pica

Canine Pica

Pica is a scientific term defining ingestion of non-food items, such as socks, toilet paper, your children's toys or anything else found around the house. It usually refers to a pathologic condition in animals and humans that induces a compulsive material ingestion. In some cases, material ingestion is simply a behavioral trend, habit, or even a normal occurrence. Some dogs will eat or lick some of the strangest things, including dirt, mulch, rocks, and fabrics. This problem poses a serious health threat to your dog and requires immediate attention as this behaviour can produce life-threatening blockages in your pet's intestines. Eating rocks or other larger objects may damage the teeth and necessitate surgical or endoscopic removal of the swallowed object, but dirt should pass through his gastrointestinal tract without much difficulty. It would be a good idea to have your veterinarian do a fecal flotation examination every six to 12 months. This will screen your dog for exposure to intestinal parasites or worms such as hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms that pass to dogs via contaminated soil. Sometimes an underlying disease will cause it, but in most dogs that demonstrate pica, it is a behavioural anomaly that is not completely understood.

The Causes of Pica Behaviour in the dog
The causes of pica and coprophagy are unknown. Many ideas have been proposed by various experts eg.Attention seeking, boredom and/or medical reasons, but none have been proven or disproven. If engaging in one of these behaviours results in some type of social interaction between the animal and his owner (even a verbal scolding) then the behaviour may be reinforced and occur more frequently.

Diseases involving the nervous system such as rabies or neurotoxin exposure may cause pica. Rabid animals have encephalitis (brain infection) that alters their brain and induces biting and ingesting objects indiscriminately. Lead poisoning can also have similar effects on the brain. Anemia, hypothyroidism, certain diseases of the liver, pancreas and gastrointestinal systems, nutritional problems, and foreign bodies may also be an underlying factor. Your veterinarian may perform a physical examination, bloodwork (CBC, blood chemistry), and urinalysis to determine if a disease or other physical process is causing the pica. When an underlying disease or disorder is present in the affected dog, treatment is directed at the disease process. These behaviours may be attempts to obtain a necessary nutrient lacking in the diet, although no nutritional studies have ever substantiated this idea. Ensuring that the diet is appropriate and of good quality will eliminate nutritional deficits as a cause of pica. When no disease can be found, which is most often the case, pica is considered a behavioural problem. It is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

It's possible the behaviours begin as play, as the animal investigates and chews on the objects, then subsequently begins to eat or ingest them. During its exploratory period, the normal dog uses the mouth to feel and taste its environment. Garbage, of course, is always attractive...even to older dogs. Some cats, especially oriental breeds like Siamese and Burmese, will constantly chew on plastic bags, shower curtains, shoe laces, phone cords, wool and other fabrics. Many kittens will play with fishing rods and swallow fish-hooks and artificial bait. These behaviours may also stem from frustration or anxiety. Pica may also be caused by boredom. The veterinarian may prescribe antidepressive drugs. The veterinarian may alsorefer some affected dogs to a veterinary behaviourist for consultation.

Other treatment revolves around controlling the dog's environment. The owner should prevent the dog's access to the desired substances or objects. Make your home more "dog friendly" by removing loose items that are within the dog's reach. Do not encourage the dog to pick up objects and play with them. Keeping the dog indoors and walking the dog on a leash will restrict access.

Making the pet's experience unpleasant by coating or spraying objects with bitter apple, chew-guard, red pepper sauce, hot mustard, or bitter-tasting substances, available on the market, might work in some cases. In other cases a loud noise or a spray bottle will do the job.

Another way to reduce pica behaviour is to give your dog plenty of exercise. It will keep him stimulated, while at the same time tiring him out. Once the exercise is over, he will probably prefer to rest rather than look for something to put in his mouth.

Some dogs seem to like playing with stones when bored, which they end up chewing and ingesting (lithophagia). Small stones may pass through uneventfully, but larger stones may lacerate the intestines or obstruct passage of food, resulting in severe, often fatal consequences. Offer acceptable substitutes, treats, food and chew toys as a replacement to the object in question. Many pets will convert and adopt the acceptable/edible replacement.

The eating of Feces is also a specific type of pica (either their own or that of another animal) and, while not necessarily dangerous to the animal, is probably unacceptable to you. Stool-eating is called coprophagy.
It has been suggested that coprophagy is carried over from the normal parental behaviour of ingesting the waste of young offspring. Some experts believe coprophagy occurs more often in animals that live in relatively barren environments, are frequently confined to small areas and/or receive limited attention from their owners. Coprophagy is fairly common in dogs, but is rarely seen in cats and is seen more often in dogs who tend to be highly food-motivated. It's also possible that dogs learn this behaviour from other dogs.

Phytophagia, or plant eating, is normal in many cases. Plants may be an occasional and normal part of a pet's diet. Pets may be attracted to both indoor and outdoor plants. Oral investigation (tasting, chewing and possibly swallowing) is common in young cats and dogs. Cats normally eat plants and grass, even in the wild. Plant ingestion may be induced by nausea and other digestive problems; however it is not a specific sign of intestinal parasitism or worms.

Because pica and coprophagy are behaviours that are not well understood, stopping them may require assistance from an animal behaviour professional who works individually with owners and their pets. A variety of specialised behaviour modification techniques may be necessary to resolve these problems.

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