Seeing dogs playing and chewing on sticks in the park is very common and, in fact, many guardians use tree branches as an improvised toy when they go for a walk in the countryside or the park. However, there are certain risks that must be assessed before allowing our furry friend to chew on wood, as he could swallow a piece or suffer an injury that forces us to go to the vet.
If your dog tends to eat sticks, in this article on our site we tell you what the causes may be and what consequences this behavior may have. Likewise, we explain what to do if your dog eats sticks, don't miss it!
Why does my dog chew sticks and eat them?
Why do dogs like sticks? There are several reasons why a dog may chew and even swallow wooden stick fragments, and before starting any behavior modification treatment, it is important to identify as precisely as possible what is causing the behavior. These are the most frequent:
Exploratory behavior
Puppies and young dogs are very curious and explore the world through their mouths, so it is normal for them to carry, bite or tear anything that catches their attention. In addition, starting at four months of age, the dentition change begins, which can increase the frequency of destructive behaviors and the need to chew on objects. These behaviors are normal and we should not punish them or be overly concerned about them, as they correspond to a stage in the natural development of dogs.
Discover in this other article when dogs change their teeth and how to help them with the pain.
Game and/or request for attention
A very common mistake we make when our dog takes something with his mouth that we don't want him to bite or eat is to run after him to try to take it away. Since one of the favorite games of most dogs is to chase or be chased by someone, picking up an object and escaping from us becomes a very fun activitywhich, in addition, you can learn to do to get our attention.
Stress or lack of environmental stimulation
Chewing for a long time stimulates the secretion of serotonin and endorphins in the brain and has a relaxing effect, which is why many dogs resort to to chewing to face a stressful situation and be able to cope with it. This is the reason why it is not uncommon to see a dog chewing wooden sticks or eating grass when he is in an unknown place or that generates some tension and insecurity. On the other hand, lack of environmental stimulation can easily lead to boredom and frustration, which are also common triggers for this type of inappropriate chewing behavior.
Dogs can eat grass for reasons other than those mentioned, so we recommend you also consult this other article: "Why do dogs eat grass?".
Pica syndrome
Pica is a behavioral disorder that consists of the ingestion of materials that are not considered food such as, for example, plastic, stones or sticks. A dog can develop a pica problem for various reasons, chronic anxiety, inadequate nutrition or organic pathologies are some of the most common.
For more information, don't miss the post on pica syndrome in dogs.
Is it bad for my dog to bite sticks?
For a dog, chewing on the stick he just found in the park, playing with it or completely destroying it can be a fun and stimulating activityand, in most cases, it is a spontaneous or conditioned behavior, but it is not necessarily related to a behavioral disorder or a previous pathology.
However, playing with sticks, stones, pineapples or any other similar item has its risksOften, as the wood is chewed and broken, the dog swallows the occasional piece, either accidentally or deliberately. It is possible that the stick fragments pass through the digestive tract of the dog and are evacuated with the feces, but, in the worst cases, they can cause suffocation, tears, perforation of organs, upset stomach, intestinal obstruction or gastroenteritis, among others. problems that require a mandatory (and sometimes very urgent) visit to the vet.
In addition, some small splinters can get stuck in the tongue, gum, palate or other areas of the child's mouth. dog without us being aware of it, causing a lot of pain, an infection and, in many cases, the appearance of a purulent abscess that must be treated by a professional. For all these reasons, a dog eating sticks or chewing them is not recommended.
What to do if my dog eats wooden sticks?
The most recommended thing to prevent any possible injury is to prevent our dog, whether it is a puppy or an adult, from biting and chewing sticks and replace them with more appropriate toysfor him. If we usually play with our furry friend using sticks as a teether or throwing them to run after them, it is possible that he ends up developing a certain obsession with searching for and picking up all kinds of branches that he finds in the park. Extinguishing this behavior can be costly in some cases, but, little by little, we must teach our dog that the sticks are no longer going to be used as toys. To do this, the ideal is that, during walks, we carry a teether or lure made of rubber, fiber or some other resistant material that is not harmful to the dog and for which we can exchange the sticks that he picks up.
Another good option if our dog chews sticks is to teach him the command "leave" or "let go" to inhibit his impulse to chew the wood. To do this, we can start training at home and complicate the exercise as the dog understands it. To achieve this, we can always count on the help of a canine education professional who uses respectful techniques based on positive reinforcement. Likewise, we recommend you consult this article: "How to teach the dog to drop objects?".
Take walks to quiet and/or new places, encourage the use of smell, offer appropriate snacks to promote he althy chewing or provide more environmental stimulation at home can be useful actions to reduce the dog's stress level, which, in some cases, is directly related to the behavior of smashing and eating sticks.
Finally, if our dog usually chews sticks and we observe any signs of discomfort, pain or the dog begins to perform strange behaviors, we must immediately go to the vet.
In the following video you will learn how to teach your dog to fetch and fetch appropriate objects, such as a ball:
