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Dealing with pica dogs8/15/2023 If all medical conditions are ruled out, the dog's pica may be diagnosed as behavioral. X-rays may be done of the GI tract to look for obvious tumors or check for any indication of a foreign body obstruction. If there are other signs of illness like weight loss, lab tests might be done to check for anemia, EPI, and portosystemic shunt. When a dog is exhibiting pica, a veterinarian will take a complete history from you and do a thorough physical exam. Young dogs sometimes eat non-food items out of curiosity or as part of their play and exploration. A portosystemic liver shunt is one of the primary conditions in this category. Neurological conditions affecting the brain.A dog that isn't getting enough calories from food may eat non-food items out of pure hunger. Malabsorption disorders, especially exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI).Some dogs can develop OCD-like conditions that manifest as pica. Dogs that are chained outside without anything to do may eat dirt out of boredom and stress. Behavioral disorders, including obsessive-compulsive conditions, boredom, stress, or separation anxiety.Receive valuable dog training business tips and resources every week! Subscribe to The Modern Dog Trainer now by submitting your name and email below. Be certain to keep the crate free of blankets and only provide toys that have been proven to stand up to the chewing demands of your dog. Crating the dog when you are unable to supervise will help prevent the undesired behaviors and keep your dog safe. You never know what a dog with PICA is going to chew next so keeping a house cleaned of small items like socks and small kids toys will help. available to your dog will help satisfy some of the chewing desires. Having food dispensing toys, nyla bones, raw meat bones, etc. Management is crucial in preventing unwanted chewing and eating of objects. It is difficult and frustrating to be an owner of a dog with PICA. This is also important to use when you have a reliable recall. I would not advise using a muzzle in a heavily dog populated area when your dog is off leash as it does restrict your dog’s natural way of defending himself. This allows the dog to have freedom with you outside without being restricted to a leash and allows the dog to be a dog. Teach the dog with PICA to accept wearing a basket muzzle. In the end this is one of the most important behaviors to teach. If the dog is considering eating something leave it works to stop the behavior and then calling your dog back to you moves him further away from the object. Even inside the house recall can work in your favor. If you trust the dog off leash because you have worked hard on teaching the leave it cue, a reliable recall is another essential behavior. There will be times when the dog is able to pick up something it shouldn’t and it is crucial to have a fast drop it to prevent him from eating it further. While Henry still eats things or tries to eat things he shouldn’t, it has improved over the past 3 years. It does require you to be present with the dog who wants to eat everything but it is possible that the use of leave it over time will help decrease the intensity of the behavior. This will be one of the most crucial behaviors to train. Once your dog is focused on you, you can then cue him to leave the item he is thinking about eating. Both the name response and the attention noise should be charged using a very high value, delicious treat. This is sometimes a better choice than name response because it is easy to abuse their name by over using it. Using an actual interrupter noise or attention noise like a kissy sound will work to get your dog to focus on you. It also works to gain your dog’s attention so that you can then cue him for another behavior. This behavior is important so that your dog responds to you when you call his name. Image via Erin Bessey – Bessey’s Positive Paws Name Response & Attention/Interrupter Noise
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