Puppy eating hair

ericasm0703

I'm a long-time lurker, but have started coming out of the shadows here a little bit. FI and I have an 11 week old yorkie-poo who was taken from a bad situation; she had fleas and worms, and was diagnosed with anorexia due to a parasite she had contracted. However, yesterday she started throwing up, but it was just watery; today it was a huge clump of hair. We have two cats that I'm allergic to (my fiancé got them shortly after we met and before we started dating; I wouldn't ask him to get rid of them) so I vacuum twice a day and wipe everything down. I tried calling the vet but he wasn't in yet, so the receptionist took the information and said she would pass it along. Is there something more that you guys suggest that I do, or have any insight as to why she might be eating the hair?

novella1186

Puppies sometimes just eat really weird stuff. The first night I had my rescue pup, he puked up a huge furry black thing (no idea what it was). It was totally bizarre. After that, he was obsessed with eating leaves and paper, and would try to eat rocks. I had to keep a close eye on him because clearly a rock in his stomach wouldn't be good. He grew out of that phase, though. 

When my beagle was a puppy she would eat bugs (like huge crickets) and then cough them back up.

My parents' puppy tries to eat plants in their yard, so they follow him around to make sure he doesn't eat anything harmful. 

I would definitely recommend having the vet check her out, cuz obviously vomiting can be a sign of something like parvo (has she been vaccinated?) but it's not totally uncommon for a puppy to eat something weird and then barf. 

thefanciestbeckler

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think this may be relatively normal. My dog is a puppy mill rescue, so I totally get where you are coming from. If it makes you feel any better, she threw up pretty frequently when she was a pup. She would eat all kinds of stuff - foam from her bed, the stuffing from toys, and she particularly loved to eat grass (and not because she was sick). Eventually she grew out of it. I think some of it is just normal puppy stuff.

Is she eating her food when you feed her?

ericasm0703

novella1186 said:

Puppies sometimes just eat really weird stuff. The first night I had my rescue pup, he puked up a huge furry black thing (no idea what it was). It was totally bizarre. After that, he was obsessed with eating leaves and paper, and would try to eat rocks. I had to keep a close eye on him because clearly a rock in his stomach wouldn't be good. He grew out of that phase, though. 

When my beagle was a puppy she would eat bugs (like huge crickets) and then cough them back up.

My parents' puppy tries to eat plants in their yard, so they follow him around to make sure he doesn't eat anything harmful. 

I would definitely recommend having the vet check her out, cuz obviously vomiting can be a sign of something like parvo (has she been vaccinated?) but it's not totally uncommon for a puppy to eat something weird and then barf. 

She was only given another dose of dewormer when I took her to the vet on the 23rd, and she's due to go back Monday. They were going to do the shots but she was in such bad shape from hardly eating that they decided to just put her on a round of antibiotics for the parasite and told me to bring her back if she got worse.

ETA: she's eating her food, but she spends a while playing with it first; she's done that since we got her though. This morning is only the second time that she's thrown up, and she's now running around tormenting the cats. She's also been sleeping more than normal, but I was told that it's because she's growing. It's been a long time since I've had a puppy, and I was just a kid at that time; sorry!

thefanciestbeckler

novella1186 said:

Puppies sometimes just eat really weird stuff. The first night I had my rescue pup, he puked up a huge furry black thing (no idea what it was). It was totally bizarre. After that, he was obsessed with eating leaves and paper, and would try to eat rocks. I had to keep a close eye on him because clearly a rock in his stomach wouldn't be good. He grew out of that phase, though. 

When my beagle was a puppy she would eat bugs (like huge crickets) and then cough them back up.

My parents' puppy tries to eat plants in their yard, so they follow him around to make sure he doesn't eat anything harmful. 

I would definitely recommend having the vet check her out, cuz obviously vomiting can be a sign of something like parvo (has she been vaccinated?) but it's not totally uncommon for a puppy to eat something weird and then barf. 

My dog tried to eat rocks too when she was a puppy. She loved them. Every time I let her inside she had one in her mouth that she was trying to sneak in.

novella1186

ericasm0703 said:

novella1186 said:

Puppies sometimes just eat really weird stuff. The first night I had my rescue pup, he puked up a huge furry black thing (no idea what it was). It was totally bizarre. After that, he was obsessed with eating leaves and paper, and would try to eat rocks. I had to keep a close eye on him because clearly a rock in his stomach wouldn't be good. He grew out of that phase, though. 

When my beagle was a puppy she would eat bugs (like huge crickets) and then cough them back up.

My parents' puppy tries to eat plants in their yard, so they follow him around to make sure he doesn't eat anything harmful. 

I would definitely recommend having the vet check her out, cuz obviously vomiting can be a sign of something like parvo (has she been vaccinated?) but it's not totally uncommon for a puppy to eat something weird and then barf. 

She was only given another dose of dewormer when I took her to the vet on the 23rd, and she's due to go back Monday. They were going to do the shots but she was in such bad shape from hardly eating that they decided to just put her on a round of antibiotics for the parasite and told me to bring her back if she got worse.

Then definitely get her to the vet ASAP. 

julieanne912

Another rock eating puppy here too.  And ice and snow.  And bugs. And poop.  She's 2 now and still likes to eat bugs and poop and snow.  She also went through a phase where she'd have diarrhea and the vet could find nothing wrong and she'd be fine the next day.

I agree that you should take her back to the vet if you are concerned.  Better to be safe than sorry in my opinion.

Maggie0829

I think eating anything and everything is pretty typical puppy behavior.  My 4 year old lab still tries to eat random things and then her belly gets upset and back up it comes.  Your puppy probably saw the hair and thought "hmm, I wonder what that is and if it would be tasty?"

