Dogs

Vet Q&A; Doggie Diet

Feb 03 11:58am

Question

As I feed my dogs on a natural diet, recommended by the popular author Dr Ian Billinghurst, could you please tell me what minerals a dog is lacking if they are eating dirt (which is red at my place)?
Judy N

Answer
provided by Dr Paddy Batch BVSc

Diets have improved in quantum leaps from the days of dogs digging in the dirt to try to balance their nutritional needs. As you say, eating dirt is likely a sign of mineral deficiency. Horses chew trees for similar reasons. Special lick blocks have been developed for our equine friends. I wait to see the doggy lick block to correct the deficiencies you have possibly seen in the diet you present to your dogs. My dogs eat a super-premium dry dog food and have raw bones once weekly.

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9 Comments Report Abuse

1. tamlinjones - Mar 05 11:35am

this would be better if the question was answered.

2. geofffr1 - May 18 10:45am

The answer to the question is that dirt is mostly a normal part of a dog's diet. My gauge is about once a week. Any more than this can be excessive but in situations where the dirt is especialy yummy for a dog, such as fertilizer application, it can be more.

3. geofffr1 - May 18 10:47am

Excessive dirt eating is mostly due to an obsessive compulsive disorder rather than a nutritional deficiency as stated. We know this because dogs who are deficient in say calcium dont go around eating excessive amounts of dirt.

4. geofffr1 - May 18 10:49am

My personal opinion is that dogs sometimes just like the taste of it, just as with grass eating, which can be seen in nauseous dogs but more often is because they like the taste. My dogs like prarie grass best - pale green with wide leaves.

5. bclarkepepper - Jul 03 08:26am

Hey,
I feed my dogs a BARF diet as well and I found that the best way to stop this was to shred some spinach and mix it in with their food.

6. smuller@y7mail.com - Aug 13 11:35am

my dog always gives the sad eye look to everyone and they all fall for it then offer him food which he gulps down in seconds flat how can I get them to stop feeding him when this happens...pls help my dog is 7 years old and I feel very bad that he is 2kg over weight and it's not helping him..

7. scout21au - Sep 24 07:38pm

Well, it is a guess, but dogs eat clay type soils to get toxic metal out of their system and red dirt, well that seems to have iron in it. So perhaps the dog was previously eating a lot of burnt BBQ stuff and well, the iron could bind with the carbon (Charcoal) and get it out of the dogs system.

8. scout21au - Sep 24 07:41pm

For smuller@7mail.com It would be a good idea to have some baked pumpkin or carrot sticks dry Vita Brits on hand for those wanting to feed the dogs and say to them to give that instead, that way they don't give the dog anything high in fat and still get to get their love giving happening. No salt.

9. scout21au - Sep 24 07:44pm

Added to my first comment, well excess charcoal eaten by humans is supposed to cause stomach cancer. Perhaps the dogs intuitively know this.Another reason might be to introduce some bacteria into their gut, to stimulate the immune system. Replacing what their acid stomachs have killed off.