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Why does my dog keep eating dirt and biting walls despite vet care?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Rottweiler | Male | unneutered | 10 lbs

My dog is licking on dirt and biting stones and walls We gave him calcium syrup too as well as deworming syrups as prescribed by vet. Still he is doing the same. Please help

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 28th, 2016

This may be a sign of gastric or intestinal pain. You should take him back for a recheck. This is called pica and needs to be investigated. Your vet will need to do blood tests, and x-rays. Mineral deficiencies and intestinal parasites have been indicated and your vet did address that. Your dog may also need a second dose of wormer. Sometimes this is caused by boredom also.

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    Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 28th, 2017

    Some dogs are strange and will eat just about anything, but eating things like dirt (called pica) can be a sign of other illness such as malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, parasites, or malabsorptive intestinal disease. A vet exam to rule out a medical problem is the safest course of action. Bring the name of the dog food you are using so that your vet can ensure it is providing adequate nutrition for your dog. They may also do a fecal exam to check for parasites and possibly bloodwork. They may do a prophylactic deworming or recommend a diet change, or decide this is just a behavioral issue and no medical cause is present.

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Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Is it normal for a dog to eat dirt?
Some dogs are strange and will eat just about anything, but eating things like dirt (called pica) can be a sign of other illness such as malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, parasites, or malabsorptive intestinal disease. A vet exam to rule out a medical problem is the safest course of action. Bring the name of the dog food you are using so that your vet can ensure it is providing adequate nutrition for your dog. They may also do a fecal exam to check for parasites and possibly bloodwork. They may do a prophylactic deworming or recommend a diet change, or decide this is just a behavioral issue and no medical cause is present.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog's started eating dirt from the floor and licking the shower basin over the past few days. His diet has just been changed and he was wormed after he begun showing these symptoms. Could this be due to a lack of nutrients and how can it be solved
Eating diet can indicate that Red isn't getting enough nutrients, and if he was recently dewormed he may have just loss a lot of nutrients from his parasite load. I am not sure what parasites he was treated for or how bad his parasite infection was, but it can take several week to rid all the worms out of his system. Worms attach the intestines and eat all the nutrients in the pets diet, leaving most pets malnourished or even mildly anemic to some degree, which can in turn lead to dirt eating behavior. Once the parasites are gone most pets will discontinue this behavior. You can also supplement with a daily pet multivitamin (i.e. Hivite, Nutrical) for a few weeks until things go back to normal. Visit your local pet store to see what is available in your area. If there aren't any over the counter options suitable for you, then your vet should be able to prescribe something to help and also determine if his current diet is the best choice for him moving forward. I hope Red returns to his
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My pet named Jacky eats inedible things like soil ,dung ,chew wood ,lick wall,and many more things.i have given him calcium, phosphorus,
Address the underlying cause of anxiety or stress – In some cases, the abnormal consumption of nonfood objects may stem from an underlying stress or anxiety. Trying to determine the cause of your pet’s angst is an important step in eliminating the behavior. To determine the source, careful observation of the behavior, including its frequency, duration, and time of occurrence are important. In many cases, the behavior may occur only while the animal is not under your supervision. In this instance, the use of a video camera may be used to capture the act. Understanding the circumstances in which your pet feels driven to perform the behavior is important to works towards elimination. Another important point to keep in mind is how you interact with your pet on a daily basis. Setting proper boundaries helps your pet respect you as the leader figure. Being conscientious about the use of rewards when interacting with your pet is important to let your pet know that he must be behaving properly
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog eats wood ,soil and after eating behave like never eaten anything.........even dewormed 26 January 2018 ...... should I deworm him again....or there is something else Kindly help me
Hello. Eating strange & unusual items is called pica. This might be an attempt for your puppy to address a nutritional problem, deal with parasites or might even be a psychological problem. It might be a good idea to have Tuffy examined & a fecal analysis done to see if you are missing something in his diet, or if your wormer was effective & he is eating odd things for another reason. A fecal analysis would also show if you need to use a different wormer altogether. But I would recommend having Tuffy looked at before he potentially eats the wrong thing & causes an intestinal blockage. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
Hi Doc, Maximus has decided to eat sand. We have clay type soil. Should I be worried in that he is missing some sort of nutrient from his diet or is this “normal”? He doesn’t eat much. Scratches the ground, has a few bites and walks away. Please advi
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! This can sometimes point out the possibility of a gastrointestinal condition and just like you pointed out it can be some lack of a nutrient or something in the diet. I think a good place to start would be changing his diet to something else to see if that makes a difference. If no difference is noted, I recommend that you have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Otherwise, start by changing his diet to something like a Purina Pro Plan or Hill's Science Diet product that tend to be very complete diets. Also, try to avoid him eating the sand as that could result in gastrointestinal upset or obstruction. Good luck!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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Why do my dogs eat dirt? What mineral are they missing? They take a multivitamin.
This behavior does not necessarily suggest that your dogs are deficient in any mineral. Some dogs eat dirt (or even rocks!) for no particular reason. First make sure that there is nothing on the dirt such as barbecue grease or other foods. Second, you can try spraying a deterrent such as bitter apple onto the dirt. If neither of these techniques work, you may need to fence off the dirt area and only allow them on grass or concrete surfaces.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
why does my dog eat dirt
It could be that your dog is bored, or he may simply like the taste of dirt. It could also be caused a dietary deficiency, as dirt has a lot of minerals in it. I would make sure your dog is being fed a high quality dog food, such as Royal Canin, Hills Science diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. If he's only occasionally eating it, then there's not much to worry about, but if he is doing it excessively, it's time for a trip to the vet for a health check.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
I have an 8 week old puppy and he licks concrete and rocks, but recently started eating dirt. Is this normal or is he missing something in his diet? He eats alpo dog food.
This is not normal for a puppy. He may be doing it out of boredom, curiosity or in an attempt to correct a nutritional imbalance. Restrict access to areas where there is dirt if possible. Monitor him for inappropriate licking and correct the behavior immediately. Provide a toy or task as a distraction. If he complies, praise and reward him. If possible, transition him slowly to a better quality puppy food. If the behavior persists, he will need to be examined by your veterinarian.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, sooky Starting to eat the wall Is this toxic to him?? , and why did he start this behavior? Thanks..
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My 14 year old miniature schnauzer has started eating the carpet in our house in multiple areas. Zoey has never had problems with eating non food objects in our house and has not shown signs of stomach problems or other ailments.
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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