4month Old Pup Chewing Bark Chips

[Rileys mum]

Hi all.

I'm a newby here and was hoping u may be able to help me.

I have a 4 month old German short haired pointer who is just the most beautiful boy. He is currently kept in the laundry while I'm at work but I am about to start leaving him out in my rear yard. The only concern I have is that he loves to chew on the bark chips I have in my garden beds. It doesn't appear he actually swallows them ( although he may swallow small bits) but he enjoys crunching them up.

Is it unsafe for him to do this?? He has a large amt of toys to chew and play with but still prefers to crunch the bark.

thanks in advance for any advice. If needed I will just remove the chips but I guess I'm not sure if I'm being an overly paranoid mother lol

cheers

[fiveplusone]

Hi Rileys mum! So nice to see another GPS pup mum in SA!

My GSP boy is almost 6 months old and he too loves chewing bark chips.....and dry leaves, and grass, and sticks, and rocks, and branches...........you get the idea!

He has plenty of toys, bones, pigs ears, kongs filled with yummy stuff but he still likes to have a bit of vegetation! So far none of it has hurt him and I don't think he actually eats it, just chews it!

PS come over the GSP thread and post some photos, there are a couple of us with pups atm :-)

Edited April 17, 2010 by fiveplusone

[Erny]

The only concern I have is that he loves to chew on the bark chips I have in my garden beds. It doesn't appear he actually swallows them ( although he may swallow small bits) but he enjoys crunching them up.

Is it unsafe for him to do this??

If the chips aren't 'treated', then chewing them by itself isn't a problem (unless the habit is excessive). However, exploratory mouthing/chewing of things such as this (other examples would be of stones) can lead to dogs getting into the habit of swallowing them. THEN it becomes quite a health risk.

The better option is to supervise (so you can teach) when he does have access to the bark chips and to prevent when you are not going to be there. That's about the only suggestion anyone can make in the absence of having a crystal ball. Some people don't have a problem and the pup grows through and out of its initial interest in doing this. Other dogs grow more and more into the habit (and that's when gestation of the object can start to occur).

Are you able to put up a temporary barrier (as an option to getting rid of all your bark chips) around your garden beds? You might find this will be useful to protect other things whilst your pup is developing mentally.

I normally mulch all my garden beds in readiness for summer months, but I didn't do that when my boy was a pup - would have been too new and too novel and therefore too much temptation. I also think that fine mulch is better as it isn't as inviting as bark chips for a pup to chew on.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Erny

[CareyJ]

Hi Riley's Mum, Our 15 mo GSP Leila is terrible to removing all the leaves from plants (Leila 1, two large grevillea's nil!) and chewing on leaves, sticks, large chunks of mulch - just chewing them and spitting out all the little bits. At the in-laws she will steal large chunks of wood from the wood pile and turn them in to mulch. We're just happy she isnt digging up the retic to be honest! We just make sure we have nothing that is treated. Luckily she doesnt chew things like shoes (not that we would ever leave them around) or furniture.

Everything goes in her mouth, gets broken up and spat out again!

[VJB]

Heidi use to worry me with the amount of bark chips she would eat. I would take them off her at any given opportunity and eventually that did my head in because it became a game for her. Even now, she will deliver herself to us, tail wagging merrily, and all she wants me to do is lift up her big lips and fetch out the bark chip. :D While she was young, they use to get eaten at times, but once she was a bit older, she started chewing and spitting, and we were relieved and less worried about her doing any damage to herself.