When my first child was a year and a half old, we traveled with dear friends to the Caribbean island of Culebra. Our companions had been there many times, and showed us all the hidden treasures. Secluded beaches. Vibrant village markets. Breathtaking vistas. Scorpions. Tarantulas. OK, for an overprotective Jewish mother like me, it was a bit challenging being there with a toddler. The hardest thing was that the only shade on the rustic beaches was provided by manchineel trees — a lovely tropical plant with a fruit that is known in Spanish as manzanilla de la muerte, or “little apple of death.” One of the most toxic trees in the world, manchineels have a deadly milky-white sap that is present in every part of the tree, including bark, leaves, and fruit … and I had an orally fixated toddler who put everything in her mouth. Do I sit with my baby in the blazing sun, or seek the shelter of these trees, spending every minute terrified my kid will ingest caustic-sap-laden sand, or put bits of the “tree of death” in her mouth? My friends didn’t understand my anxiety … but then their kid wasn’t gleefully trying to eat the beach.
I thought about that trip recently when a client emailed me about Pal, her 12-year-old dog, who recently began eating dirt. Ingestion of nonfood items, technically called pica, is extremely common in puppies, who are just starting to explore the world and figure out what is food and what is not. I’ve seen pups eat socks, toys, sticks, rocks, underwear, plastic bags, tinfoil, acorns, tampons, coins, batteries. Sometimes they think the items are actual food — the wrapper from the package of chicken, the foil you had your sandwich in. Sometimes they are just chewing for fun, and swallow by mistake — the tennis ball, the squeaker from the stuffed animal. Understandable mistakes. But weird things I have seen dogs eat include a box of straight pins, a Christmas tree ornament, a safety razor, and two feet of car upholstery. I have no idea what those crazy critters were thinking.
Grass, on the other hand (the kind on your lawn, not at the marijuana dispensary) is a delicacy many dogs of all ages seem to enjoy. In some cases, dogs appear to do this when experiencing gastrointestinal upset. One could argue that this instinct makes sense. Grass ingestion often leads to vomiting, which theoretically could help a dog purge its system of anything toxic. But perfectly healthy dogs also seem to enjoy grazing. As long as the grass has not been treated with fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides, it’s probably not a problem, as long as it doesn’t cause repeated vomiting. If owners are concerned, I often suggest upping their dog’s fiber intake, and see if that lessens the grass eating.
In Pal’s case, he wasn’t just a puppy checking out the world. He was an adult exhibiting a new behavior — eating dirt. I asked his mom a series of questions. What is Pal’s usual diet? Have there been any recent changes in his diet? How is his appetite otherwise? How are his stools? Is he exhibiting any weight loss, vomiting, or other abnormalities? The answers did not reveal anything unusual. Pal was feeling fine, eating the same thing as always. We sent a stool sample to the lab, and ruled out intestinal parasites.Then I told her this.
Some dogs just eat dirt for no apparent reason. It seems that they simply like the taste, and, yes, some may develop this habit late in life. Perhaps there has been mulch or compost added to the soil at some point. Delicious. Then they keep eating dirt, even without the mulch or compost. I recommend an appointment for a full physical exam as well as bloodwork to evaluate Pal’s metabolic status. If everything appears normal, then we have to decide if we think Pal might be experiencing any kind of “invisible” gastrointestinal distress, like heartburn. We might consider empirical treatment with antacids such as pepcid or omeprazole and see if the behavior changes. We could even give sucralfate, a medication which helps heal mild stomach ulcers.
Another approach for unexplained obsessive ingestion of dirt or grass is changing to a limited-ingredient, hypoallergenic, or hydrolyzed protein diet. This occasionally seems to help. The assumption is that those dogs are self-medicating: eating dirt or grass to try to alleviate gastrointestinal distress due to food allergy. However, food allergy would be very unlikely at Pal’s age, unless he had recently had a significant change in his diet. We could still try this approach if Pal’s owner wanted, as there is no harm in it, except to your pocketbook, as these foods can be pricey.
As far as addressing pica that is simply behavioral, try using a Gentle Leader when you walk him, so you have better control of his head. Or have him wear a soft plastic “basket muzzle” to prevent him from eating dirt. You can carry high-value treats with you on your walk, and keep his attention on you by slowly dispensing tiny treats to him to keep his mind off eating dirt! If he has one particular spot where he likes to eat the dirt, sprinkle it with cayenne pepper or some such spice, then let him eat it. The spicy taste should discourage him, and may help break the habit via aversion therapy — but this only works if he eats dirt in a limited, specified area.
Pal’s mother decided to just keep an eye on her little buddy. I trust her judgment. She knows her dog well, and is an astute observer of his behavior. She will be careful that whatever he eats off the ground is not contaminated with anything toxic. In my case, 25 years ago, my toddler survived sitting beneath the manchineel “trees of death” … but I decided next vacation we were going somewhere with a pool, lounge chairs, touristy thatched umbrellas for shade, and a bar serving mai tais on the beach.
