My Doberman Eats Pine Needles?

My Doby eats a large amount of Pine Needles. I live on a pine lot, and she eats alot of them, moreso in the fall and winter. Anyone know why or have some info. The vet I have has no clue. Really, he doesnt. I was wondering if there was some herb the dog could take?

My Doberman Eats Pine Needles?
My only concern would be that it chews them only. you don't want any of those lodged in its throat.
Reply:I don't know, maybe it's doberman thing? I've lived with many different breeds, and the fully grown doberman would eat the strangest things. Crayons, underwear, spines of National Geographics, etc.





Anyway, pine needles are high in vitamin C. Maybe that's what she's craving? Talk to your vet about my theory, and the best way to add vitamin C to your dog's diet. As long as it's not a dangerous food or supplement for dogs, vitamin C shouldn't hurt. A few of our dogs have loved carrots.





And in the meantime, good luck, and I hope you find a better answer. These websites about Vitamin C may or may not help.
Reply:pine oil can be toxic but only in very large amounts. pine needles can be hard to digest.and could cause some constipation. cheek his diet. do you feed him a cosmical dog food? if not i would look into that. another reason might be that he simply wanted some thing to chew on. if i were you i would get him a hallow chew toy like a Kong and put a few cooked veggies and peanut butter in there for him to play with when he is out side.
Reply:Well, it's kind of odd, but as long as she is not getting sick and it's not causing any long term problems, I wouldn't worry about it. Dogs eat random gross stuff; just be glad it's not her own turds or vomit.
Reply:how old is she? my dobe used to eat alot of things when she was a pup!! i had to really watch her,but she has grown out of it. i do know pine needles are not very good for any animal to eat.just watch her and if you notice her acting different take to a different vet!good luck
Reply:Have you smelt his farts recently? Forest fresh.
Reply:I think as long as your Vet doesnt think it would hurt the dog, who cares, better than him eating much worse things....
Reply:That's unusual... but then again, dogs eat grass, dead animals, and their own turd. By dog standards, your doberman's culinary tastes are pretty tame.





If the vet doesn't think it will hurt him, then it's prob. nothing to worry about.
Reply:My Dobermans all eat pine needles, pine bark, and an occasional pine cone when at our mountain property. Given the vitamin supplement we use -- NuVet (http://www.nuvet.com) -- contains pine bark, I never gave it much thought as I know from using this product that Pine Bark has been shown in clinical studies to be 20 times more effective than Vitamin C and 50 times more effective than Vitamin E as an antioxidant.





I wouldn't worry.