Reply To: Obsessively eating poos and sticks

[Michael D’Abruzzo]

Hi Walter,

Can you please let us know exactly what raw food your dog eats during a typical week?

My first intuition is to rule out any vitamin/mineral deficiencies, which can occur with raw diets in some situations.  Although processed dog food is generally inferior to raw, it is fortified with all the essential vitamins and minerals usually in the right balance.  Pica (eating sticks and other inedible objects) is also associated with deficiencies or imbalances (too much of one vitamin causing lack of absorption by another).

Also, if he has been eating a lot of feces he has a high risk of being infected with internal parasites.  This too can cause deficiencies and stomach upset which can lead to pica.

Lastly,  poop from processed dog foods are higher in carbs/sugar and sometimes dogs simply like and get obsessed with the taste of the “sweet” poop.  This would not explain the eating of the sticks though.

I am not a veterinarian so please don’t take it as veterinary advice, but a veterinarian may want to hit him with with a couple of rounds of panacur in case there are some more stubborn parasites (such as whipworm) hanging out in there and maybe switching to a commercial raw or high quality canned or kibble (if not on one already) to rule out parasites and/or deficiency.