#PICA DISORDER DOGS HOW TO#

Nobody really knows the true cause of pica, and there might be many things that can make a dog start eating strange things.Ī dog may get pica because it feels separation anxiety, is bored, is lonely, has a medical condition, has been abused in the past, or is stressed out. Most experts think that pica is an eating disorder based on compulsive behavior. Many dog owners have spent a lot of money on surgeries to remove objects from their dog’s intestines. Pica can be an expensive condition to deal with. If your puppy obsessively eats dirt or grass and your dog isn’t on any preventive medication, then your puppy could eat a worm or go near fleas, and get sick from that. Pica isn’t dangerous, unless your puppy eats something that is poisonous to dogs or swallows something that gets stuck in the digestive system. Different dog breeds take longer to reach adulthood than others, with most smaller dogs reaching their maturity at 12 months and larger breeds taking 24 months to officially be an adult. Pica usually starts in teenage dogs between 6 and 18 months of age, or even when the dog is an ‘adult’. Or trade the item in your puppy’s mouth with a healthy puppy treat.īut what begins as innocent puppy chewing may turn into pica – the obsessive eating of non-food objects. If your puppy is chewing something it shouldn’t eat, try to stay calm and walk away so your puppy follows you. Or your dog might enjoy all the attention, even if it’s negative attention.

If you scream, chase and run after your puppy for chewing, your dog will learn to grab and run away with things to chew or to swallow things whole. Your reaction to puppy chewing often has an influence on how a dog learns to behave. Chewing on hard things also helps their adult teeth to break through their gums, which can be a painful time for your puppy. Puppies chew on things because of their curious nature to discover the world around them, such as what’s yummy and what isn’t. You can read all about puppy teething (and what happens to those teeth) by clicking HERE. This is all part of being a puppy and is completely normal. Most puppies will chew on and may swallow non-food items as they grow up, especially when their adult teeth are coming out when they are between 3 and 6 months old.

Wood pieces, wood chips, and wooden items, such as furnitureĭogs with pica don’t chew on these items – they swallow them like food! You need to take extra care if you have a deep-chested dog that’s prone to bloat.

Rubber items, such as tires or rubber soles on shoes.

Plastic items, such as toys, clothes pegs, plastic dog bowls.

Metal items, such as paper clips, coins, nails.

Material/fabric items, such as cushions, bedding, towels, socks, soft toys, rope.

Other dogs with pica aren’t fussy and enjoy eating many different non-food things.ĭogs with pica have been known to enjoy eating: These are their ‘ favorites’ to feast on. Just like you might love ice cream but I prefer chocolate, dogs with pica may prefer one or two non-food items. They don’t just chew on or lick these things, and they don’t eat them once and never again.ĭogs with pica crave these items – they may go out looking for them, and they can’t resist eating them when they find them or just happen to come across them. Dogs with pica eat things that aren’t food over and over again. Is this puppy teething or does he have pica? In this article, we’ll look at what pica is and what causes it, the signs to look for to tell if your puppy has pica, and the steps you can take to try and keep your pica puppy safe. Pica is not a puppy just being ‘naughty’, it may be a sign of something more serious that needs to be monitored and managed to keep your puppy safe. Hiding things is a natural instinct for dogs – such as when they bury bones and remember where to find them.Įating some sand now and then shouldn’t hurt your puppy, but swallowing a rock could end up in a trip to your veterinarian’s emergency room. Ingestion means these pets eat things and caching means they may hide them for later. Pica is short for ‘pets with ingestion and caching’. They even swallow these objects because they cannot control their behavior. Puppies do lick and chew on things when exploring the world or to soothe their teething gums, but puppies with pica crave and may obsessively look for non-food items to eat.

#PICA DISORDER DOGS HOW TO#

I recently found out about a condition called pica, and I was wondering how to tell if Paris had it.Ī puppy with pica eats things that aren’t food, such as stones, dirt, paper, plastics, and fabrics. She often ate dirt, but she also enjoyed licking painted walls and wooden fences. My brother’s puppy, Paris, used to lick and chew on anything she could reach.

Pica disorder dogs