# Dogs, pecans and acorns



## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

We have a new pup on the homestead and she is giving us one headache after another! Once she was acclimated to the 1 acre fenced area, we started to let her loose while doing chores (this was when she was 5 months old). She generally stayed within 10 feet of us, but rooted around and ate all sorts of things in the grass. This lead to one bout after another of diarrhea for about a month. It would clear up for a week and then come back for a few days. I finally got that completely under controlled and figured that she would be fine. 

But then when the pecans started falling she discovered that they were tasty treats! Not such a bad thing, but I have two different type of pecans on the property - grafted and native. The grafted trees make big thin shelled nuts that she cracks open and eats the meat from. The native trees have small thick shelled nuts that she can't crack. So.....she swallows them whole! We discovered this when we woke up one morning to find 9 whole pecans in a puddle of bile in her crate. We figured it might be a one time thing. Nope, happened again the next day. So now she isn't allowed outside unless she is on a leash and we carefully avoid the area under the pecans (which is half the acre!). I've tried everything to make her stop, from taking them out of her mouth and giving her a treat to show her what 'real' food is, to spraying some with bitter apple. She just keeps going back for more.

This morning, there was more vomit with a whole pecan in it. I don't know how she snuck that in her stomach, but she managed it. My question is, how worried should I be about this? I imagine that the pecans could easily cause an obstruction. But if she just throws up the ones that are 'too big' is it a problem? I'm not going to let her roam again, but we are building her a run this weekend and I want to know how fine toothed of a comb do I need to go over the area with to make sure there are no stray pecans. Also, the area has oak trees and guess what? When I took her out this morning, she ate several acorns. I think these will pass through her, but isn't tannic acid bad? Does this dog have a death wish or am I over reacting? Any advice?

If it helps, she is about 8 months old and is a rottie/corgi mix. And yes, she is funny looking!


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## cricket (Dec 15, 2004)

You have GOT to post some pics of this baby!!!!!

As for the pecans....I don't think they're all that bad for them. I would be more concerned about blockage than anything else. I'd still be concerned with the constant vomiting that she would bloat too. Rotties are known for that, although I don't think Corgis are. I'll interested to see what others have to say about this...


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## georgec (Jul 9, 2007)

We have a 10 mo old rat terrier that eats anything and everything, including native pecans. He will eat a bunch and then throw them up. He doesn't swallow them whole, but chews them up. I would think that after a while he would learn to leave the pecans alone.


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

It's definitely the blockages I'm worried about with the pecans. Every time she throws one up, we go on 'poop watch'. I'm sure my coworkers think I'm crazy calling home and asking if the dog has pooped yet every few hours!

But with the acorns, I've heard various reports about their toxicity to dogs. I don't really want to find out the hard way!


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## Terry W (Mar 10, 2006)

Acorns tend to give animals upset stomachs-- the shell is the source of the tannic acids. Pecan shells will have tannic acid in them, as well.Kaopectate can be used to soothe an upset stomach (Pepto Bismol contains aceteminophen-or tylenol- a big :nono: )
Something that helps large objects pass readily is a good dose of mineral oil- I know of an Irish Setter breeder who kept in on hand for a dog that loved to eat rocks, after he had two blockage surgeries in one month...


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

Eat rocks?!? Ok, that makes me feel a little better about the intelligence level of my dog!


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