San Jose dog enjoys digging, but now she’s eating the dirt

Pricey JOAN: Our puppy, an 8-calendar year-aged mix of German shepherd, pit bull, rottweiler and quite a few other individuals, keeps digging in the garden. She would seem to be consuming dirt.

Why would she do this, and is there some way to reduce it?  My wife thinks she is likely following termites.

Don Brownson, San Jose

Pricey DON: Each time our pets get started accomplishing one thing odd, it is usually a excellent plan to consult with a vet. Having filth could be a indicator that she’s not getting the nutrition she requires, or she could possibly be anemic, but a vet should be able to recommend you.

Feeding on grime is a typical habits in puppies. She may possibly be smelling some thing tasty in the soil — those termites, for case in point — or she could have a compulsion identified as pica. This is when a dog — or a human for that issue — eats non-foodstuff products. In pet dogs that eat only grime and no other non-food product, it is termed geophagia.

The condition can be introduced on mainly because the canine is bored. To ease the boredom she could possibly have commenced digging, which led to dust having. There are risks to this behavior. The intestines can turn out to be impacted, she can injure her enamel and gums, and she can take in harmful toxins and parasites in the soil.

To halt the conduct, you should distract her every single time she commences to dig. You might have to get her out on a leash so you have a lot more management of the problem. Rising her perform time could also assistance.

Expensive JOAN: We are puzzled over a bird actions.

When we bicycle past the decreased Crystal Springs Reservoir along Canada Street, we typically see dozens, at times various hundred seagulls gathered in just one or a number of groups on the surface.

We have viewed the birds lots of moments, commonly in the early to mid-early morning.

Any concept why they acquire, and why this site?

Steve Weller, San Mateo

Dear STEVE: All people has to be somewhere, and it seems the gulls have taken a liking to this spot, probably for the reason that it gives a secure shelter and food is near by.

Gulls — and other birds — variety flocks, primarily at night, having benefit of the security that arrives in numbers. The gulls that are better in the pecking order will acquire their area in the heart of the flock, in which they are much less possible to be picked off by wandering predators that go right after the birds on the edges.

In the winter, birds that tend to flock together have an added edge in that roosting in a flock provides additional warmth than likely it on your own. Flocking birds also share crucial information about the area of food stuff sources.