It’s not clear that pica is a sign of a psychological disturbance in most dogs, either. “It’s kind of the chicken versus the egg,” she says. Heinze says, and that may make them nauseated rather than relieve nausea. In fact, some dogs may eat grass simply because they can, Dr. But that has nothing to do with insuring adequate consumption of nutrients. It appears that some dogs will eat grass to help them throw up and get relief when they’re feeling nauseated. Heinze doesn’t rule out occasional pica in dogs to handle an upset stomach. I’ve never been able to say that when we fed a dog x nutrient, the eating of non-food items went away.”ĭr. The dogs I see because their owners are worried are generally eating balanced diets that I have no concerns about. But that’s a totally different situation. “Birds eat certain kinds of clay in the wild, and we think they’re doing it for minerals. “But eating non-food items has never been clearly linked to a nutritional deficiency in dogs - or cats,” she points out. “Dogs eating rocks or dirt is usually what brings clients to me worried that their dog has a nutritional deficiency,” says Tufts veterinary nutritionist Cailin Heinze, VMD, DACVN.
But pica in people is characterized almost exclusively as a psychological disorder rather than a nutritional one, especially in industrialized countries like the United States it’s extremely rare that a person will crave something that isn’t food to satisfy a nutritional need.ĭogs don’t eat non-food items to correct nutritional deficiencies, either, even though many people think that’s the case. Say “pica,” and many people will think of a nutritional deficiency, as in eating a non-food item to get enough of a mineral or vitamin that’s missing from the diet.
0 kommentar(er)
