People have different reasons in getting a dog. Dogs are hunted, utilized to herd and guard livestock, used to perform farm works and guard the family. Dogs though are most commonly kept as companions. Dogs are much loved and highly valued because they are loyal and affectionate animals. A responsible owner would spare no expense to provide the dog with the best care and high quality food. However, dogs do have some very disconcerting eating habits. An owner would certainly be puzzled by the dog’s habit of eating feces, vomits, dirt, mud and many other non-edible things. A new dog owner would surely be surprised if he finds the new sofa without a leg because the dog has eaten the wood.

Pica is the habit of eating non-edible things. We know that dogs have great appetites, they are voracious eaters but it would still be perplexing to the owner if the dog that is provided with enough food would still eat things with no nutritive values. There is no definitive reason for this abnormal eating habit of the dog.

Dogs are pack animals. In the wild they stay together. Domesticated dogs consider the family as its pack. Because of busy schedules the family may not have time to spend with the dog. Often times this would result into a lonely pet that craves for the attention of its people. The dog will be destructive…dig holes in the garden, chew the carpet and eat wood to gain the attention of the master. The dog will surely be scolded. But for the dog negative attention would be much better than no attention at all.

Some dog experts believe that the wood eating habit of the dog can be its way of filling up the nutrient deficiency in the diet. Low grade commercial dog food mostly contains cereal fillers. Various studies have been conducted on the behavior of dogs but the dog’s uncanny ability to know what is wrong with their system was never explained. The nutrient deficiency theory however is not accepted by some dog owners given that even if a dog is fed premium quality foods, the dog would still manifest the wood eating habit.

Dog owners would agree to the need of stopping this bizarre eating habit. Not only would it be too expensive to change the wooden door or the furniture eaten by the dog but this habit can have dangerous repercussions to the health of the dog. Wood splinters can get embedded on the mouth and can perforate the esophagus and the intestines of the dog. Wood can block the throat and the intestines as well.