Eating earth

Question
QUESTION: I have two sibling Standard Poodles aged 11.  This winter the bitch started to eat the compost out of pots in the garden. I covered them and that seemed to work.  Weeks later I emptied two pots of their old compost on the garden and both dogs ate the lot.  In the last couple of weeks they've started digging up patches of lawn and eating the exposed earth.  They are fed James Wellbeloved dog food, they have regular daily exercise and I don't feed them 'human' food; they are in good health.  Could this be a deficiency of some sort?  Any advice would be most welcome as they are driving me nuts at the moment with this new hobby of theirs!

ANSWER: Hi Maggie,

First of all, thanks for your question.

If I were you, I'd be taking both dogs to the Vet for a check up.  Particularly the bitch since she was the first to exhibit the behaviour (the male may simply be "copycatting" her behaviour).  The reason for this is soil or dirt eating as dogs get older isn't as uncommon as you'd think.  It could be your bitch isn't absorbing the nutrients from her food the same any more or she (or both!) may even have parasite that's preventing her or them from getting everything from their food.

It may be behavioural but it's hard to speculate on at this point without knowing health definitely isn't a factor.  You say they are in good health but have you had a vet check them for both these conditions?  I do find it hard to believe after 11 years they would suddenly develop a bad habit without there being a health based reason.  Has there been any great changes in the household?  A new pet?  A new baby?  A change in the dogs sleeping area etc?

One thing to do at the moment would be to immediately put pineapple juice on any exposed soil they themselves dig up or in the pots in your garden.  Dogs notoriously don't like the taste of pineapple juice and a negative taste association may be enough to nip it in the bud if it's completely a behavioural problem.  I'm not a plant expert unfortunately though so I'm not sure if the pineapple juice would do your plants any favours!!

Could you let me know if they have been thoroughly vet checked and I'll think more on ways to help with changing their behaviour back to a more normal state?

Thanks and kind regards,
Lynne Kerr.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your prompt reply and the tip about pineapple juice, I'll certainly try that.  These dogs have regular annual health checks and the last one was in January.  About 18 months ago the dog started to eat other dogs pooh.  They've both eaten horse and rabbit pooh from time to time but eating the pooh of another meat eater is a different matter. I took this problem to my vet and he laughed it off because 'That's what dogs do.'  Well I've always had dogs and it's  the first time I've had one with depraved taste.  I don't know if this gives you more of a clue as to what and/or why they are behaving this way.  I'll take them back to see him if you think that's useful.

ANSWER: Hi again Maggie,

Eating pooh is called coprophagia.  I know you may have been slightly annoyed at your vets response to your dislike of the habit but it is a very common "problem" in dogs.  There is a theory is that it's due to a lack of the vitamins B and K and since your dogs have now taken to eating earth also, perhaps this supports a dietary deficiency problem rather than a behavioural one.  A bit like pica in anaemics when they eat ice as they are craving certain vitamins and minerals but eat something of no nutritional value whatsoever.

To start off, you can put the dogs off eating their own faeces by adding a substance (usually a form of meat tenderiser) to your dogs food that makes their stools taste odd. Also, sprinkling pepper, powdered mints, lemon or having them drink a little pineapple juice (the juice converts in their digestive system leaving their stools unpalatable) on your dogs stools as can be used as a deterrent.  This won't cure the problem, only put a plaster over it.

The food you feed your dogs is the best food out there as far as I'm concerned so you're definitely doing things right in that area.  Again, I'd wonder if their stomachs are just not absorbing the vitamins and minerals the same any more and perhaps it's time to change to a senior mix or add a dietary supplement which you can get in most shops.  There are also coprophagia deterrents available to buy which you could try on the earth as well.

These are the only solutions I can think of at the moment because, from the information you have given me, it doesn't sound behavioural.  At least not in the bitch's case.

Give some of those suggestions a try and please feel free to e-mail me at any time with any further questions or information that might shed more light on the problem.  I'd also be interested to know if you have any success one way or another with the problem.

Thanks and kind regards,
Lynne.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Lynne,  we got off to such a good start and then they started digging and eating the earth where I'd put the pineapple juice.  When I poured more onto the ground they were pushing each other to slurp up the juice as it came out of the carton!  Now what?  Any other ideas for deterrents would be most welcome.  Best wishes Maggie

Answer
Hi again Maggie,

That's disappointing but there are still the options of sprinkling pepper, powdered mints, or lemon on the soil and the pooh.  I'd personally pick the pepper.

That's all I can come up with I'm afraid.  Perhaps a different vet might take you a bit more seriously?

Regards,
Lynne