My dog often finds dead birds or roadkill in gardens or on the roadside and takes a bite of them before I can stop him. Some of the stuff he gets into is pretty old and surely mustn’t be good for him. Just how bad is this for him and what can I do about it?

Eating or nibbling at roadkill and dead birds is a reasonably common occurrence in dogs. In fact, dogs and wolves have been doing this for a really long time.

Often dogs do this and are asymptomatic- i.e. they behave as usual. Sometimes they get vomiting and diarrhoea ranging from mild to severe, and if the roadkill had mould growing on it, the dog could become sick with tremors after eating it. 

If it’s a terrible habit and it’s regular you can consider keeping your pet on the lead outside so that you can reduce the risk of this.

I generally don’t recommend any treatment (other than dietary management) unless, they have severe vomiting and diarrhoea or tremors. Monitor your pet for any symptoms and see your local veterinary if you have any concerns.

If you’d like to chat in person, you can book a live video call or start a chat to discuss in more detail, as soon as possible.

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Chat soon,

Dr Claire