Puppy Eating Everything In The Garden

[Sasha (Alexander)]

Hello guys.

I am new to this forum. I have read a few threads around here, before deciding to start this one. This forum looks like a friendly community of dog lovers. Just a bit of background. My wife and i bought a Maltese x Shih-tzu puppy at 8 weeks old. So currently as i write this he is about 9.5 weeks of age. We love him heaps.

He lives indoors for now (will later install a doggy door). The problem comes when we take him out to the backyard to do his business. He puts everything he sees in his mouth and even eats or tried to eat some of it. This includes dry leaves, clumps of grass, and most troubling decorative pebbles.

I usually have a constant watch on him, but i have been trying to give him some autonamy, but everytime i do that he starts eating that stuff. I come up to him point and say "NO COOKIE!" and take the stuff from his mouth. And the naughty boy knows it's wrong but still does it. Now when he puts something in his mouth and sees me coming, he runs away. It's good exercise for him, but i want him to stop eating stuff. It made him sick the other day. And i am scared he'll swallow a pebble and choke or something.

any advice would be appreciated.

[Sandra777]

I am new to this forum.

He puts everything he sees in his mouth and even eats or tried to eat some of it. This includes dry leaves, clumps of grass, and most troubling decorative pebbles.

Totally normal puppy behaviour. He doesn't have hands so he can't explore the world through touch as a human baby would - and surely you know how much stuff ends up in human baby's mouth even though they do have hands!

I come up to him point and say "NO COOKIE!" and take the stuff from his mouth.

Why not just leave him alone to explore his environment? Check and double check that there isn't anything actually harmful then just leave him be.

And the naughty boy knows it's wrong but still does it

At 9.5 weeks I can absolutely assure you that he does not know it's wrong

Now when he puts something in his mouth and sees me coming, he runs away.

Well, think of it this way. If you'd found something you really enjoyed, which gave you mental stimulation and interest and someone kept telling you not to do it - wouldn't you keep doing it but get out of the way when that person appeared?

It's good exercise for him, but i want him to stop eating stuff. It made him sick the other day.

What made him sick - what exactly did he vomit up and how "sick" was he. Sorry, it's actually normal dog behaviour to eat/chew things then vomit if it doesn't agree with them. They have evolved to have a heck of a lot stronger stomach than we have and a much faster and more efficient "eject" mode :p

And i am scared he'll swallow a pebble and choke or something.

If he SWALLOWS the pebble he won't choke. He may possibly end up with other problems but he will not choke once he has swallowed something. How large are the pebbles and how big an area are you concerned about?

Personally I think if you stopped making such a big fuss about everything he picked up and provided him with allowed toys instead he'd stop doing it - picking things up gets your attention and good or bad it's all the same to the dog.

If he gets the habit of eating stones then you would need to train him out of this as it's obviously not a good idea, but at his age I'm pretty sure it would just be an accident if he swallowed one and he certainly doesn't sound like he is in the habit of gulping them down. Perhaps fence off the area so you can stop worrying about it until he grows out of this phase.

Edited September 10, 2009 by Sandra777

[poodlefan]

Fence off the pebbles with chicken wire or similar.

Pups live in the moment. They use their mouth to explore their surroundings. He isn't running because he think what he's doing is "wrong".

Always give a treat when you take something from your pup. That way he wont' run away because he thinks you're taking his "treasure". If you reward him for giving you things, it will be easier to teach him to offer them up.

Telling a pup "NO" doesn't teach them much. Far better to teach "give" and reward him for doing it.

Edited September 10, 2009 by poodlefan

[Paganman]

Hey sasha.This is normal for pups and he doesnt know hes doing anything wrong hes just doing what dogs do hes exploring.They stop doing it so much as they grow up but my 2 oldies still eat grass and dirt and bird and cat and possum poop from time to time

[Sasha (Alexander)]

Why not just leave him alone to explore his environment? Check and double check that there isn't anything actually harmful then just leave him be..

I do try to leave him alone these days. But i am scares when he starts eating junk.

What made him sick - what exactly did he vomit up and how "sick" was he. Sorry, it's actually normal dog behaviour to eat/chew things then vomit if it doesn't agree with them. They have evolved to have a heck of a lot stronger stomach than we have and a much faster and more efficient "eject" mode

Well to be honest, he wasn't majorly sick. He vomitted greenish bile with maybe some grass (wasn't alot). and didn't eat as much of his normal meal.

If he SWALLOWS the pebble he won't choke. He may possibly end up with other problems but he will not choke once he has swallowed something. How large are the pebbles and how big an area are you concerned about?

5 to 10 cent in diameter pebbles. I always take toys out to play with him, so he can fetch it and stuff.

Thank you for your advice.

[Sandra777]

I do try to leave him alone these days. But i am scares when he starts eating junk.

