Eating Hair

Gypsy Wolf · 25-05-2011, 02:00

Hi all,
I notice a strange habit Luna has - eating hair. It seems whenever her tummy is upset, she hunts around the house for any hair that I might not have swept/vaccuumed up and eats it. She will even occasionally chew some hair off the tip of her tail.
THe only thing I can think is tha this is an attempt to "self-medicate" - her tummy is upset and instinct tells her that hair will help. I know that wolves in the wild eat hair and part of the theory behind them being able to pass large amounts of bone through their digestive tract is through having the hair sort of push it along through.
Just curious if anyone else has noticed this strange habit?

yukidomari · 26-05-2011, 06:27

The dogs here have been fed franken-prey without fur and also large whole prey with. they haven't had any trouble passing bone at all in either circumstance.

AMERICANI · 29-05-2011, 05:24

LOL, Piter LOVES ponytails no matter how his stomach is.... Sorry, I just had to check out this thread after seeing the title..

Tassle · 29-05-2011, 11:49

I have known it in a few dogs (my friends BC is terrible for it).
She will hunt for anything (she used to pull threads out of the carpet as well) but especially hair to make herself sick. Oddly her sister behaves in the exact same way (although they have been brought up very differently) and no other dogs in the households (both are multi dog) practise this behaviour.
Both are coming up to 5 and have never had any ill effects from it.

BigBill · 11-08-2011, 20:21

It is common for wolves to eat a lot of fur with their food. It has been found to help pass undigested bone easily, so it would not be a stretch to assume the same for other canines that eat raw as part of their diet.
Our hybrid does the same thing.

25-05-2011, 02:00	#1
Gypsy Wolf Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Florida & Minnesota U.S. Posts: 252	Eating Hair Hi all, I notice a strange habit Luna has - eating hair. It seems whenever her tummy is upset, she hunts around the house for any hair that I might not have swept/vaccuumed up and eats it. She will even occasionally chew some hair off the tip of her tail. THe only thing I can think is tha this is an attempt to "self-medicate" - her tummy is upset and instinct tells her that hair will help. I know that wolves in the wild eat hair and part of the theory behind them being able to pass large amounts of bone through their digestive tract is through having the hair sort of push it along through. Just curious if anyone else has noticed this strange habit?

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26-05-2011, 06:27	#2
yukidomari Moderator Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Los Angeles CA Posts: 847	The dogs here have been fed franken-prey without fur and also large whole prey with. they haven't had any trouble passing bone at all in either circumstance.

29-05-2011, 05:24	#3
AMERICANI Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 111	LOL, Piter LOVES ponytails no matter how his stomach is.... Sorry, I just had to check out this thread after seeing the title..

29-05-2011, 11:49	#4
Tassle Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cornwall Posts: 137	I have known it in a few dogs (my friends BC is terrible for it). She will hunt for anything (she used to pull threads out of the carpet as well) but especially hair to make herself sick. Oddly her sister behaves in the exact same way (although they have been brought up very differently) and no other dogs in the households (both are multi dog) practise this behaviour. Both are coming up to 5 and have never had any ill effects from it.

11-08-2011, 20:21	#5
BigBill Junior Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 6	It is common for wolves to eat a lot of fur with their food. It has been found to help pass undigested bone easily, so it would not be a stretch to assume the same for other canines that eat raw as part of their diet. Our hybrid does the same thing.