My dog keeps eating dirt. Why does he do it and how can I stop him?

Question

My dog keeps eating dirt. My vet advised that I should put him on Hills Vet Essentials which I have and he's fine on but he keeps picking up dirt from my garden when I let him out for the toilet. When I try to stop him he runs away and tries to get me to play. How do I stop it and why does he do it? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | unneutered | 5 months and 16 days old

Sara Farmer, DVM · Accepted Answer

It sounds like this may be a learned behavior for him since he is on a good quality diet and nutritional deficiencies are unlikely. I would recommend distracting him with some play time with his favorite toy in the morning when he tends to do this so you are not giving him attention (even though it is negative attention) for eating the dirt. In order to completely stop this behavior you may need to prevent his access to the dirt by putting something like a basket muzzle on him.

My dog keeps eating dirt. Why does he do it and how can I stop him?

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