Eating dirt and sand?

[FuryanGoddess]

Why is she doing this? Is she lacking something or does it just taste good to a puppy? How do I get her to stop? Will it hurt her? She was munching on the sand today and many times I had to remove her from piles of mud/dirt that other critters dug up.

Can a dog have Pica?

[HeidiW]

My Bella was a dirt eater, my vet said some pups just do it, but she also had Guardia and the C one I can't spell it, so you may want to have her checked for parasites/worms.

[SunCzarina]

Otto was horrible about eating potting soil and wood chips. I'd take him for a walk, he'd try to jump in someone's flower bed to get their woodchips. Couldn't have container plants the summer he was a wee pup. Had to put fencing around the beds where I'd dumped expired plants to recycle the dirt.

He stopped doing it about 6 months old. Still likes to dig holes though. Hopefully he's stopped ripping chunks of grass out of the lawn just because he likes smacking himself in the face wtih sandy dirt...

[FuryanGoddess]

Quote:Hopefully he's stopped ripping chunks of grass out of the lawn just because he likes smacking himself in the face wtih sandy dirt...

OMG, that's so funny!

[SunCzarina]

Yeah it's funny until he got my 8 year old female doing it. She was a reformed hole digger and plant shredder. Now she's suffering geriatric delinquency. Makes me want to cover the whole yard wtih concrete block.

[FuryanGoddess]

yeah, I hear that. If my hubs could, he'd pave the whole sabang also. We have 2 1/2 acres, so not gonna happen.

So far, we've never had a plant shredder.. blahh, I just realized now w/ the new pup, I'm gonna lose the kennel that I was gonna turn into a garden. *sigh* Oh well, I'll get more fun out of Zeva anyway. Can't do much gardening when you have Lupus and can't/shouldn't be out in the sun long.

[Spiritsmam]

Yes, dogs certainly can have pica, in fact I am currently working up one of my dogs who suddenly started eating soil last week - video below. You should have your pup vet checked as while pica can behavioural it can also be a sign of medical problems (e.g. anemia, parasites, IBD, EPI, diabetes).

[mjbgsd]

When Akbar was younger he would eat dirt/mud all day if he could, he acted like it was the most tastey thing in the world. So I went back to putting him on a leash while we were out there, this pretty much stopped this bahvior. He still does it every now and then but it's the eat on the go type of thing. LOL But he hardly ever does it.

[3K9Mom]

Yes, dogs can have pica (of all sorts of foreign materials), which can be a longterm problem that's difficult to manage. But puppies have a particular affinitiy to soil, which they usually outgrow, as long as we don't create a fuss and create a problem.

Camper loved to take big bites of my garden soil and chomp away...Swallow. Gulp!

It wasn't any old soil. It had to be the rich composty stuff. There have been plenty of puppies on this forum that prefer sand. My vet said he had a puppy that ate gravel. When he picked him up, the pup's stomach and intestines felt like a bean bag. Celo liked clumps of grass/dirt.

If your pup is sticking to soil, he's *most likely* ok. Be sure that you're feeding him a premium food. Sometimes (rarely, but sometimes) dogs will eat foreign objects in attempts to offset deficiencies in their diet; in the case of soil, minerals perhaps. So a quality diet is essential.

Otherwise, a bit of soil won't harm him. Puppies, like toddlers, explore the world through the mouths.

Two things to think about -- DON'T overreact. Don't react much at all. Any behavior that gets attention is a behavior that puppy is inclined to repeat.

Second, carry super high value treats on you, like bits of cooked chicken, steak, or small bits of hot dog whenever you leave the house. When your pup looks like he's about ready to take a bite of soil, put the treat as close to his nose as possible and say "trade," "upgrade" or something similar. Most likely, your pup will spit out the offending item and take your valuable treat instead.

I use the term "Mine." Then as I hand my pup a treat, I tell him "Good Snack." If I hand him a high value toy instead (perhaps in the house I'm trading him a toy for a sock that he snagged out of the laundry basket), I tell him " Good Toy." This way, everything in his world is neatly divided. There's Mine (stuff he can't have/eat) and Good Snacks and Good Toys -- stuff he can have.

Obviously, your pup shouldn't be outside unsupervised while he's in his Dirt Dining state. Bored dogs will eat stuff just because they're bored. This is an easy way to develop a dog that eats poop. So manage and supervise your pup.

It doesn't take long before pup will just THINK about getting a bite of soil, but then he'll turn around and look at you, waiting for his treat.

[elisabeth_00117]

When Stark was 17 weeks old, we took him to the beach.. he loved to dig and EAT the sand.

That night when we got home, he pooped sand!

It had the texture, the look and everything else of wet sand...

Silly puppies.