Pica

•   shared from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Liz Palika Calcarea carbonica: This remedy originates from crushed and powdered oyster shells; the active ingredient is calcium carbonate. Puppies with pica (that is, they eat strange objects) benefit from this remedy.
  
  
  
  
  shared from Not Fit for a Dog!: The Truth About Manufactured Dog and Cat Food by Michael W. Fox, Elizabeth Hodgkins, Marion E. Smart

  A deficiency in dietary phosphate can result in pica (eating dirt) or depraved appetite. This may be the reason for some dogs to engage in coprophagia (eating their own stools). Excess calcium in the diet can cause phosphate deficiency. Other dietary deficiencies, however, may also play a role in the genesis of coprophagia and pica. Pica is a common sign of iron-deficiency anemia in dogs.

  
  
  
  
  shared from Behavior Problems in Dogs by William E. Campbell

  Most pica cases hinge on an unsatisfactory relationship between dog and owner. There is usually an element of over- or underattentiveness on the part of the owner. Most cases involve nervous, inhibited dogs. It is also interesting that most cases involve puppies that were either orally oriented to begin with, or were made so through excessive oral stimulation (tug-o'-war, etc) during early life with the owners.

 shared from Behavior Problems in Dogs by William E. Campbell

In all cases, the dog's diet and feeding regimen must be considered. Underfeeding or overfeeding may be an underlying cause of pica. Older dogs should be fed 2 times a day.

  shared from Behavior Problems in Dogs by William E. Campbell

When a dog starts to swallow nonfood articles, owners often wonder if perhaps they have a neurotic pet. After all, why should a dog swallow rocks, pins, wrist watches, panty hose or toilet paper? The logical answer is that such behavior must make the pet feel better. That is, it probably relieves tension.

shared from The Whole Dog Journal's Guide to Optimum Dog Care: Good Eats by Whole Dog Journal

Advocates of home-prepared diets often claim that a well-balanced raw diet eliminates or prevents pica, but occasionally the condition occurs even in well-fed dogs.

  shared from The Whole Dog Journal's Guide to Optimum Dog Care: Good Eats by Whole Dog Journal

In one case, a female German Shepherd Dog had a history of licking wrought iron and eating Christmas tree lights and glass. Treating the patient with an improved diet supplemented with plant-derived colloidal minerals, digestive enzymes, and probiotic foods cured the pica within 21 days, and the dog had no additional seizures.

  shared from The Whole Dog Journal's Guide to Optimum Dog Care: Good Eats by Whole Dog Journal

When pica is caused by a nutritional deficiency or imbalance, other symptoms accompany the condition. In the May 1996 Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, Martin Schulman, VMD, reported that mineral deficiencies often contribute to the development of seizures.

  shared from The Whole Dog Journal's Guide to Optimum Dog Care: Good Eats by Whole Dog Journal

In many cases, improving a dog’s diet and/or digestion has resulted in significant behavior changes. In addition to using positive reinforcement to encourage dogs to consume appropriate food items and leave other things alone, a few simple adjustments to the dog’s daily fare may solve the problem.

  shared from The Whole Dog Journal's Guide to Optimum Dog Care: Good Eats by Whole Dog Journal

Most veterinarians consider pica and coprophagia behavioral problems having nothing to do with nutrition because their patients are fed a 100-percent nutritionally complete canned or packaged dog food.

  shared from The Whole Dog Journal's Guide to Optimum Dog Care: Good Eats by Whole Dog Journal

Young puppies often chew on inappropriate items in an effort to ease the discomfort of teething; this is different. Adolescent and adult dogs who exhibit pica compulsively chew and consume inappropriate items,

•   shared from Behavior Problems in Dogs by William E. Campbell

  In all cases, the dog's diet and feeding regimen must be considered. Underfeeding or overfeeding may be an underlying cause of pica. Older dogs should be fed 2 times a day.