Our faithful four-legged friends may have a reputation for being gluttons who take every opportunity to put a piece of food in their mouths. However, inedible items such as rocks, dirt, plaster, and plastic can be the one symptom of a larger problem that requires the attention of a veterinarian.
From simple boredom to symptoms of illness, to malnutrition problems, in this article, we offer you some of the main causes that answer your question about why does my dog eat stones and how to stop dog from eating rocks and be able to stop it in time.
How to stop dog from eating rocks?
Although some homemade tips have been spread on the net to make your dog expel the stones, it has eaten. For example, causing vomiting, the most recommended and healthiest thing for your pet’s health is taking it immediately to the vet to assess and recommend the best procedure. Through examinations and x-rays, it will be possible to determine where the stone is and the best way to intervene so as not to damage your organs. Follow these 8 Tips on Making Your Dog Happy
It may indicate inducing vomiting or, conversely, surgery may be necessary. However, this will depend on the size of the stone, the number of stones, where they are within the dog’s digestive system, its general health, etc.
If you notice that your dog eats rocks and dirt, we strongly recommend that, as a first resort, you take him to the vet for a personalized diagnosis and follow-up. However, here we leave you a series of tips that do not hurt to benefit your faithful friend:
- If the veterinary diagnosis indicates a behavioral problem and the fact of eating stones is something “obsessive,” we recommend going to a canine ethologist.
- Take care of and provide a good diet that gives your pet the necessary nutrients.
- Provide your dog with toys suitable for dogs to avoid the risk of ingestion.
- Give your dog a healthy and dynamic environment in which he can develop his activities and his instincts.
- Stimulate their intelligence and interaction with games in the company.
- Be up to date with the vaccination record to prevent diseases.
Why is my dog eating rocks?
Exploration
Surely if you have a puppy 6 months or less at home, you will have seen him browsing around the house and putting foreign and inedible objects in his mouth. When a puppy chews stones or other objects, you should not be alarmed. It is completely normal behavior, but if you watch it.
When dogs are still puppies, they need to discover the world through all their senses and one of the ways they do it is by trying to chew or ingest these objects, since they also use their mouths like we use our hands. However, you must be careful not to swallow them to avoid problems, such as stomach or intestinal obstructions that can compromise the puppy’s health.
Boredom
Having a pet, be it a dog, cat, rodent or other types, requires time and responsibility. Sometimes, the pace of life we lead and our time at home means that we cannot pay them the attention they deserve. Dogs need to burn the energy they have naturally. That is why, if he feels that he does not go out, play or move enough or feel lonely and bored, use this type of behavior as a mere act to combat boredom, meet the need for curiosity and to explore the environment. and also the need to expend energy. As the dog’s guardian, you must put a stop to this behavior, especially if it tends to bite objects that it can swallow, dedicating quality moments to your faithful friend to be able to play, interact and strengthen the bond between both.
Stress
Like many other living beings, such as humans themselves, dogs can have symptoms of stress if they lead a lifestyle contrary to their needs. Confinement, lack of stimulation and interaction, or lack of exercise can provoke behavior in dogs that makes us see that they are stressed or anxious. In these cases, they can express it in countless ways and one of them can be to eat stones and dirt because chewing them and even swallowing them gives them the feeling of reducing their stress levels.
Disease symptom
From a nutrient-poor diet to the appearance of stomach tumors, they can be causes related to diseases that give way to our dogs’ continued intake of stones and other inedible elements.
Thus, if your dog is in a healthy, active and stimulating environment, that is, you do not think that he has a lack of stimuli and attention or that any of the situations described above is the cause. It is compelling to take him to the vet quickly because it may eat stones, dirt or plaster, as they sometimes bite into walls due to some disease or condition. Some health problems, such as malnutrition with a lack of minerals, anemia, diabetes, or some types of tumors, can cause this type of behavior, so early clinical attention is vital for our pet’s health.