Good, but it's not "junk" - it's natural stuff puppies like to explore. If there's genuine rubbish in your yard definitely remove it - leaves, grass, twigs won't do him any harm as long as you don't use bad chemical sprays

Well to be honest, he wasn't majorly sick. He vomitted greenish bile with maybe some grass (wasn't alot). and didn't eat as much of his normal meal.

Sounds pretty normal. Vomiting grass isn't abnormal at all. If dogs have a slight tummy upset they'll frequently make themselves vomit and often use grass as an irritant to help the process. Quite normal.

I always take toys out to play with him, so he can fetch it and stuff.

Great, use the toys as a distraction when he starts to play with the pebbles, instead of "punishing" him by saying no no no no all the time give him something better and more fun to do than playing with rocks

[murraydebbie]

Sometimes you can be really careful, but puppies will eat and chew anything. I had my 6 month old to the vet today, cause the kids behind us, hit a rubber ball over our fence. Needless to say, the puppy chewed it up and digested some of it, causing a bowel upset and now on tablets for the next few days to correct it. So easy, but very serious.

[macaroni]

I have the same problem, except he eats dad's plants and as you would expect, dad's not quite pleased with that. When ever I try to stop him, he runs off with the plants and bolts around the yard like a nutjob lol. When I yell at him (louder than normal) he drops the plant and gets all sad.

He knows it's wrong but he keeps doing it! How do I stop him from doing it?

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

HI Macaroni

the easiest answer is to fence off the plants that dad wants to keep with chicken wire , that way pup can explore and not get into trouble positive training is the best with babies , and as with human babies the best thing to prevent damage to precious items and puppy tummies is to either create a barrier so that they cannot get to things or put them out of harms way.

Puppies will chew , dig , cry and make mess, suggest that you try a kong toy with somthing tasty in it to distract him and try to redirect him to somthing interesting when he looks like he might be heading for the garden

Good luck and enjoy your puppy

[Gretel]

You mean like this? My pups discovered the nasturtiums!

[pmiller]

I fenced off our plants with puppy fence, metal stakes and cable ties. Worked well, took the stress out of letting our little fella outside. Good luck!

[persephone]

And the naughty boy knows it's wrong but still does it. Now when he puts something in his mouth and sees me coming, he runs away.

No- he has NO idea what's wrong- like a human baby who puts stuff in their mouth....

I suggest you fence off an area for him..where he can play, but not be tempted.

problem lies in the fact that as he is indoors a lot- these things outside are a novelty!!

We are in the bush- our working sheepdogs live outdoors, and puppies are raised just on sand..with sticks, leaves, stones... all manner of junk around. None of them chew or eat any of it- and I think because it is an everyday thing- they don't bother. They also get plenty of bones ...everyday...and they MUCH prefer bones to stones ;)

His running away is , I think twofold.

One: he gets upset when you scold him... as he has NO idea why... all he knows is you are big and scary at that time .

Two: because you make a fuss, what he has 'must' be good- so he runs with it to try and keep it.

This comment

leaves, grass, twigs won't do him any harm

is not entirely true leaves, grass,twigs, CAN, if enough are eaten, cause a blockage in the intestines.. not common, but it can.

Fresh green grass is fine twigs and a lot of dry leaves etc may not be digested well.

Make sure he has a variety of textures and sizes in his toys/bones ,so his need for oral stimulation is met!

Mouthing/chewing is how puppies learn- as they have no sensitive fingertips with which to feel the texture/shape/weight of things!!

When outdoors... have special bones/toys for him to use ONLY outside.

Look for interactive ones, with little rattles etc, and don't worry about 'training him' fetch etc just yet... roll the ball just for him to chase, or give him a couple of dried liver treats and a few bits of dry kibble in a small soft drink bottle..show him what happens when he tips/roll the bottle..show him a couple of times, that food comes out..then see if he will do it himself

[macaroni]

Ye I noticed he only goes for the un-fenced off plants. Maybe I should tell dad to fence off the ones he cares about. He's an 8 month old labrador by the way, hard to stop once he gets ahold of something lol.

And yeh I have a Kong for him to play with. After it's empty he's not interested anymore haha.

[poodle proud]

My pup is almost a year and still loves to put everything in the backyard in her mouth. Rocks, chipbark, sticks etc.

Taking her out for walks reduces the amount of energy and desire to get into mischief in the backyard.

If it's late at night and Ive taken her out to go to the toilet and she picks up a rock I walk back calmly into the house and talk to the other dog or rattle the bag of chewies. 9 times out of ten she drops it and comes running and I give her one.

I'd just be checking what sort of plants you have in your garden to see if anything could actually be toxic. There are about 700 species of plants/shrubs that are known to be toxic to dogs. It may only take a couple of nibbles of the wrong thing to cause major problems.

This is a fabulous site to check if your specific plants are safe or toxic. It seems to have a huge database.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/