# Eating Worms?????



## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

So for the past few weeks, Jackson has had kind of a loose stool. Not diarrhea, just a little bit loose. Figured maybe it was from eating grass. We mixed in some brown rice with his food for a few days and that seemed to clear it up for the last week or so.

Well today he had an accident in the house - diarrhea  He's 11 months old and hasn't had an accident since he was 3 months old

I think i've figured out what was causing his loose stools - EATING WORMS from the back yard :doh:

Every once in a while he will go crazy and start digging, I'll go over and check on him only to find that there is a worm in the dirt that he is trying to get to.

Have any of your dogs eaten worms before? Has it made them sick? It's the only thing I can think of that would be upsetting his stomach....I really don't see any way to stop him from doing this, there are worms everywhere in the backyard....you move some dirt out of the way and they are everywhere


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

bump

any ideas? have any of your dogs gotten sick from eating earthworms in the yard?


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## Cathy's Gunner (Dec 4, 2008)

I don't have an answer for you. I think I would ask your vet. Good luck. Hope Jackson's tummy feels better soon.


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

I don't know, but one those survival shows that I watched on Discovery mentioned that earth worms are a great source of protein and are a good survival food. I would be more likely to blame the dirt that Jackson ate along with the worm, than the worm itself. Or, it could just be coincidence.


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky (Feb 22, 2011)

Bella thinks dried up sidewalk worms are a delicacy. It is soooo annoying! Hard to walk down the sidewalk sometimes! She has yet to eat a ooshy-gooshy live one though. Perhaps these sun-dried worms are less upsetting to the stomach. LOL! Bella has been doing this for quite awhile, but hasn't gotten sick.


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## ELI&BAILEY'S MOM (Dec 18, 2008)

My Jack eats worms all the time! :yuck: I am constantly trying to stop him. It hasn't made him sick yet.


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## MrsLB (Feb 28, 2011)

Bailey eats earthworms too. She likes the fresh, live ones. We had a sheltie a few years ago named Kiwi that loved the dried up ones. She ate them so much we started referring to them as Kiwi's Jerky!!! We asked our vet once about it, and he jokingly laughed "well I guess it's protein"!!! Either dog has never seemed to be bothered by it. Not sure how we would stop it anyways. I guess I could send my hubby out after each time it rains on "worm patrol"! Boy the neighbors would get a kick out of that! LOL


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

hmmmm, interesting.....thanks for the responses

I've read that worms are DELICIOUS to dogs....and Bear Grylls :yuck: 

Bri - you're right it could be a coincidence, I wondered that myself. Maybe he picked up something else in the yard that I didn't see....sad to say it looks like his worm phase won't be going away any time soon :doh:


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

MrsLB said:


> Bailey eats earthworms too. She likes the fresh, live ones. We had a sheltie a few years ago named Kiwi that loved the dried up ones. She ate them so much we started referring to them as Kiwi's Jerky!!! We asked our vet once about it, and he jokingly laughed "well I guess it's protein"!!! Either dog has never seemed to be bothered by it. Not sure how we would stop it anyways. I guess I could send my hubby out after each time it rains on "worm patrol"! Boy the neighbors would get a kick out of that! LOL


Hah yeah Jackson seems to prefer the life ones that he has to "catch" :bowl::bowl::bowl:

I don't know how I'd stop it either, we have worms everywhere


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## MrsLB (Feb 28, 2011)

ActionJackson said:


> Hah yeah Jackson seems to prefer the life ones that he has to "catch" :bowl::bowl::bowl:
> 
> I don't know how I'd stop it either, we have worms everywhere


Guess you could try catching them. I know they have solutions you can dump on the lawn that will drive them to the surface. Gather them up and sell them for fishing? For that matter, maybe we're on to something... Market it to other worm loving pooches for those who don't have the "pleasure" of catching them in their own yard, or who don't have a yard! Kind of like the little fish they sell you to feed your bigger fish!!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

MrsLB said:


> Guess you could try catching them. I know they have solutions you can dump on the lawn that will drive them to the surface. Gather them up and sell them for fishing? For that matter, maybe we're on to something... Market it to other worm loving pooches for those who don't have the "pleasure" of catching them in their own yard, or who don't have a yard! Kind of like the little fish they sell you to feed your bigger fish!!


We could market them as _Gourmet Organic Pet Treats_ and sell them for a fortune! :


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## MrsLB (Feb 28, 2011)

ActionJackson said:


> We could market them as _Gourmet Organic Pet Treats_ and sell them for a fortune! :


LOL!!! Love it!  Except our pooches would eat all our inventory!! We'd have to have an offsite storage facility for sure!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

I think it's a coincidence. I would think a 11 month Golden (approx. 70 lbs) would have to eat a lot of worms to get diarrhea.


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

Yes, I watch too much Discovery Channel, but did you see the Dirty Jobs episode where the guy used a stick to vibrate the ground and drive the worms up out of the dirt? He had a good little business selling worms to anglers. You could solve your problem and make some money!


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## caligal (Jul 28, 2010)

Davis loves the worm hunt and eats them whenever he can dig one up. He also has tried a few snails :yuck::yuck: he has never been ill from eating either one though.


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## otterdaughter (Jul 11, 2011)

Aww I know you guys are all joking, but please don't try to get all the earthworms out of your soil!  I can guarantee you that your soil is better off with them.
Anyway, I agree that Jackson getting sick is probably a coincidence of the worm eating. Soil contains a lot more than the mineral fraction- it also has macro and micro-organisms. This includes all kinds of fungi, bacteria, and animals and insects. If Jackson is eating a lot of soil, there's a chance that he's eating some kind of worm (like a tapeworm) that's not agreeing with him, but I'd guess that the chances of that are small...


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