Eating Mud

[Martin1959]

Hi. My dog Sunny likes eating mud. Not grass (he rips that up and spits it out) but mud. It has to be dry and crunchy, not wet and doesn't appear to do him any harm. I have mentioned it to the vet but so far no response from there. Any suggestions?

 

[Hemlock]

Dogs and other animals often self-medicate by eating certain types of soil. It may be that he has a minor digestive issue at times. You could try giving him some kefir or plain live yoghurt before his morning walk and/or before his evening meal and see if that helps.

Cindy Engel has written a couple of books about this - well worth researching.

 

[Tinytom]

Mine have goats yoghurt twice a week but still munch on dirt if they can....

 

[lurcherman]

Weird one, over 35 years I’ve never owned a dog that did it, but my girlfriends mothers dog gsd x did it for a year as young but then asked me to train the dog as it was taking over the house, exersize and a bit of training did the trick, she turned out better trained than my two hehe, then a brown lab that I walk has done it all her life, she’s 9 now but weird thing she’s only done it twice with me as I do stop her, now I don’t know if it’s linked but she now has chronic liver disease, like I say don’t know if it’s linked but thought I’d share.

 

[Martin1959]

Thanks everyone, I guess I'll have to try to get some more info from the vet. He does have Yakult every day as he does sometimes have a dodgy tummy and a vet several years ago recommended it. I've also tried training him which works fine until I turn my back.

 

[RGC]

Hi. My dog Sunny likes eating mud. Not grass (he rips that up and spits it out) but mud. It has to be dry and crunchy, not wet and doesn't appear to do him any harm. I have mentioned it to the vet but so far no response from there. Any suggestions?

It’s quite common for primates to eat earth. Something my ring tailed lemur would do on a regular basis. Think he was after the salt - never did him any harm. Just be careful that any stones don’t harm his teeth.

 

[Buddy1]

Something my ring tailed lemur would do on a regular basis.

You had a ring tailed lemur

 

[RGC]

You had a ring tailed lemur

I worked at a zoo in the 70s and one of the ring tails had been humanised (before I took up my position) and, as a result, had had a solitary life. I couldn’t tolerate that so he would spend his day with me - in my office or walking (in his harness) around the gardens or visiting schools and the occasional BBC appearance. My heart broke when he died - my special friend.

 

[Jan Woodhall]

Weird one, over 35 years I’ve never owned a dog that did it, but my girlfriends mothers dog gsd x did it for a year as young but then asked me to train the dog as it was taking over the house, exersize and a bit of training did the trick, she turned out better trained than my two hehe, then a brown lab that I walk has done it all her life, she’s 9 now but weird thing she’s only done it twice with me as I do stop her, now I don’t know if it’s linked but she now has chronic liver disease, like I say don’t know if it’s linked but thought I’d share.

Hi, just jumping in on the liver disease bit! Milk Thistle is good for supporting and detoxing the liver, which is generally good at regenerating itsself.

 

[Jan Woodhall]

Hi. My dog Sunny likes eating mud. Not grass (he rips that up and spits it out) but mud. It has to be dry and crunchy, not wet and doesn't appear to do him any harm. I have mentioned it to the vet but so far no response from there. Any suggestions?

Hi, may be a mineral deficiency, mine does it sometimes, but having thought about it , has not done it in the past couple of weeks! Interesting!

 

[Jan Woodhall]

Thanks everyone, I guess I'll have to try to get some more info from the vet. He does have Yakult every day as he does sometimes have a dodgy tummy and a vet several years ago recommended it. I've also tried training him which works fine until I turn my back.

Might be worth getting a full blood screen (not just a blood screen! One that will show the minerals and vitamins) They are less readily available in the UK sadly we are a little backwards here!

 

[Ttaylor45]

My toy poodle Pepe the smaller one in the photo started licking Or eating mud which is apparently called Pica but at the time I noticed his gums were very pale almost white so I took him to the vets for a blood test which came back that he was very anaemic. It is probably not that with your dog but check his gums and maybe like others suggest ask your vet to do a blood test, I asked the vet to do a blood test on Pepe as I knew something was wrong and it came back his blood count was 7 not 12 like it should have been so he had 10 months on steroids until the blood count was normal. I know Pepe was an extreme case but it would put your mind at rest if a blood test is done.

 

[excuseme]

Some of our lot do it at times. I'm sure their bodies and systems tell them what they need. Their never stopped and no harm has come to any of them. Were on the south downs and the soil is quiet chalky here. They also like the soil from damp patches where the donkeys go for regular wees, phew their breath does stink afterwards and licks/kisses are a no no for the remainder of the day!
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