Sticks & Stones

[dilofthouse]

Our planted garden is covered in tree bark - my dog often brings in sticks and proceeds to eat them (sometimes he chews on stones) he won't drop them, just runs away. Any suggestions please

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

Welcome the the forums! Is this a puppy or a young dog? We see this often in puppies who are very mouthy and love to explore the world with their mouths. Many dogs as they mature lose their interest in these things, although they may still seek them out if they don't have enough mental stimulation (brain games) and access to chew toys.

 

As for tips/ideas, here are some that come to mind:

 

One first step if your dog is indiscriminately and constantly on the prowl for ingesting sticks 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. Not saying your dog necessarily has this, but thought to point it out just in case.

 

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. Start with easy to drop items and then progress to more and more challenging ones. 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/

 

If your dog runs away, this is often a sign that your dog doesn't trust you when he has sticks either because he knows you will try to remove them from him, or he is just acting playful in hopes of you chasing him. If you have been chasing your dog or trying to grab things from his mouth, consider that this is not an optimal solution because 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. Instead the goal is to have dogs trust us when they are carrying something because they know we often swap it for something that is far better.

 

Is your dog laying down to chew on the sticks and spits parts of them or is he actually ingesting them? This can be dangerous if he ever happens to ingest large pieces or sharp parts. If your are concerned, in the meanwhile as you practice building a strong drop it command, a muzzle when outdoors 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 him on leash at home initially and create some setups like practice walking him past safe toys he usually sees in the home, saying "leave it" and praising and rewarding him for leaving them. Then progressing to practicing with new safe toys or other safe toys he 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/rocks (that he 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 him. 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 him 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 super valuable food/toys to exchange. These are all cold trials to prepare for a possible big day when we might be caught empty-handed.

 

5) On top of training a strong response to leave its and drops, it may help to offer your dog some mentally stimulating activities upon coming back inside. You can for example do any of these fun activities:

Treasure hunt game:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/

Muffin game:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/

Bottle game:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/

 

The goal is that your dog will come to enjoy these activities so much, he won't be thinking much about picking up sticks to bring inside, but instead rushes to the door with his empty mouth ready to play these.

 

6) Be ready to swap if he still happens to carry a stick/stone. So every time your dog is about to enter the home with something in his mouth, ask him to "drop" mark it with a "yes!" and then reward him with something you have purposely kept near the entryway that will keep him busy for some time (stuffed Kong, safe edible chew, Kong Wobbler filled with a portion of his kibble, a toy that he doesn't have access often).

 

So to recap, with a solid response to leave it, your dog should be prevented from grasping any sticks/stones in the first place, but if he does manage to carry one as he enters the door, you can always ask him to drop it, and swap the dropped stone/stick with a mentally stimulating food puzzle/ safe toy/ edible chew. In the meanwhile we also plan to offer some fun indoor games upon coming back inside in hopes that he forgets all about the sticks/stone in anticipation of playing the games.

 

Hope these ideas help, let me know if you need any further assistance,

Best,

Adrienne

Edited January 11, 2020 by Adrienne Farricelli
spaced out paragraphs for an easier read