Why Is My Dog Eating That?

Why is my dog eating that? As a dog owner you probably stop your dog from eating a lot of peculiar items. For the answer to that question and more on this topic continue reading.

If you catch your dog eating pebbles, dirt, it's own poop, or the feces of another animal, don't think that your dog is weird and the only dog in the world that does that. To us it may appear strange and disgusting, but unfortunately it's not rare in dogs.

Consuming non-food items is called pica and eating feces is called coprophagia. Most dogs will just eat anything, they constantly beg, and with their great sense of smell it isn't hard for them to find something to eat. While eating abnormal things may be common in dogs, it isn't healthy.

Occasionally pica or coprophaigia can actually be a sign that your dog has anemia, diabetes, parasites, neurological disease, thyroid disease, vitamin deficiency or inflammatory bowel disease. Most of the time this isn't the cause and these conditions are mainly harmful because eating non-food items can damage organs and make a dog sick. In most cases there really isn't an underlying cause for why a dog eats strange things, they just simply have the urge to.

Since dogs can create health problems for themselves by eating inappropriate things, you must stop this bad habit as quickly as possible. Do anything you can to prevent your dog from being able to eat anything besides its food. If your dog manages to consume a non-food item and you catch it in the act scold the dog. Do not hit the dog, just sternly say "no!"

If you notice that there is a specific non-food item that your dog tends to eat, find a way to eliminate it. If it's something in your house either get rid of it or put it somewhere that your dog can't reach or in a cabinet that your dog can't open.