eating sticks

[danenloe12]

Hi,

 

My 7 month old golden/poodle mix has a couple of related issues. When outside, she is constantly on the prowl for something to eat. She will eat almost anything. The most troublesome item she eats is sticks. Sometimes, I'm able to get her to trade the stick for a treat. Sometimes, I go into her mouth and pull it out. Sometimes, a quick tug on her leash will get her to drop it. Sometimes, she swallows it before I can do anything (or the above did not work). She also eats leaves, grass, large weeds (she will pull them out and eat the stem or root), dirt......

 

So far, the only thing I can think of that will eliminate this issue is to put a muzzle on her when we go out.

 

I frequently walk her on a long lead to give her more freedom and to give her more excercise. This also gives her more opportunity to find sticks.

 

If a muzzle is the best approach, what is the best way to select one for her? In an obedience class, we did some muzzle training, so I think I can get her used to it, but advice here would be great as well.

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello, and welcome to the forums!

I hear you, many puppy and dog owners deal with such issues. One first step if she is indiscriminately and constantly on the prowl for something to eat and the items she eats are things that aren't normally considered edible, (like rocks, dirt, socks, sticks, paper, cigarette butts, etc) is to mention this to your vet as some dogs who eat odd things almost compulsively may be suffering from pica - an abnormal craving to eat items that are not food that may be caused by nutritional deficiencies, digestive issues and sometimes can be a sign of obsessive compulsive behaviors.

 

With health issues ruled out just to be safe, two very important life-saving commands you may want to practice, practice and practice and master up to a highly fluent level are the leave it and drop it commands. You can find how to train them here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/

 

Going to grab things from the mouth is not an optimal solution considering that it may lead to dogs who become more and more reluctant to relinquish items by playing keep-away, swallowing items before you can get them (very dangerous as these can be toxic things or dogs may ingest large items that may cause blockages), or even resource guarding when push comes to shove. The fact that you can only get her sometimes to trade, and sometimes not, is a sign that she hasn't been trained to a certain level of distraction yet. However, this can take time.

 

In the meanwhile, a muzzle can be a sensible solution that may come handy, but mostly for management purposes. However, while the muzzle can be a good management tool, it's not a solution. A muzzle (make sure it's the type that allows your dog to pant) should be therefore used as a temporary measure while investing time on perfecting the leave it and drop it commands.

 

So to tackle the issue here are a few tips:

 

1) Practice leave it/drop it in the home in controlled setting until fluent. For example, you can have her on leash at home initially and create some setups like practice walking her past safe toys she usually sees in the home, saying "leave it" and praising and rewarding her for leaving them. Then progressing to practicing with new safe toys or other safe toys she doesn't see too often. Then practice off leash until obtaining a solid response.

2) Then practice leave it in the yard initially on the leash, then on a long line, and then off leash using toys once again, and then try to practice walking past toys on the ground on a brief walk on leash nearby your home.

3) Next, you can practice some set-ups: try to place some large sticks (that she can't grab and ingest in a mouthful) in some areas you walk with your dog and make a mental note of where they are. Practice walking past these sticks saying your "leave it" cue. You may have to use very high value treats to help with this distraction if sticks are very valuable to her. Remember that what you offer when trading needs to be higher in value than the item left.

 

4) As well as with leave it, practice "drops its" first in the home, then in the yard and then on walks using toys. At first, you will show the treat you will trade with, but then at some point early on, you need to say “drop it” without showing her the treat. This is important to avoid falling into the trap of dogs who won't drop until they see what they are offered. Make sure the action of dropping becomes almost reflexive. It's a matter of trust so practice always with food to exchange. These are all cold trials to prepare for a possible big day when we might be caught empty handed.

 

Ideally, when your dog picks up something from the ground that she shouldn't have, you should praise her and if trained fluently, she should come to you to trade whatever it is with a tasty chew or a treat.

 

On walks, always hold in your pocket or treat bag some very high value treats or even try a longer lasting treat (like a large cookie) to swap with your dog should she get a hold of something she shouldn't. If she ever gets a hold of something you want to be ready to say "drop it" and then praise and swap with the high value treat.

 

Of course, prevention is worth a pound of cure, so if you can scan the road ahead for any odd items laying on the ground, you can avoid them, or at least, once she's fluent walk around them at a distance that she cannot reach, them but see them, and use these situations to your advantage as a training opportunity for practicing "leave its."

 

Because training fluent leave its and drop its (along with recalls) is important for safety, it's always ideal to have a dog trainer provide in-person coaching and assistance considering that these commands can turn out being life saving. So I always recommend this for those who have the time and will and are struggling with these commands.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Adrienne

Edited March 9, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli