![]() ![]() “Frustrated, he began swallowing the rocks inside his kennel.” Training and other tips ![]() “I once saw a dog who was kenneled much of the time, and who wanted to get at something outside,” says Dr. Another possibility is to set up a video camera to observe the dog when he’s alone. When a pica incident occurs, this log may help point to a pattern. ![]() Also note outside events such as garbage pickup, children passing to and from a bus stop, and other activities that may stimulate your dog. Record his daily activities, noting exercise, outings, length of time spent alone, or visitors coming by. If your dog is a repeat offender, try keeping a “dog log”. “Chewing can be very satisfying, and a dog will chew to relieve anxiety.” “Lack of exercise or stimulation, feelings of anxiety, depression or frustration can result in this problem,” says Dr. Once medical or nutritional causes have been ruled out, a little digging into the dog’s lifestyle may uncover the cause. “A review of the dog’s diet and blood work may be indicated.” Behavior and lifestyle “Pica could be related to nutritional deficiencies, metabolic imbalance, intestinal parasites or diseases such as diabetes, Cushing’s, gastritis or inflammatory bowel disease,” says Dr. When a grown dog continues to chew and swallow inappropriate items, you should first consider an underlying physical problem and discuss the situation with a vet, who should rule out any medical or nutritional causes. “Differentiating between acceptable items to chew and non-acceptable items is a learned behavior and therefore a very important part of early puppy training.” “Pica may be quite different from a dog that just likes to chew,” explains veterinarian Dr. This combination of changes soon did the trick and Lucky lost his habit of going after non-food objects. “During the training process, I recommended they use a basket muzzle on him when he had to be left alone, to prevent further problems.” “They also had to teach Lucky not to eat these items,” Dr. While this was a step in the right direction, it wasn’t an instant solution. They put his food in work toys so he’d have to use the toy a bit to get the food out.” “The family soon made some changes, such as increasing his daily exercise, and using doggie daycare to break up his hours alone. “We found he was chronically under-stimulated,” says Dr. He was well cared for, yet lived in a busy household. “After tests ruled out any medical issue, we took a look at his lifestyle to see if pica was the culprit.”ĭiscussions with Lucky’s family revealed that the dog ate these objects when he was home alone. “A dog that age is past the puppy stage, and should know better than to keep going after those objects,” she says. Janice Huntingford, knew some investigation was in order. Lucky, a two-year-old yellow Lab, was repeatedly swallowing cloth and socks. While it may seem unusual, it’s actually fairly common. Pica is a condition in which dogs crave the ingestion of unnatural food sources. ![]()
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