Eatin' Dirt (or mud)

[Wotan, Shakti & Gaudi Inc]

<FONT COLOR="Pink">Today a friend joined us on our hike with the dachsies....and she remarked on something I have gotten so used to I never think about it. Over and over again Wotan and Gaudi would stop beside us when we were looking at the view or resting and paw the ground and then eat dirt (or mud if that part of the path was wet). She asked why they do this and thought it was odd. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/blushie.gifI told her they do it at home too (we have an area but there are only 2 small spots where they eat dirt from) and it seems to be something they like. As towhythey eat dirt all I can think is maybe for the minerals...somehow their bodies tell them they need these minerals? She just kept remarking on how odd http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/dizzy.gifit was and how she's never seen other dogs do this behavior. So I wondered, how many other dirt eating dachshunds are out there on this board? Confess..who else knows a dirt lovin' dachsie? http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/blah.gif</FONT c>

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Bridget, Wotan, Shakti & Gaudi
stop by and see Dachshund stories and photos (http://members.nbci.com/dachsielove/stories.htm)

[~Jen~]

I confess...lol My dachsies INHALE dirt... they dont eat it persay they just dig in it with their nose to the ground and get it all up there nose. Then they go around *Snorting* because their nose is packed with dirt... <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm25.gif" border=0> I have never actually seen them chow down on it yet ... but it actually wouldnt surprise me if they did esp. if there were any worms in it <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm43.gif" border=0> Sometimes they do the grossest things <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm36.gif" border=0>

Jen

[Wienergal]

http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/emb.gif OK, Bridget, it's time to confess: The glamorous Miss Peaches Marie--star of stage, screen door, and Letterman show; dancer; singer; wearer of snoods--this very same girl...eats dirt. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm25.gif" border=0>

She follows the exact same pattern as Wotan and Gaudi--she does it when we're in the park and I stop to chat with someone and she has to sit and wait for me. Next thing I know, she's doing her steam-shovel imitation, diggin' up dirt and eating it. No clue why.

I'm telling you this in friendly commiseration. Please don't tell the National Enquirer!!!! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/afraid.gif

[Roxane]

Oh how I wish someone would come up with the answer for our dirt eating doggies.
Greta and Baylea wouldn't sink that low (bad pun) but our 2 Dobes? Although they are 4 years apart in ages, since they were pups they both graduated from chowing down on tree limbs to dirt de jour.
I am not sure they swallow a great deal but I do know they pack their side jaws much like squirrels with nuts. I am constantly cleaning their water bowls, heavily contaminated with debris.
Oh, the burden of being a parent!
Roxane and crew

[wireweiners]

All of mine eat dirt. They even got Katie the Cowdog eating it. I have yet to figure out why.

[TessieMom]

Are you sure it is just dirt? My senior girl loves to root with her nose and eat grub worms. I was working the a flower bed and she started helping herself. Now Tess goes after nuts that the squirrels have buried, plus limbs, leaves ... LuLu, just balls and squeakie toys... none of that outdoor stuff. Rena

[Roxane]

Rena:
This is going to be an incomplete bit of advice but I just recently read (somewhere) that acorns might be toxic to some dogs. Maybe another member might know more.http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/think.gif
Roxane and crew

[TessieMom]

Yes, Tess is proof that acorns are toxic. Think her acorn cost us a bit over $200 last month. She now specializes in pecans, which she shells and leaves the shell on the floor for me. Rena

[Timber]

Timber also loves dirt. He only eats it when he is digging and it gets up his nose and mouth. His favorite are the big clumbs of dirt.

[Dolly's Mom]

Ha ha ha!!! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/lol.gif If I HAD a lawn, I'd prolly have little dirt devils too. Ah, alas! I have only ceeeement and must contend with 2 poop eaters! <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm43.gif" border=0> Yes, Dolly has always been a Maddie poop conisuer, but now Maddie has been sighted with her nose and mouf LITERALLY under Dolly's butt <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm36.gif" border=0> This mommy's got to be quick with the paper towel to get the yummy morsels before they are inhaled. YUCKY!!! <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm31.gif" border=0>

Sandi

[bigotis]

Our malamute, Chinook, has always eaten dirt! Otis is just a digger dog, but he does that snorting thing, too. The first time he scared me! A word of warning: one day I came home and Otis was playing out with the boys. He came and gave me a thousand welcome home kisses and I loved him up. Soon, the boys were rolling, laughing at me with dirt all over my face! I thought Dolly's mom should especially be aware of this. Otis loves to eat grass, too. And yes, once he got a grub--ewww. Such dogs of nature! (Worms, grass, dirt, mud, the list goes on...)

Otis's mommy, A. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm30.gif" border=0>

[wireweiners]

After extensive research into Dachshund history I have discovered why Dachsies eat dirt. It seems that when the German gamekeepers first began breeding short legged long backed dogs to dig foxes, badgers and other varmints from their dens they had a problem with dirt clogging up the tunnels as the dogs dug their way to the prey. Therefore they started breeding dogs with a taste for dirt so they could consume the excess soil and keep the tunnels free. Our modern Dachsies retain this dirt eating gene, ergo, the craving for dirt. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm28.gif" border=0>

[Frzframe]

How in the world do you breed the taste for dirt into a line of dog?? <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm13.gif" border=0>
~Shonda

[twix0699]

Good ? Shonda! I really think my little girl would love to be able to dig around and eat dirt but we don't have a yard for that. She sure does like to "dig" holes in the carpet to burry her bones! I laugh everytime I see her do it!

Teresa