My pup also went through a period where she would have diarrhea and/or throw up.  The vet could find nothing wrong with her so we changed her food to something for a more sensitive stomach and that helped.  So in the end we are chalking it up to just having a sensitive GI tract that she slowly grew out of.  Even now she has issues, but nothing like when she was younger.

But there is nothing wrong with taking your pup to the vet if you feel like there is something wrong.  I would rather shell out $100 or so bucks for a check up and maybe a test or two and find out that there is nothing wrong then to not do anything and she gets sicker.

madamerwin

I can't speak to any medical issues, but I will say - our pup LOVES hair. If I let him close to my head, we will happily lick/eat my hair (but never in large quantities). He is also fascinated by corn silks when I am shucking corn. I thought it was weird, but it seems to be relatively common behavior.

justsie

I know how you feel, my FI's dog had distemper when we got him and we spend probably 3 months in hell not knowing if he was going to live or die. It got so bad that at one point my mom called and offered to take him and we accepted, she doesn't work and did not have any other animals in the house, we were still in college at the time and my dog had been staying at a friends just in case (she had just had her boosters, so she wasn't in real danger, but I wasn't taking chances). I'm convinced my mom is the only reason that dog survived and she kept pretty mum about how bad he was until he got better. I think for a long time, even after the dog recovered, every cough or awkward movement was regarded carefully by FI and I. I think its pretty normal to always be concerned when you know anything could be a sign. If you are worried, take the pup to the vet.

I will say that I think eating hair is pretty typical. My dogs always sniff and lick at the hair that I brush off them. I'm sure if left alone they would probably eat some.

ericasm0703

Thanks all! I know puppies get into everything and tend to eat some weird stuff, but I've never experienced this. I just brought her home from the vet; since we live in a large apartment complex with a lot of dogs, I wanted her to be tested for parvo, and they wanted to see her right away. The parvo test was negative, but they said that she has an intestinal blockage. The vet gave me a gel to put in her food, recommended pumpkin and wants to switch her to a mostly liquid diet until it passes. Since she's going back Monday for the shots, they will reevaluate the blockage then, and if it hasn't gone away then they'll do surgery. She was definitely not happy with me when we got back but now she's running around trying to entice my new leg cast to chase her. Thanks again!

novella1186

ericasm0703 said:

Thanks all! I know puppies get into everything and tend to eat some weird stuff, but I've never experienced this. I just brought her home from the vet; since we live in a large apartment complex with a lot of dogs, I wanted her to be tested for parvo, and they wanted to see her right away. The parvo test was negative, but they said that she has an intestinal blockage. The vet gave me a gel to put in her food, recommended pumpkin and wants to switch her to a mostly liquid diet until it passes. Since she's going back Monday for the shots, they will reevaluate the blockage then, and if it hasn't gone away then they'll do surgery. She was definitely not happy with me when we got back but now she's running around trying to entice my new leg cast to chase her. Thanks again!

So glad it's not parvo! Sounds like she'll be just fine Best of luck! 

huskypuppy14

becklertobe said:

novella1186 said:

Puppies sometimes just eat really weird stuff. The first night I had my rescue pup, he puked up a huge furry black thing (no idea what it was). It was totally bizarre. After that, he was obsessed with eating leaves and paper, and would try to eat rocks. I had to keep a close eye on him because clearly a rock in his stomach wouldn't be good. He grew out of that phase, though. 

When my beagle was a puppy she would eat bugs (like huge crickets) and then cough them back up.

My parents' puppy tries to eat plants in their yard, so they follow him around to make sure he doesn't eat anything harmful. 

I would definitely recommend having the vet check her out, cuz obviously vomiting can be a sign of something like parvo (has she been vaccinated?) but it's not totally uncommon for a puppy to eat something weird and then barf. 

My dog tried to eat rocks too when she was a puppy. She loved them. Every time I let her inside she had one in her mouth that she was trying to sneak in.

My dog did the same thing. He eats bugs, ice, plants, his bed, blankets etc. He isn't allowed to have any soft toys because he destroys them in two minutes. He is definitely better than he was when we first got him (he just turned 1), but he likes to chew on everything. 

madamerwin

huskypuppy14 said:

becklertobe said:

novella1186 said:

Puppies sometimes just eat really weird stuff. The first night I had my rescue pup, he puked up a huge furry black thing (no idea what it was). It was totally bizarre. After that, he was obsessed with eating leaves and paper, and would try to eat rocks. I had to keep a close eye on him because clearly a rock in his stomach wouldn't be good. He grew out of that phase, though. 

When my beagle was a puppy she would eat bugs (like huge crickets) and then cough them back up.

My parents' puppy tries to eat plants in their yard, so they follow him around to make sure he doesn't eat anything harmful. 

I would definitely recommend having the vet check her out, cuz obviously vomiting can be a sign of something like parvo (has she been vaccinated?) but it's not totally uncommon for a puppy to eat something weird and then barf. 

My dog tried to eat rocks too when she was a puppy. She loved them. Every time I let her inside she had one in her mouth that she was trying to sneak in.

My dog did the same thing. He eats bugs, ice, plants, his bed, blankets etc. He isn't allowed to have any soft toys because he destroys them in two minutes. He is definitely better than he was when we first got him (he just turned 1), but he likes to chew on everything. 

Mine likes rocks too! I have stepped on tiny rocks, barefoot, inside in the middle of the night too many times to count. We also have a plum tree in our back yard, and our pup hoards plums. He will pick them up very gently, carry them to a designated spot, and deposit them in a pile. I'm sure he has eaten a few, but mostly he just collects them.