dog eating sticks

i have a 7 month old dalmatian puppy .. everytime he goes outside the first thing he does is pick up some kind of stick and literly eat it.. we have acreage, with about 1 1/2 acres fenced, lots of trees, so there are lots of sticks....just wondering if any sugesstions are out there as to why.. or what to do about it.... http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/confused.gif

stick eating dogs mom

My dog is an 18 month old Boxer, while he doesn't eat sticks all the time, he will eat them. I don't really see this as a problem but you should discuss it with your vet if you are concerned about it. Your puppy is 7 months old and he probably has his adult teeth, it's still feels good for a puppy (and an older dog) to gnaw away on something. Plus, I notice it helps with his plaque build up! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/wink.gif

thanks.. but i never had a dog that consumes sticks before..the others have "chewed" on them..he actually "consumes" them... http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/eek.gif
i know that in cats if they "eat" strange things ,they can be missing something in their diet,but just was wondering if the same was true for dogs http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/confused.gif
i will mention it to the vet,
so far he has not been destuctive in the house or anything,he has tons of toys and another dog to play with,and loves rawhides..but when he is outside,he is eating sticks..........
thanks dominoe's mom

My border collie has eaten sticks since he was a pup. Any stick, anywhere...he doesn't care. He has never had any problems because of it, but I did talk to vet about it. He said it won't cause any harm, except maybe slivers in the tongue.