Why do dogs scavenge?
Scavenging is a natural behaviour in dogs, driven by instinct, boredom, stress, anxiety, or over-excitement. It can also occur more frequently among certain breeds.
For example, hound dogs (eg Beagles, Bloodhounds, Basset Hounds, Greyhounds), and gun dogs (eg Labradors, Retrievers, Spaniels) have keen hunting instincts, lots of energy and are highly motivated by food.
Those rescue dogs crossed with these breeds have an even greater need to scavenge as that is what allowed them to survive when they were street dogs.
For puppies, curiosity for new smells and teething can often result in them chewing on non-food items. For many dogs, it also comes down to taste.
Often, dogs will favour younger shoots of grass, likely due to their softer texture and sweeter flavour. This makes spring a prime time for mid-walk snacking.
It is also a way to naturally enhance their gut microbiome and ALL dogs eat grass whether fed plant-based or not.
No matter the reason for scavenging, breaking the habit early is crucial for your dog’s safety, particularly if they are highly sensitive to certain foods.
Here’s how to use your dog’s food to stop springtime scavenging before, during and after walks:
Introduce a pre-walk meal
For some dogs, scavenging comes out of genuine hunger, so feeding your dog before a walk could deter them from actively seeking out food (if it is a real problem with your dog). But take care to avoid doing this too close to dinnertime, as it can trigger digestive issues, particularly in our large breed dogs with deep chests who are prone to stomach torsions.
Giving them a meal one to two hours before walks should give them enough time to digest their food and reduce scavenging.
However, if this still doesn’t curb your dog’s need to scavenge, it might be time to re-evaluate what they’re eating and if it’s satiating their hunger.
Some grain-based dog foods can cause sudden spikes in glucose, which may be contributing to sensitive stomachs and your dog not feeling satiated.
Instead, opt for foods containing easy-to-digest plant proteins like potato and pea starch for balanced energy release, while healthy plant proteins will keep your dog feeling fuller for longer. Our range of complete dry foods and wet foods that contain faba bean high protein or even microbial fermentation proteins are ideal.
Another issue may be that they’re not eating enough. If you’re unsure, feeding guides are available for each of our products with useful information on the amount of food your dog needs based on their dog’s size and weight, but remember that all dogs vary considerably in their needs.
Meanwhile, not switching up what they are eating can cause boredom, making the urge to scavenge even greater. So, ensure your dog has a wide variety of different flavours and protein sources in their diet which is why we sell such a wide range of flavours and textures at Just Be Kind (what we want for our own dogs!)
If you find that your dog is eating our pure plant powered premium foods and continues to lose weight and appears constantly hungry and scratches in the soil, then the easiest fix is to add organic tofu to their food daily (we buy it from Aldi in blocks - very reasonably priced and organic).
Mixed with nutritional yeast for added natural Vit B and Omega 3 Daily algae oil for added calories and extra Vit D3 is highly recommended for your dog if they are losing weight and always appear hungry - such an easy solution and very healthy for your dog.
Use treats as a reward for good behaviour
Training your dog to ‘leave it’ when you tell them to will ensure that you have control over what goes in their mouths before it’s too late. But words may not be enough to stop them from diving onto what’s enticing them, so the trick is to reward them with a treat for ignoring it to reinforce good behaviour.
This is particularly important for dogs with sensitivities as so many of your dogs have animal protein and gluten intolerances and finding a chicken sandwich on a walk could set off a severe IBD episode!
For best results, use enticing high-value treats to make ignoring what’s in front of them more appetising. Reinforce ‘leave-it’ training with scrunching the packaging of their high value treats such as Jerkey treats from VegDog.
(Some dogs will do almost anything for these - read about 15 year old Frankie who still walks 9 miles for Jerkey treats!)
"Frankie has been on a variety of vegan dog food, which still continues, though his favourites are your Vegetal kibble, the Microbel kibble and the Jerky treats! He will do anything to get one when on a walk!" - Jenny
From sniffing it out to finding and tasting, scavenging can be mentally rewarding and enjoyable for your dog.
It releases dopamine and feel-good endorphins, leaving them feeling happy, satisfied and more likely to do it again.
To reduce the risk of your dog seeking out unidentifiable food during walks, introduce enrichment food-dispensing toys like Kongs filled with our wet dog food, post-walk when they are home.
We love this message from Michelle about her Vizsla Loki -
"I bought some Give A Dog A Bean for our Vizsla Loki, and he absolutely loves it.
He’s on Solo Vegetal, as I’ve always been a dry food feeder for convenience, but he goes absolutely nuts for your Give A Dog A Bean!"
"I’ve been putting it in his kongs too and freezing them. He literally blisses out when he’s got one of these as a treat!" - Michelle and Loki
Make the most of our Spring Sale for your dog that includes FREE treats, Give A Dog A Bean AND Jumping Jack Gold wet food to add to Kongs!
