DOG QUESTION

[frank_f15]

my wife and i are retired and decided it was time for another puppy we got a little pomerain chichaua mix only 3 months old, had him 2 weeks and he is doing fine. but for some reason this little guy loves to root in the grass and find and eat worms on ocassion. why does he do that and will it hurt him? he has food so it is not because he is hungry.

 

[tallyho8]

I would not be worried about it. I think it is part of a dogs basic instinct to hunt and many young animals naturally eat many things that contain beneficial bacteria that are good for their system. A young horse will naturally eat some of it's mothers manure to obtain the bacteria that its system needs.

 

[frank_f15]

thanks tallyho i did not think it would hut him but the boss was concerned, any other dog people have anything to add?

 

[RonMar]

Yep, it's a puppy, he will eat all kinds of things, dirt, rocks, his own poo... Not unusual, but you do want to be carefull what he gets access to, as he dosn't know any better.

Had a sheltie pup eat most of a 1" foam rubber mat once. We were pretty worried, but most of it came back up, and the rest came out the other end

Depending on how much time yours spends outside, he will mostly grow out of this behavior. Toys to keep him busy will also help as a diversion.

 

[Bird]

Frank, I know I probably have the wrong attitude, but I did not want another dog when we had to move back to town a few years ago. I get too attached to them, then it's tough when something happens or you lose them. But my wife did want a dog, so I finally gave in and we got a Chihuahua puppy in January, 2006. She'll be 3 years old in November. And I suppose, like a lot of dogs, it seems she does more exploring with her nose than her eyes. And as you and the other guys have said, I think she tried eating just about everything. But at least, it seems that while she still explores with her nose, as she's gotten older, she doesn't eat so many odd things anymore.

 

[toy]

When I was a kid dad said that when a dog eats grass and weeds that they was sick in the stomach.

 

[studor]

All you can do is give them things you would prefer they chew on -- lots of what they pick up will be put down again -- untill you try and get it away from them and then they swallow it -- a natural reaction. Keep them away from things you know they should not have (like chocolate etc) and pretend you don't see the rest -- and try to make sure it doesnt chew on rocks and golf balls (really bad for their teeth)

 

[jdbower]

I think if I were a mix of a Pomeranian and a Chihuahua you'd see a lot more self-destructive behavior than that

 

[frank_f15]

same here Bird I DID NOT want another dog but the boss drove me crazy, i told her ok but you get to take it out in the morning (i don't move to good first ting in morning) actually the little guy has been pretty good as long as you take him out frequently, still trying to get him to go to the dorr when he needs to go out to do his thing.

 

[frank_f15]

hey jeff , know it sounds srange but this little guy is kinda cute