We’ve all been there – you look outside and your dog is feasting on dirt in the garden. Despite keeping them well fed with delicious meals every day, some dogs just love to eat mud.
Should you be worried? We spoke to Head Vet Sean to find out.
They can smell what we can’t
If dogs had a superpower, it would be their sense of smell – it’s miles ahead of our own in terms of its sensitivity. Many dogs eat mud because to them, it tastes delicious! They’ve smelled something on or in that clump of dirt that is driving them wild, even though to us, it’s just mud.
And sometimes, it might be because some dogs just are a bit weird and they like eating mud. It takes all sorts.
However, if you notice your dog eating other things they find outside (as well as mud), this could be a sign of a condition called Pica – which is when a dog compulsively eats things that aren’t food. So if their choice in diet really has become strange, have a chat with your vet to rule out any health issues.
I wonder if dogs can smell microbes in the soil that help keep their gut micro biome. It would be good to take a sample of the area they are eating and look at it under a microscope
That would be really cool! I love biology and I’ve loved learning about how my chunky baby Bellatrix works (she’s not fat she’s just really muscly) as she’s been growing and it’s really interesting!
i t can mean there iron levels are low and are trying to top it up from soil