PICA in dogs..

[NeverSayNever]

someone mentioned this in another thread. I know what it is, but what does it stand for?

Im convinced my 18 month old pup has it. She came to me at 8 weeks as a puppy i should have sensibly walked away from as she was totally malnourished and poorly. She bled from her bottom as she had been bedded on bedmax and had been eating it as she was so hungry. The pups had been being given 1 feed a day and she hadnt been getting any At 8 weeks old she (border collie ) weighed 2.1kg


I got her better with daily support from my vet, and at the stage she was strong enough to vaccinate Then disaster struck She was in a cage in our room and I heard her choking at 6am -she had been chewing her fleecy blanket and had a thread from it down her throat. She is my 6th dog and I had made sure she only had puppy-safe things in her cage - the fleece blanket she had was one that 2 previous dogs had had!

Unfortunately the thread was right through her system and she had to have surgery

She recovered well but had on/off bouts of colitis throughout puppyhood,

She is now 18 months old and is bouncing and healthy. this is her a couple of months ago

http://www.youtube.com/user/13neens?feature=mhw4#p/u/10/aBNTkH6uQ44

Im convinced however she has some psychological issue due to her start in life - she cannot stop eating anything and everything. Outside in the garden she will eat the grass, mouthfuls of earth, bits of trees - anything. We realised early on how dangerous this was for her and she spent all her time out in the garden on an extending lead the only time she was ever able to be off the lead was doing agility as she is so driven and focused, nothing distracts her. The minute we stop though, if i ask her to go in a down-stay at my feet while another runs say, she will start to eat the ground. Even on the lead, trying to get her to go and spend a penny obv entails letting her sniff the ground and she is just like one of those hungry-hippo games! gulp! and its gone! We have had to have her with no bedding at all for months as any type we tried was a risk to her. Finally we seem to have her settled on vetbed, but everything she passes still has bits of the fluff from it, in it.

This behaviour has led to her continually messing her crate/kennel. We didnt think she was able to hold herself or control her motions as she would go out and go to the toilet - and 20 mins later she would mess. It has been very hard work with her tbh

However, this week I have been letting her out with a basket type muzzle on.... and have changed her food from ardengrange - which a swear by, to jameswellbeloved. Just on the offchance the JWB food would suit better. AND - this week I have only cleaned her crate twice! Fingers crossed this is helping her and we can break the habit/cycle. She really has proved a challenge, and we have faced many over the years with other dogs,but i think the mould broke when Diva came out, lol

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Hey hun, Pica doesn't stand for anything, it's from the Latin (magpie, cos they eat whatever). It's quite common in dogs and sometimes they grow out of it. It just means they're eating stuff that isn't really food or is raw and you would normally eat cooked (humans).

Puppies are very likely to do it and she probably was trying to get nourishment as a baby and now it's a bad habit. You could try distracting her? Jake did it with grass, excessively, not like when a dog eats a bit and the pups are currently eating everything, of course.

 

[alainax]

Yup means exactly as above - Magpie!

ALot of animals ( and humans) will grow out of it, But sometimes it can be a trait of a particular breed ( like oriental cats)

There doesnt seem to be a huge deal of info out there, but theres loads of websites with tips on how to control it ( not cure it )

Pica in my cat seems almost like he's possesed, wheen he gets it into his head that he has to consume something.

When he was a kitten he would eat an entile sock, we thought he was just stealing and playing with them at first till we notice the sock was getting smaller and smaller.... till just the cuff was left. I was shocked when i found it, so picked up his blanket to search for more *eaten* socks. Only to find half his blanket was eaten!!

He chewed a hole through our divan bed and physically ate all the thread around the hole. We thought at first he was just finding a nice place to hide, untill we realised the material wasnt just folded over... it was gone!.

Unfortunately our complete lack of knowledge about Pica was too late and he had to get operated on to get the string that was stuck in his throat out.

Now hes banned from the bedroom and bathroom (towels) We have no carpets,curtains, cushions, rugs or any material in the rooms hes in.

We can get away with a leather sofa and a sheepskin rug ( he grooms it but doesnt actually eat it!)

What curious about it is that hes a very happy healthy young cat, love life, loves playing and beeing fussed over, had a perfect up brining... is just a bit odd with material!

I had read somewhere tho that this can be a trait of the oriental breeds. When we went to buy another oriental, its aunty cat was chewing a plastic bag, screaming Pica to me... but the bredder was oblivious.

It almost as i said seems like they are possesd, like nothing will stop then from eating it. You have to seriously distract them, or move them away completley before they will stop.

Interestingly Ty is a fussy eater and doesnt each much food...

Animals eh... whod have them!