eating things other than food

[Einstein]

Hello,

 

I've searched the topics, but I haven't found a link to the information I am looking for. If someone knows of one could you please let me know?

 

Willow is now 6 months old. He is half chow and half border collie. The difficulty I am having is trying to keep him from eating things that are not food. When we are outside he likes to taste everything. When we are walking or a family member is with him, we are working on the command leave it. He is doing well with that, but I still can't trust him to be somewhere I am not. Such as he has to be in the same room I or another family member is in to be sure he is not trying to eat something he shouldn't. Right now we gate him in the room we are in. I can't let him just wander through the house for fear one of the kids have accidentally left a lego piece, hair band, etc. on the floor. The kids are required to pick up after themselves, but being kids sometimes they do forget.

 

My question is once a dog has this trait, do they ever out grow it or is it something we will always have to be diligent to watch for? Plus, he likes to eat the plastic pieces off of dog toys that break. We do try to pick out things that claim to be indestructible, but he still managed to swallow a small piece of one. Luckily it was small and passed through, but really how tasty is plastic? He isn't an obsessive chewer, he just likes to eat odd things.

 

My hope is that when we are home he will be able to wander freely through the house with my other chow searching out family members and hanging out. Chewbacca, my other chow, is very particular so we never had this issue before.

 

Any tips you can provide would be appreciated.

[BustopherJones]

In my experience, this seems to be a common trait amongst puppies; they like to investigate and explore through the sense of taste. It must be discouraged, however, as some things they swallow can be harmful (rocks, for instance). You need to have a strong "Leave It!" (or equvialent) command, and exercise it immediately when they take something undesirable into their mouths. For the most part, my dogs have grown out of it once they get beyond puppyhood; but Annie (being a BC and inherently curious) still on occasion decides to investigate a plant by eating a leaf, which she immediately stops when the "Leave It!" command is given.

[Ninso]

Puppies, like babies, enjoy putting things in their mouths--some more relentlessly than others. This is probably something he will grow out of at some point, but for now I would do just what you are doing--work on the "leave it" command, make sure small objects aren't laying around, and make sure he is either supervised or safely crated. If he does get ahold of an inappropriate object make sure to re-direct him to something appropriate. Have lots of chew toys, bone, and other appropriate objects around for him to use at will.

[Shetlander]

Some of it sounds like typical puppy stuff. They explore the world with their mouths. Some puppies are worse chewers than others. It does help if you can keep toys, shoes, socks, etc. put up but I know that is a big challenge with kids in the house. I approach the situation with lots of management (supervision or else making sure the puppy is somewhere secure like a crate) and training like you are doing with "leave it." Most will outgrow this, especially if they are given enough structure, exercise, stimulation, training and attention.

 

Eating things outside can be the same thing. By 6 months, I would want to see the dog being easily distracted from that behavior however. Quinn was terrible about eating dirt and sticks and whatnot outside when he was a small puppy. He also came to me with giardia and coccidia and I wonder if some of that behavior wasn't due to not fully absorbing nutrients in his diet.

[Lenajo]

A degree of this is common in all puppies.

 

However, it definately can be made worse by poor health. Pica, the condition in which inedible objects are eaten (dirt, clay, plastic, etc) is a symptom of anemia in many species. Anemia can be caused by parasites.

 

For your puppy I would suggest you have many more correct chew items in the rooms than items that he cannot chew. Stuffed kongs, chew sticks, etc.

 

Supervision will be necessary for quite a few more months regardless.

[afrancis]

As others have said, you are following the right path by (i) teaching, practicing and utilizing the "leave it" command, sometimes combined with making a trade, (ii) having him where you can keep an eye on him, and when not at home, crating until he can be trusted and (iii) exercise and mental stimulation.

I just wanted to take this opportunity too to remind people that I know of at least two specific things that have killed: dental floss (in their plastic containers) and corn cobs. So do be careful!

And btw, more puppy pics please!

Ailsa

[OurBoys]

You've been given some good advice. The only thing I would add is teaching Willow the 'Drop It' command. As close as you watch him, there are still going to be times he gets hold of something. If he thinks you are going to walk up and physically take it out of his mouth, he might either run from you or hurry up and swallow it. By teaching him the 'Drop It' command and replacing his 'treat' with one of yours (food, favorite toy or anything that's more fun), he should be more willing to let go of it on his own and causing you (and him) less stress when he does put something in his mouth he shouldn't.

[bc4ever]

Sounds pretty typical to me. Scooter went through lots of toys that were supposed to be puppy proof, ate part of a leather leash that DH left on him at night when he put him in the crate, ate the drywall in the laundry room where we had put up a baby gate so he could be free without being crated, etc. We finally felt comfortable enough to let Scooter roam during the night a year ago--he'll be 4 in December. He wasn't eating everything in site up until then, but was still curious enough about a lot of things to err on the side of caution. I still give the house a once over before going to bed to see if there's anything left out that might look interesting to him. I used to tell him "Leave it!" whenever he poked his nose just about anywhere, then realized after observing him that a lot of what he was doing was just exploring--he really had no intention of actually eating said object. But, every dog is different and has it's own little quirks! LOL! I'm guessing he'll outgrow it eventually--just be patient and vigilant!

[Einstein]

He does try to hurry up and swallow when I tell him to drop it. I forgot about the replacing trick. Thanks for reminding me. We are at the point that he knows his commands well when we have the clicker or a treat in our hands, but if we don't then he is 50/50. We are trying to wean him off the treat/rewards a bit, but I swear he seems to know when we don't have anything in our hands. He is a smart little bugger.

 

Thanks for all the great advice. I know he will still be a puppy for a while, but there are times I think, "Aren't we supposed to be passed this stage yet?" My first two chows seemed easier, but then again it has been over 10 years since we have trained a pup. I think some of the challenging training memories have faded a bit.

[ragtimedog]

I'd just like to add one thing I've seen a couple of times. A dog starts COMPULSIVE eating - everything in its path. Plants, dirt, dust bunnies, sweaters - it turned out to be seizures. Doesn't sound like what you're describing, but thought I should mention it.