# Is soil and dirt on dogs food hazardous **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439 "2014-12-05T19:55:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/1 "2014-12-05T19:55:35Z")
I put this in general questions because I need a factual answer as much as possible. My thoughts are that dogs commonly bury their food anyway so their digestive systems are well equipped to handle common soils in moderate amounts. This relates to something where a dog would have to find and dig up a treat. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/2 "2014-12-05T20:02:17Z")
It’d be hazardous if the soil was contaminated (note to Fido: don’t bury your bones at a Superfund site) or contained broken glass or other foreign substances. If a human is deliberately burying the treat, just put it inside an easily-opened container before burial. ETA: easily opened by a dog, that is. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/3 "2014-12-05T21:15:15Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > It’d be hazardous if the soil was contaminated (note to Fido: don’t bury your bones at a Superfund site) or contained broken glass or other foreign substances. > > If a human is deliberately burying the treat, just put it inside an easily-opened container before burial. > > ETA: easily opened by a dog, that is. Maybe I could just give him a treat once he started digging?? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/4 "2014-12-05T21:18:30Z")
I wouldn’t assume that something is safe just because dogs in the wild do it. Dogs in the wild do not live to 15 years old, and a modern pet owner would consider it a tragedy to do something that cut lifespan to 5 or 7 years. That said, dirt itself is pretty harmless to dogs, and even to people. Things in the dirt could be bad, though. Purplehorseshoe mentions superfund sites, but think about household contaminants too. Fertilizers and pesticides from gardening would not be good. Pressure-treated lumber and railroad ties can leech toxic things into the soil (things like arsenic that are bad enough to affect people who eat vegetables grown there). Some soils still have elevated levels of lead from the era of leaded gasoline, especially if there was runoff from streets. Anyway, you get the idea. All soil is not made equal. Many of these things won’t kill a dog outright, but they certainly won’t contribute to optimum health. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/5 "2014-12-05T21:35:20Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I wouldn’t assume that something is safe just because dogs in the wild do it. Dogs in the wild do not live to 15 years old, and a modern pet owner would consider it a tragedy to do something that cut lifespan to 5 or 7 years. > > That said, dirt itself is pretty harmless to dogs, and even to people. > > Things in the dirt could be bad, though. Purplehorseshoe mentions superfund sites, but think about household contaminants too. Fertilizers and pesticides from gardening would not be good. Pressure-treated lumber and railroad ties can leech toxic things into the soil (things like arsenic that are bad enough to affect people who eat vegetables grown there). Some soils still have elevated levels of lead from the era of leaded gasoline, especially if there was runoff from streets. > > Anyway, you get the idea. All soil is not made equal. Many of these things won’t kill a dog outright, but they certainly won’t contribute to optimum health. All good points, the dirt piles will be contained and be washed sand and clay mixes, so it could be tested and verified as clean. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/6 "2014-12-05T21:52:10Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Maybe I could just give him a treat once he started digging?? That’s a good way to teach your dog to tear up the backyard. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/7 "2014-12-06T00:47:51Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Maybe I could just give him a treat once he started digging?? Why are you encouraging your dog to dig? Is it to go after moles, or suchlike? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/8 "2014-12-06T03:12:20Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Why are you encouraging your dog to dig? Is it to go after moles, or suchlike? ``` Thats classified! ``` ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/9 "2014-12-06T05:50:34Z")
If you’re teaching him to dig on command, then, yes, you can give him the treat after he starts digging. You can also bury toys. When he finds a toy, have a little celebration, toss the toy around, play with him, etc. Make it a big thing. You also want to make sure you set up a designated “sand box” in your yard. A safe place where he’s allowed to dig from now on. Bury toys there. Show him the spot. If you ever catch him digging anywhere else, correct him and immediately take him to the safe area and let him dig, have the little celebration, yada, yada. Once he’s digging, it’s a good idea to give him his own spot where it’s allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/10 "2014-12-07T01:23:35Z")
Teaching a dog to perform a behavior (such as digging) on command is a way of fading the behavior from being performed without a command. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/11 "2014-12-07T02:17:44Z")
Dogs have a short and very acidic digestive system - they are designed to eat all sorts of crap and hurl easily if it doesn’t take. Including dirt, rotten food, poop, etc. They are carnivores and scavengers and very efficient digesting machines in their natural state. Thousands of cites online, here’s just [one](http://www.vetinfo.com/dog-digestive-system.html). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-soil-and-dirt-on-dogs-food-hazardous/706439/12 "2014-12-07T05:37:30Z")
I was going to suggest getting a Dachshund if you want digging, but given your username, that might not be such a wise move.