Ingestive

Common info

Eating and drinking behaviors are essential to the body that controls the shape of the body. Animal eating behavior is an important issue that owners should pay attention to because it may affect animal health which may cause sickness or diseases.

History

The body structure of animals is similar to humans, each system needs to function properly to maintain a balance of the body to be healthy and have a good immune system. Therefore, animal eating behavior is necessary to maintain balance in the body because if there is no good balance, the animals may have a disease or have health problems. So we need to know the animal's eating habits to see if it’s still normal. There are many forms of eating behaviors, and it may depend on their age as well, including other environmental factors and etc.

Eating strange objects is a problem when dogs eat non-food objects. (Pica) They may eat dirt, mud, stones, soaps, or other items that may be harmful to their health. The organ that is most affected by this behavior is the digestive system. At the same time, Eating feces (Coprophagia) Is another strange eating behavior that can be found such as eating feces of other animals or their own. In addition, the eating behavior of young animals (Glugging or Snooping) such as licking or sucking, most of which are found in cases where the puppy is still breastfed including chewing behavior which may lead to eating strange objects. It also can lead to various diseases as well, such as the symptoms of Excessive hunger or Eat a lot (Polyphagia) if you let them eat whatever they want, a different disease may be followed such as obesity or diabetes, because animals do not know the ingredients or what they should consume and the quantities of it.

Next, is the condition where animals have Excessive urination (Polyuria)     which may result from diabetes, and animals cannot control urine or may be caused by kidney defects or having kidney-related diseases, lastly. And Excessive thirst (Polydipsia), which is a symptom of diabetes or insipidus

Description

That causes may be malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, Increased appetite or other diseases such as diabetes or thyroid disease. In addition, the parasite is also another cause of this behavior. Sometimes dogs will eat their own stools when there is food that is not digested in the stool. The mother of the newborn puppy will eat the feces of the child and puppies may eat feces from seeing the mother's behavior or as part of observing or imitating.

Factor that may cause the Ingestive (Eating behavior)

Intestine inflammation that is not caused by infections such as diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, anemia, increased hunger, neurological diseases, vitamin deficiency, malnutrition, thyroid disease

Symptoms

• Ingestive (Strange behavior while eating)
• Pica (Eat strange objects is non-food items)
• Polyphagia (Eat too much, eat a lot)
• Polyuria (Excessive urination, frequent urination)
• Polydipsia(Drink a lot, drink plenty of water)

Showing strange behavior of eating.

Treatment and Prevention

It can be treated Ingestive with training. If it is a behavior problem that comes with the dog, veterinarians will recommend changing the environment or their behavior, such as using a mouthpiece. In addition, dogs must receive complete nutrition and can provide additional vitamins or other nutrients if necessary and ensure that the dog receives the appropriate amount of food according to the needs of the body. A veterinarian may recommend following up first 2-3 months after treatment.

1. Wikipedia | Ingestive behaviors
2. Wikipedia | Coprophagia
3. Wikipedia | Pica (disorder)
4. Wikipedia | Hematophagy
5. Wikipedia | Polydipsia
6. Wikipedia | Polyuria
7. Wikipedia | Polydipsia
8. Wikipedia | Licking
9. Wikipedia | Swallowing
10. Katherine A. Houpt. 1991. Feeding and Drinking Behavior Problems. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice. 21( 2) : 281-298.
11. Katherine A. Houpt . 1991. Ingestive Behavior Problems of Dogs and Cats. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice. 21( 2) : 683-692.