Why dogs eat toilet paper

You arrive home and, as you advance, you find the traces of a disaster, of a massacre. Everything indicates that the culprit is there, moving his tail happy to see you, while the few pieces of toilet paper are dying on the floor.

It is very likely that if you are reading these lines have experienced a similar scene, your dog likes to eat toilet paper and every time you neglect you find a piece in your mouth. You can also try to eat a sheet of plain paper, tear up a notebook or get an appetizing empty package. What leads you to this attitude? Why dogs eat toilet paper? In this article of .com we explain it to you in detail.

Stress, boredom or separation anxiety

Before any destructive behavior that your dog assumes, the first cause that you must evaluate is the existence of some conduct disorder that affects the animal. In this way, stress, separation anxiety when staying most of the day alone and boredom are the main reasons why your dog eats toilet paper, bites furniture, destroys shoes, etc.

This happens mainly because your dog is not getting the physical activity it needs and deserves, so when he is alone at home he does not know how to handle so much accumulated energy and begins to destroy things in his environment to entertain himself and also to drain. This attitude can occur in both puppies and adult dogs.

The solution to the problem is simple: give your dog what it asks for! Your animal should go out to relieve themselves at least 2 times a day, but also and depending on the breed, you need at least 1 hour of pure and hard exercise, sometimes more. The animal needs to play, run, collect the ball, go, come, walk and drain all the stored energy. Only then will it be more comfortable at home, without destroying everything.

In our articles how to control anxiety in dogs and how to relax a dog we give you important keys to ensure your well-being.

Presence of certain diseases

If your animal is adult, it receives the amount of physical activity it needs, but suddenly begins to eat toilet paper without apparent cause, the reason could hide a health problem . Certain conditions such as chronic gastritis, stomach pains, diabetes or gastrointestinal cancer may have as a symptom the intake of paper or other objects in order to try to alleviate the discomfort.

If you observe a behavior change of this type in your animal it is very important to take it to the veterinarian for a review, explain to the doctor that this attitude is not common and that you would like to rule out any gastric problems. Now, if you have modified the amount of activity of the dog or you think that the animal could be stressed, then you should solve it with the recommendations that we give you in the previous section.

Nutrient deficit

Have you recently changed your pet's food? Have you altered the feed brand or opted for a lower quality product? Nutritional deficiencies may be one of the reasons why your pet has decided to start eating paper, this in order to find other nutrients missing nutrients.

Offering your dog quality food is essential to ensure your health, something you should not play with.

A very common attitude in puppies

If you've had dogs before, you've probably noticed that the behavior of eating or tearing toilet paper is more typical of puppies than of adult dogs. This happens because during this stage the animal is experimenting with everything that is around it, and paper is one of those easy objects to attack and chew. In addition, the animal has the energy at its peak and if it does not have its full vaccines can not go out to exercise, because it is at risk of getting sick, so the house is the best place to play and explore.

Another common cause at this stage is the animal's need to get your attention . Dogs are expert manipulators and it is possible that your pet has noticed that when you eat paper you pay attention and you approach him, so he will resort to that trick when he needs it. No matter which of these two is the cause, the truth is that you should not allow this behavior to continue, so the ideal is that when you catch the dog with the legs in the mass you scold him so he learns that this behavior is not allowed. In our article how to scold my dog ​​we explain how to do it.

How to prevent my dog ​​from eating toilet paper?

• Keep the bathroom doors closed so that the animal can not enter. It is also convenient to leave other similar products, such as kitchen towels or napkins, out of reach.
• Close the garbage cans or place them in a place that the dog can not access, in this way you will avoid opening them in search of paper or other debris.
• Give your pet the amount of exercise he needs. Except for those brachycephalic breeds that, due to the shape of their face, can not perform much physical activity (bulldog, pug carlino, boxer, etc), most breeds need a good dose of exercise, in some cases 1 hour or more a day. Without that the anxiety of your pet can be triggered towards a destructive behavior.
• Play with your dog, keep him active and busy at home so he can drain his energy there too. It is also important that you give him appropriate toys for his age, this way his mouth will always be occupied in something interesting.
• Do not forget to discipline the animal, with patience and affection, so that it abandons this habit.