# how much bug is too much bug? - dog eats bugs



## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

Hi,
So, I've browsed the forum on bug eating, and it seems to be a common thing for dogs. Right now, I have tons (TONS) of June bugs in my backyard. We Cody and I got out in the yard, he constantly eats them up. Like maybe 6 bugs per minute. They're slow and easy to catch.

How much is too much bugs? Should I try to limit him to, say, 20 bugs per day? Should I adjust his feeding to account for the bug mass? Besides the yuck factor, are there any summer bugs to watch out for, that might be poisonous if eaten?

Cody is 1 year and 2 months old, 37lb mix (sheltie/shepherd). He's cute.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Talk to your Vet about the volume. I image that the dog will vomit or get diarrhea if he eats too many. I think that a lot of beetle legs might be an irritant. I don't know what kind of internal parasites that a dog can pick up from a beetle.

Normally, I don't worry about my dog eating a few grasshoppers, because dogs are scavengers with highly acid stomachs... but it never hurts to call the Vet.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

If there were enough June bugs in my yard for me to have to limit a dog to eating 20 a day... I think I'd go insane. Absolutely insane.


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## Polywoggy (Mar 7, 2011)

Our American Eskimo when I was a kid used to love June Bugs. She'd eat tonnes and not get sick, and while she has been gone for about 20 years... I still can hear that crunch in my head and it makes me want to hurl.
Willow used to "help" me in the garden by eating the white grubs that are their larval stage. I'd be digging, she'd be scavenging. I'd let her eat a few, figured they were harmless since skunks and raccoons will dig up your lawn to eat them. She used to eat elder box beetles as a puppy but I stopped that since they are a sickish yellow-green inside. Ugh.
I sic Jack on bugs in the house unless it is something that would bite nastily back. He tends to kill, shake and then leave it without eating. Convenient for me.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

sassafras said:


> If there were enough June bugs in my yard for me to have to limit a dog to eating 20 a day... I think I'd go insane. Absolutely insane.


Ugh, I know! I have no advice, but the situation itself makes me uneasy, lol.


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## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

One of my first dogs LOVED june bugs: her poop would be full of the shells. It was quite interesting, but they never made her sick. 

If you're worried about it, ask your vet.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

Sassafras- you're a vet right? So I guess there's nothing wrong with the bug eating! I can't imagine though. I think I would throw up if my dog was hoovering June Bugs.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

to Marsha: good luck with the interview!
to the OP: can't help answer your questions but that would drive me nuts (the bug eating, eeewww!!)


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## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

How did that jump threads? lol, but thank you.


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