Poodle Eating Fur

Question
Hi Kim,

I have a miniature poodle. Yesterday evening I clipped him down and threw the fur in the trash can. A couple of hours later he was standing at the trash growling. My husband and I finally figured out the only thing he could be growling at was his own fur. There was nothing else in there. This can is only used for paper so there was no food odor or anything. After about ten minutes of nonstop growling I went and picked a small handful of the fur up to show it to him. He took it out of my hand and tried to eat it. I pried his mouth open and threw the fur away (this time outside). Why would he do this?

Thanks,
Angie

Answer
Hello Angie,
Dogs do the weirdest things sometimes.  
Yes, this may seem weird to you, but to a dog its a survial techinque.  
In the wild, a dog can't show that he is in any way vernable or weak.  They will sometimes eat evidence of injuries (such as scabs or hair that has the smell of an injury on it) so that another dog doesn't come along and see that that dog is injured and try to do further damage.
Your dog may also have tried to eat his own hair out of curiousity, because dogs can "smell" with their mouth, though not as good as with their nose.  This is why a dog will taste about anything once.  They are trying to find out what it is.  
In the future, let him smell the bag of hair, but then put it out of his reach until it can be disposed of.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim