Lack of more appropriate or attractive items to which play or exploratory behaviors can be driven.May initially depend on increased appetite.Grass eating is an innate behavior in dogs, possibly facilitated by observation, however its frequency may increase with dogs' age, it is generally not problematic.If sudden onset at old age, medical causes should be considered.Behavior and onset more common in young animals.Depends on the owner's reaction upon observation of problem behavior, but may be the recurrent presentation of a blockage or other GI problem associated repeat ingestion.Clinical signs of foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract (eg obstruction Stomach: foreign body, irritation) or other gastrointestinal signs.Signs of distress may be observed when access to the preferred item is denied.It is normally possible to interrupt and redirect it. If it is a compulsive type of the behavior, it is performed repeatedly, in a ritualistic way that interferes with normal daily activities and functioning.

Direct observation of ingesting non nutritional items (plastic, paper, rocks, fabric, grass, soil).Print off the owner factsheet on Pica Pica to give to your clients. In some cases pica may be part of normal behavior: grass eating is considered a normal behavior for dogs, with the hypothesized function of favoring the elimination of intestinal parasites it is normal for a bitch to eat her puppies' feces, and indeed the eating of other feces when fresh may be a form of housecleaning to prevent infestation as it takes time for worm eggs to become infective after being eliminated mouthing and ingestion of non nutritive items may be part of exploratory behavior.Cophropagia Coprophagia is a form of pica defined as eating feces.Pica is defined as the ingestion of non food items (rubber, rocks, plants, feces).

Pica dogs