Does your Lab eat anything he comes across, even non-edible items? Have you noticed that he/she eats socks, pants, towels, shoes, harness, etc? What’s good in all this is that you are not alone! Many Labrador owners are having the same problem.
Labradors may eat everything, including non-edible items because they are hungry or fed with food that doesn’t meet their nutritional needs. Other reasons for excessive eating can be PICA disorder, some disease, or it’s a matter of genetics. Labradors that are anxious, stressed, or bored will also eat non-food items.
To learn more about this topic and how to stop this behavior, just keep reading.
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Why Do Labradors Eat Everything?
Besides genetics and food-motivated behavior, there are a couple of other reasons why your Lab eats anything he comes across.
Your Lab is Hungry
Labradors may eat everything if they are hungry. But I assume that you are the responsible owner, so this is not the cause.
Your Lab’s Diet is Not Appropriate ( Low Calorie or Unbalanced Diet)
The other reason might be the fact that your Lab is eating food that doesn’t meet his nutritional needs.
If your Lab is malnourished, eats food that doesn’t have a wide range of minerals and vitamins and other nutrients needed, he will try to find those in either human food, table scraps, or even non-edible items.
Lack of different nutrients in the food will leave your dog without energy, with various coat and skin problems, variety of illnesses. Low-quality food is usually full of synthetic chemicals, artificial flavors, refined grains, and sugars, additives and by-products.
Many of these elements are not digestible which means that they pass into the stool with no nutritional benefits for your Lab.
If you think that this might be the reason why your Lab is eating everything he can find, do speak to the vet, he might help you with the transition to new, higher quality food that will keep your dog healthy and happy.
Your Lab is Sick
Some diseases may increase appetite, so it looks like your Lab is eating all the time. When he doesn’t have his own food, he will grab non-edible things as well.
Your Lab might have a condition called Hypothyroidism. Labradors are prone to this disease which pushes the dog to excessive eating and obesity.
Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disease that can affect Labradors ( among other dog breeds). It occurs when thyroid glands are not able to produce the right amount of hormones.
Besides increased appetite, Labs suffer from hair loss ( usually on the dog’s trunk, back of rear legs, and tail) and lack of energy. Although this condition is not life-threatening, if left untreated, it may lead to death after a series of complications.
Diabetes is another hormone-related problem that may increase your Lab’s appetite. Other symptoms are excessive thirst and urination, weight loss, cloudy eyes, chronic infections.
Pancreatic atrophy can be another cause of increased appetite. Along with that, your Lab might have a pale-colored stool, weight loss, and increased flatulence.
Your Lab is Bored or Stressed
Unlike other reasons, these are emotional ones.
So no matter how hard you try to provide the best quality food for your Lab, you are taking him to the vet on regular basis, you know that he is in perfect shape, he still gnaws your shoes, grabs the leftovers from your table, or digs in the garbage and eats trash.
Ok, one of the reasons might be genetics but before you make a conclusion that mutation of the POMC gene is ”guilty” for your Lab’s behavior, do ask yourself how does live your Lab, how does his day look like?
Is he entertained, physically active, mentally stimulated, or he sits alone in your home anxiously waiting for you to come home in the late afternoon?
If Labrador doesn’t get enough physical and mental stimulation or if he is left alone for too many hours every day, he might find a way to entertain himself. You won’t like his way of entertainment, for sure!
The same goes for stress. If your Lab is stressed or anxious (trembles, pants) he might try to overcome it with excessive eating or eating non-edible items such as toys, your shoes, piece of furniture, dish/tea towels, etc.
PICA Disorder in Labradors
PICA disorder is a condition where the dog feels the urge to eat non-food items. This condition might be related to some physiological issues but also might be caused by medical problems and poor nutrition.
Ingesting non-edible items may be extremely dangerous for a Lab. Potential outcomes are intestinal blockages, poising, choking, and many other problems that can jeopardize seriously your Lab’s health.
PICA disorder might be caused by separation anxiety, stress, lack of socialization, lack of mental and physical stimulation, depression, frustration…
Apart from phycological issues, some medical problems may lead to PICA disorder in dogs :
- Diabetes
- Anemia
- Teething ( in puppies)
- Neurological disease
- Lack of vitamins
- Exposure to corticosteroids
- Stomach tumor
- Inflammatory bowel disease
Do Labradors Grow Out Of Eating Everything?
If your Lab is genetically predisposed to eat everything it comes across, then it would be hard for you to solve the issue of excessive eating
Still, do not jump to that conclusion right away. You should check with your vet if there is some underlining problem that might be treated.
Maybe your Lab can overcome the problem of excessive eating or eating non-food items if you help him to solve the issue ( physiological or medical ) he has.
Why Are Labradors Always Hungry?
Labradors are known as food-motivated dogs. This breed is simply obsessed with food. The reason for this lies in their genetics.
Due to mutation in the gene POMC, these dogs are more likely to beg for food, eat more than they need, scavenge for scarps and be overweight.
There is a study about Labradors’ genetics (Science Direct) that is associated with their appetite, food-motivated behavior, and obesity.
How Do I Stop My Labrador Scavenging?
If you ruled out all potential medical issues that could push your Lab to eat everything around, then maybe it’s time to teach him not to be a scavenger or at least not to scavenge that much.
Teach your dog a command ”Leave it!”, praise your Lab every time when he pays attention, play some nose games with him, make your dog’s mealtime more interesting. When you take a walk with your Lab, pick up the less tempting locations.
The command ”leave it” will help you to remove your dog from a potentially dangerous item that he can swallow. But you should train a lot, this command must work every time.
When your Lab is outside, there are a lot of things that can distract him. You have to offer something that will draw his attention and prevent him from eating unsuitable things.
A tasty piece of chicken or his favorite treat should be good enough to get his attention and eventually he will understand that he is generously praised when he listens to you.
You can put his food in some food puzzle or snuffle mat to make mealtime more interesting. Your Lab will get necessary mental stimulation plus he won’t get his food easily, he will need to work for it.
Eventually, when you take your Lab to walk, pick some locations in which you know who won’t find many temptations and unsuitable things to eat.
Conclusion
The truth is that Labradors eat like hogs. This breed is super food-motivated and there are a couple of reasons for that. One of them is genetics and the POMC gene mutation.
Another reason might be some medical issue like diabetes or hypothyroidism. Your Lab might suffer from PICA disorder because of which feels the urge to eat non-food items.
The reason for gnawing your shoes, pieces of furniture, your clothes, towels or even his own poop and garbage, might be physiological nature.
Labs that are stressed or anxious might eat non-edible items and if you catch your Lab that eats his own poop, consider this as attention-seeking behavior but do talk to the vet about how to solve this issue.
