forum to get some ideas. There is also a Raw sections that lots of members do. Diet & Nutrition - German Shepherd Dog Forums B.A.R.F./Raw Feeding - German Shepherd Dog Forums

01-07-2012, 05:15 PM	#5 (permalink)
rustilldown Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 60	I wouldn't be too concerned in my opinion. If the dog was older, then I think it warrants more lookin into. Our pup did the same thing, LOVED eating dirt, eventually as he aged she grew out of it. She is a year now and doesn't do it at all. As BlackGSD said, babies put everything in their mouth, and a pup is a baby!

01-07-2012, 07:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
Pattycakes Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 1,463	My dog ate dirt, rocks, sticks, her poop, etc as a puppy as well. It would drive me crazy. LOL I had her checked out by the vet and all came back normal. I fed her twice a day. But then I switched to feeding her a little less and added another meal to her day - 3 meals a day instead. After a bit, she stopped eating rocks and the dirt, but she still liked to chew on sticks and eat her poop. But as she got older she outgrew the poop eating and the stick chewing. Just an FYI...I realized later (before she turned 1 yrs old) that she was allergic to chicken.

01-08-2012, 06:23 AM	#9 (permalink)
carmspack Knighted Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: ontario - Posts: 3,325	soil has the bacterium which becomes vit b 12 . soil also has homeostatic soil organisms - a commercially available source would be Garden of Life Primal Defense. I don't think you need to go there , just improve the diet over all. review your food choice - add digestive enzymes , probiotics . are you feeding enough for a growing dog - ?

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