The dog eats inedible items. What to do?

This phenomenon, which bears the interesting name of allotriophagy, can be caused both by shortcomings in the upbringing of the dog, and by serious problems with the health of the pet.

What is the reason?

There are several theories about why a dog may eat items that are absolutely not worth eating: for example, plastic bags, stones, rope and thread, socks, or even duvet covers. First, allotriophagia can be caused by a number of conditions, including gastrointestinal problems, viral infections, and parasitic infestations. Secondly, eating a dog, for example, feces, especially herbivores, indicates a lack of digestive enzymes.

Eating non-edible items can also be addictive. Unwanted behavior in a pet can be unknowingly fixed by the owners who rush to take away, for example, stones on the street, and the dog accidentally swallows them. Thus, a stereotype is formed in the animal: a stone in the teeth is a game, swallowed – won the game. Also, a problem can arise if a small puppy is left alone for a long time at home, and out of boredom he gnaws everything he can reach. In order not to bring to trouble, the baby should be occupied during your absence. There are special anti-vandal toys from which it is necessary to literally gnaw out small pieces of food, which will keep the pet busy for a long time. You can also, leaving on business, leave the baby a large sugar bone, which he, with all his desire, is not able to crack, but attempts will take a lot of time and effort.

What to do?

Having discovered that the dog eats what it should not eat in any case, first of all it is necessary to show it to the veterinarian and conduct a series of studies: ultrasound, x-ray (especially if the animal has eaten something that can cut the stomach and intestines from the inside or cause their complete blockage) and do a fecal analysis. The doctor, having identified problems in the pet, will prescribe treatment, after which the dogs usually stop eating all sorts of disgusting things and switch to a completely standard diet.

Allotriophagia can also be caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals or an unbalanced diet. To understand that something is wrong, a series of blood tests and an assessment by a veterinarian of how you feed your pet will help. With the appropriate adjustment of the diet, the problem goes away. Also, the problem of eating feces is quite easily solved. Such dogs, in order to rid them of their addiction, must be given an uncleaned scar – one of the chambers of the stomach of cattle. Since it contains all the enzymes and amino acids necessary for the body, the situation should improve fairly quickly.

The situation is much more complicated if the dog is used to eating completely inedible objects. To correct this problem, which has its roots in puppyhood, owners need to provide the dog with serious physical activity, train it, and also remove all inedible small items from access when you have to go to work and leave it alone.

A doctor can help determine exactly what is happening to your animal. An in-person visit to the clinic may not be required – in the Petstory application, you can describe the problem and get qualified assistance (the cost of the first consultation is only 199 rubles!).

By asking questions to the doctor, you can exclude the disease, and in addition, you will receive recommendations for further solving this problem. If the animal is healthy, but the problem persists, a zoopsychologist will help, who can also be consulted in the Petstory app. You can download the application from  link.