Decomposing wood, dirt, what will a Chow eat?
Moderator: chowadmin
Decomposing wood, dirt, what will a Chow eat?
I was out with Lilly yesterday like always. We were walking our west woods then over to our north woods in back of our garage. Lilly started smelling around like crazy, I thought at first she was trying to find a place to spend a penny, but it became apparent that it was not her goal. Her little nose was smelling everything in the area, rocks, dirt, decomposing wood. She finally settled on the decomposing wood & started eating it. She was coveting it, her face went "patty pan." I know that I physically couldn't get in between her and her find, so I started telling her "no" "it will make you sick," several times until she finally left it. Tess used to eat dirt in a particular place on our creek where a slow tributary fed into it. I can understand why Tess ate the dirt because of the minerals, but why was Lilly eating the decomposing wood??? Last winter Lilly found some moss or lichen on a rock and ate that & I can understand, it was greenery. Does anyone have any answers why a Chow would eat decomposing wood?
/chow-avatar-0341.jpg){kind=avatar}
Re: Decomposing wood, dirt, what will a Chow eat?
I have no idea why she would eat decomposing wood, but I know that if I let her Cocoa will strip the bark from sticks and eat it. When she gets a stick she will carry it for a bit (quite proudly, she struts when she has a stick) but then she will lie down with it and start to strip the bark, I have no idea why. 
Re: Decomposing wood, dirt, what will a Chow eat?
You posed an interesting question when you asked why a chow would eat decomposing wood. I’m sorry that I don’t have an answer but your question brought back a favorite holiday memory of my beloved Chloe.
The last Christmas season before Chloe passed away she went through a paper-eating phase for whatever reason I don’t know why. Newspapers, magazines, mail - anything was fair game or so she thought. One day I was in the process of arranging my angel collection on the top of my upright piano and laid my sheet music on the piano bench until I was finished. I left the house mid-way through to run some errands. When I came home I found my sheet music for “Silver Bells” had been partially eaten by you- know- who. She followed me into the room and just looked at the piano bench and then at me and with a look on her face as if to say “I am so-o-o busted” To this day, every tine I hear the song “Silver Bells” Chloe comes to my mind and I smile or sometimes I shed a tear or two.
Back to your question RE:why a chow would eat decomposing wood - my thought at the time Chloe was in her paper-eating phase was perhaps she felt she needed more fiber in her diet. Paper is made from wood, maybe Lilly thought she needed more fiber in her diet.
The last Christmas season before Chloe passed away she went through a paper-eating phase for whatever reason I don’t know why. Newspapers, magazines, mail - anything was fair game or so she thought. One day I was in the process of arranging my angel collection on the top of my upright piano and laid my sheet music on the piano bench until I was finished. I left the house mid-way through to run some errands. When I came home I found my sheet music for “Silver Bells” had been partially eaten by you- know- who. She followed me into the room and just looked at the piano bench and then at me and with a look on her face as if to say “I am so-o-o busted” To this day, every tine I hear the song “Silver Bells” Chloe comes to my mind and I smile or sometimes I shed a tear or two.
Back to your question RE:why a chow would eat decomposing wood - my thought at the time Chloe was in her paper-eating phase was perhaps she felt she needed more fiber in her diet. Paper is made from wood, maybe Lilly thought she needed more fiber in her diet.