Things That Dogs I Know Have Eaten

A strawberry rhubarb pie
A package of hot dog rolls from the top of the refrigerator (that was one talented dog)
A loaf of bakery fresh bread from my car
Several rubber bands
Nasty nasty smelly old crab and mussel shells from the beach nearby
A discarded frozen turkey tetrazini dinner, found in the street.
A stick of butter and the saran wrap that was covering it, just this morning.

Not all of these items were consumed by the three legged wonder dog. She can't reach the top of my fridge, and would be horrified to eat something off a plate, on the counter. But nasty crab shells and rubber bands and turkey tetrazini TV dinners get vacuumed up with enthusiasm.

[Update: I just remembered a sort of horrible and delightful college experience -- an eccentric classmate of mine and fellow member of the sailing team used to carry around a pet snake everywhere, keeping it in his pocket and inviting girls to hold it, etc. We on the sailing team came to hate that snake. So it was a happy occasion when our friend took the snake out to show someone and a nearby german shepard bit the thing in half and happily consumed what he'd bitten.]

Comments

[John P.]

Dogs also seem to like to eat horse manure and trimmings from horse's hooves. I also knew a dog who climbed on a table and ate half of a large, traditional English fruitcake (i.e., coated in marzipan and hard meringue) and threw the whole thing up a few hours later.

You may recall the line from "Jaws," where the captain says he knew a shark to eat a rockin' chair once.

[ijk]

Fair warning...out tibetian mastiff ate a full stick of butter once, I encourage you to make certain your dog can get out as it does unusual things to the digestive tract.

My two "favorites" were cat poop (which, when I asked my vet about, he said, "oh, yes...Kitty Biscuits"...urgh) and two and half tablespoons of wasabi (that also involved emptying the downstairs toilet).

[Neal]

My dog used to bury all of his food and dig it back up before eating it. Hot dogs, a slice of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, it just wasn't the same without a dirt coating.

As a child, I also saw a neighbor's dog feast on some green goose poop. Ugh!

[Dave]

One of my dogs is apparently part goat. He has eaten, among other things: rocks, pantyhose, a sewing needle, any number of food items thrown on the ground, and animal poop of all sorts.

At least one of those items involved a prompt trip to the vet's office.

[cmc]

My collie once ate an entire raw chicken, bones and all, from the kitchen counter. She seemed to suffer no ill effects and, in fact, seemed quite pleased with herself.

[Coyote]

I used to work at a boarding kennel. I saw dogs eat all manner of things. One dog we had used to eat gravel by the mouthfuls - no kidding.

A friends dog ate an entire jar of cocoa butter - which is not good for the ol insides.

[UCL]

Our English mastiff's dietary history includes pebbles, cat poop, her own poop, cat vomit, her own vomit, parts of my wife's hairbrush on 3 separate occasions, sticks, and of course cat food.

[bluerabbit]

My family used to have a dog once that liked to take various food items "for walks" as is "opps, looks like Syd took another stick of butter for a a walk out in the backyard." We had a dog door on the old house and Syd would take her grabbed snacks out of the house for a "picnic." She also liked to bury her contraband. She'd forget to retrieve some, so every year in the spring, when planting new flowers in the planters out back, we'd have a running tally...two bagels, one and half sticks of butter, two cookies in varying states of decomposition...

[Anthony]

My old 240-pound Great Dane once ate more than a gallon of wild rice soup--he knocked the kettle right off the stove, and licked everything up so neatly that we started to wonder whether we had even cooked it in the first place (he had hid the empty kettle). And I knew a Lhasa Apso who individually unwrapped and consumed an entire bag of Halloween candy.

Our current Weimaraner-St. Bernard is still a puppy. While she once ate her weight in kitty litter medley--her bloated belly dragged on the ground for days--she still favors her own "home cooking".

[Sheila]

One of our German Shepherds ate a kielbasa my dad had left cooling on the kitchen counter. Needless to say, Dad was very careful with food after that.... Sheila

A dead, flattened squirrel.

Normal food stuff isn't surprising: Rice Krispies (a favorite treat); a grilled vegetable and goat cheese sandwich; bratwurst; hot dogs.

Then, there was the time he attempted to taste the guinea pig that the little girl next door was holding . . .

[UCL]

I just remembered that my college roommate's mutt once scarfed down an entire, full bag of Oreos in 30 seconds flat.

[Trufa]

HI My name is Trufa, the very full mutt puppy. I just stole a whole bag of wrapped bread off the counter. My parents found an empty bag on the floor. Boy, am I in the dog house, but at least my belly is full.

[BrainSlayer]

My Jack russel terrier ate a birds egg,
and a thumb tack needle that fell off a cork bulletin board. there was some blood in his poop

[Sarah]

My little Howie apparently ate two fuzzy hair ties OVER a month ago... both were green. Lately he's been having horrible diarrhea and has been dry heaving every morning. Well this morning it was more than dry heaving and he threw up both those hair ties!! He's a teeny dog too so they must have been filling up like half of his little tummy! Poor little guy, just glad they're out of there... and bummed that we spent a bunch of money at the vet trying to figure out what was wrong!

[foxfire]

I had a dog that ate a cat. Really. OK, it was a helpless little newborn kitten. We were walking, and I saw something in the grass. About the time I figured out what it was, it was snack time for Wayah. He swallowed the thing whole! That dog always loved cats.

[Arleen]

My English Mastiff and Pits will eat anything under the sun (accept the best brands of dog food that is). They eat poop, dog, cat or bird. Dead birds, rodents even. One of my pits found a baby opposum, I don't know what he had planned for him, but he was soaked with drool. Oh, and they love beauty bark (the large chunks especially) regardless of the torment they go through to pass them form their bowels. I don't know, I think they hold a competition amongst themselves or maybe they are trying to get a reaction out of me or something. And this is only a hint of the nastiness i've seen.

[Roger]

My Dog ate mothballs. That set us back 400 bucks, he was in the hospital for 3 days on intravenous, drooled profusily, bled from the butt for about week but doesnt seem worst for wear now. I thought he was a goner, what dog would eat something that smells like mothballs, beats me?

[Lacie]

My dog at two needles do you think he will be okay?

[Jon]

On valentines day, my dog ate a box of See's Candies. He got it off the counter,tore the wrapper off, and opened the box. He didn't get sick at all.

[Shanin]

After a couple of vet visits, my 9 mo old boxer was still vomiting daily. while he was vomiting, i felt around his neck and i could feel a protrusion. Come to find out he had swallowed a stick that was 14 and a half inches long...unbroken.

[becky]

my black lab will eat just about anything, including kittie poop, play-doh, toys, socks, lint balls, whatever he finds on a walk, but the one meal that stands out for me is the time i cooked a big beautiful 9 pound ham for a family dinner. i pulled it out of the oven, placed it on a serving platter then went to get my hubby so he could carve it, honestly i left the ham unattended for about 40 seconds, tops, came back in and the ham....gone!!! boy did zuese have a clean digestive tract after that one!!

[Enjay]

My yellow lab/hound dog just got on the table and licked up all the left over wasabi from take out sushi. My guess would be about enough to make two golf balls. She seems fine but I think she's spending tonight outside. Thanks for the laughs though :)

[Katie]

My border collie just ate 1/2 a stick of butter, paper and all. I can't help thinking that his GI system is on the fast track to Diarrhea Town.

[aaron]

our little 8.5 pound miniature pinscher just ate a raw chicken breast off the kitchen table. Hopefully they can't get salmonella like we can.