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Mine do some digging as well, but fortunately no tiger pits! They all, LOVE, when I'm digging up sod for new flower beds. They tear apart the sod bits. And they all love, clay...especially in the spring. Not sure why, but I know exactly when they have been eating it - nothing like rock hard gray poop!

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Hm, I feel like I've been short-changed. My dog doesn't dig unless . . . .

 

Mine don't either, generally, but I am thinking now of getting a couple of kiddie pools next summer to fill with sand so I can hide stuff for them to dig up. I think they would love it and it's something I could set up in the shade in the heat of summer.

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I wonder at the difference in using sand vs. soil. Maybe it's the horseperson in me and the fear of sand colic that comes with animals on sand, but I'd worry about the dog ingesting a bunch of sand. I realize that soil can be sandy too, but I think I'd ask my vet before encouraging digging in and biting at and potentially swallowing a bunch of sand. Sand doesn't pile up out of the way like soil does, so if the dog is digging for something, I can see where the dog could ingest, unintentionally, quite a bit of sand. It may be that my fear is completely unfounded, but in case I'm not alone in it, I'm putting it out there.

 

J.

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Horses sand colic because of the way their intestines are designed. Dogs don't. They can get an impaction but that would actually be more likely with clay, wads of hair, a LOT of bone, or other items that would stay in a clump even with the actions of the intestines. Sand may irritate the intestinal wall though and especially the anus, not my idea of a fun time.

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I wasn't implying that dogs would colic--I actually do understand the difference in anatomy. My point was that the sand might be more likely to be ingested, and that possibility would be something that an owner might want to discuss with their vet before filling a sandbox and encouraging the dog to dig for toys. While dogs will eat dirt, they often just push it out of the way when they're digging. Sand doesn't necessarily stay out of the way, and in my mind that means there's a real likelihood of the dog ingesting an excess amount of sand. Maybe it's not a big deal, but I would ask someone who should know before just tossing my dogs' toys in the sandbox and having them dig.

 

Most digging set ups I've seen described mention soil, not sand.

 

J.

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I would be concerned about dogs digging in/biting at sand too. I've seen what constant fetching of sandy tennis balls can do to a dog's teeth - even if they don't chew on them. Plus it seems that swallowed sand would be a much greater irritant than dirt.

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