My dog eats wood? What is wrong with this? Why does he do this?

Question

Every now and then I'll just see him gnawing away at some old peice of wood... why? Does it have healthy vitamins in it? Is he trying to brush his teeth? What's going on?

Answer 1

It is instinct for a dog to chew on wood - take it away and encourage a raw hide chew or a toy

Answer 2

My dog does that too. I asked my vet. He says it's normal, but you have to make sure that his or her teeth stay clean (the wood can go rotten in between their teeth, and you don't wanna pay a dog dentist bill). Their stomachs are much tougher than ours and apparently it is OK, as long as they don't eat like a 2x4 a day. I also noticed my dog only likes wood once it's rotten.
I never asked my vet about pressure treated wood, but just to be safe I keep my dog away from it.

Answer 3

My Aunties dog Chews and swallows rocks
Dogs eat a lot of crazy things that, from our point of view, make no sense, such as their own or another animal's feces. Although unpleasant to contemplate, it's relatively normal behavior, especially for young dogs.
But dogs sometimes try to eat inorganic matter that has no digestive upside at all. Rocks provide an example of one of the more common non-food objects dogs chew on. This behavior is sometimes called "pica", the term used to describe the craving and ingesting of nonfood items.

There are a number of possibilities that range from medical to behavioral. Chewing rocks may be one way for an attention-starved dog to get noticed. In this instance, the dog may even be acting out of boredom, anxiety or frustration.
There may also be medical reasons behind the behavior. Disorders of the intestinal tract, deficiency of some vital nutrient, such as iron, or diabetes mellitus (as well as other illnesses) may underlie indiscriminate eating behavior. It's important to rule out a medical cause for pica by visiting your veterinarian. If the pica is subsequently deemed to be a purely behavioral problem, you and your vet can devise a strategy to overcome it.

Answer 4

What is wrong with eating wood is it's very dangerous if ingested. Ouch those splinters!

Chewing is usually a sign of frustration. It can be a symptom of separation anxiety, frustration from lack of exercise, frustration from lack of stimulation, if he's young, he could be teething.

At any rate, it's not safe!

Try increasing his daily walks. Try to stimulate him in a way that satisfies his natural urges, ie. if he's a beagle, give him something to track, if he's a sighthound, find him a place to run.

General obedience is great for stimulation, if he's already got the basics down pat, try something more advanced like agility or flyball etc.

Answer 5

Nothing wrong. Dogs like to chew. Go to the pet store and get a rawhide chewy. Let the dog chew on that

Answer 6

There are a lot of reasons, from the wood's nutrients to just liking to chew on it. The only problem is that he could potentially choke on small bits of it or get splinters in his mouth so I'd watch him.

Answer 7

How old is the dog? If he is a puppy then he's probablly teething. If he's an older dog, he's probablly bored. Go buy him some dog toys, wood is not an appropriate chew toy, it could kill him.

Answer 8

He's just chewing. I had a doberman years ago that ate my entire kitchen floor and part of the sub-floor. She went to live on a farm after that.
you should get your dog a real chew toy (like a bouda? bone) so he doesn't get wood spliniters!!

Answer 9

my dog does the same, thought he was a bit odd!!! he just grabs hold of the door (outside, from passage to garden) and bites it off and eat it, there is not much of a door left now!!! he has been given lots of different types of chews and toys but still prefers the wood!!

Answer 10

Take it away from him. He needs a chew toy or one of those rawhide rolls to chew on. Dogs have to chew; it's in there genes but wood is not good for him