Dog Dirt eating game?

What is up with this thing with dogs eating dirt?

Duncan sniffs all over the yard and will stop in "special" spots while Dowser follows him, Duncan pulls off the top soil take a bit and Dowser takes over the spot for a minute while Duncan finds another spot. They will do this until they have about 4 spots going and alternate between spots. Later Duncan will go back to each spot and cover them back up, and pretend they don't exist anymore. Dowser never finds the spots and Pepsi does not join in this ritual ever.

 

do they really eat dirt? or just playing in it?

 

they play in it.

 

They eat it. They both take bites of the dirt and swallow it.

 

When I first saw this I thought...Pica but to be honest Ive had a couple of dogs that have, on occasion, grabbed some dirt and eaten it, the usual routine had been they were running around playing and just grabbed at the ground, most of it was spat out although Im sure some of it went down.
I was curious though, is this your regular BB mountain dirt or is there any fertilizer/manure in it? Manure would be a reason for them to eat it....I know...kinda gross but some dogs like it :shock:
I was also wondering if it could just be that Duncan 'just did it one day' for no apparant reason other than maybe it 'seemed like a good idea at the time' and its turned into a game with them.
Have they seen you digging holes or planting anything in the ground. Dogs are great at mimicking and sometimes sudden out of the blue...."dog has never dug up anything before" can become a 'new' game for them....like...it must be okay because mom or pop do it.....
Another possibility is if another animal has been around, squirrel, cat etc and theyve picked up the scent in certain areas, maybe if a squirrel has sat there eating for a few minutes.
If they are doing it a lot, eating a lot of it the dirt and grit can become a problem, especially with any clay like soil but if its just an occasional mouthful it probably wont do them any harm, just monitor them. If you want them to stop you could try some Bitter Apple, not suggesting you spray the entire area but if you physically catch them eating it, a quick squirt in the mouth and a bit were theyve been eating from might work.

 

Sometimes I think it is Duncan teasing or tricking Dowser into eating the dirt. But I can see that these spots are special in some way to them.

One spot is under the shade bush where small leaves have decomposed (Dark moist dirt).
Another spot us under the second story deck near the steps (Clay and coarse).
Another spot is near the wild rose bushes (dry and grey).
The the most special place is just not near anything and they will both guard this spot when they first get let out into the yard (again dark dirt though).
Oh and there is a spot in the fron yard that Dowser will wait for Duncan to open before eating any dirt from it. Dowser is the fron yard dog while Pepsi and Duncan are back yard dogs, (this dirt is also decomposed leaves and pine humas". I realized that they do not do this when apart. Duncan takes special care in finding and maintaining these spots. Sometimes it will take him 20 or 30 minutes of smelling scraping and testing to locate a new spot.
He is also the hider of things. He buries his morning raw hide chips every day and then retrieves them when I allow Dowser to go in the back after I get home from work. Any time Dowser gets near a bury spot Duncan gets very nervous and runs to stand over the spot. It really is very amusing to watch. As soon as Dowser moves off Duncan quickley removes the prize and runs off with it. Duncan always checks the spot and chases after Duncan for the softened chip, so I have started giving 2 chips in the morn for Duncan to bury and he does. He also gives Dowser the first chip after chase and goes to get the second for himself. Dowser always leaves his chip in the bowel which Pepsi will take when she is allowed.
Quiet the comedy.