Eating everything during walks...

[Sabrina and Bentley]

Bentley is 4 months old and eats everything on our walks.  some days he's really good and other days he can't help but eat leaves, dirt, goose poo, wood chips, even stains on the cement he tries to lick up. lol!  I keep a close eye on the ground to try to walk around these areas, but I would like him to get accustomed to walking in these areas without wanting to eat everything.  I understand the "he's a puppy" response.  But is this something they grow out of, or something you train them on to stop doing?  He hasn't picked up on the "drop it" command yet; we're still working on that.  I give him a light tug and tell him a firm "no" when he's going to grab something and I have no problem with pulling stuff out of his mouth.

 

Any suggestions?  Thanks!

 

Sabrina

[Ginny Nightingale]

That might be the LAB in him as they love to sniff out food everywhere---my Mattie is big on sniffing out anything that might be edible, especially grass, when on a walk. You are handling it correctly and you might also want to bring treats with you to get his attention back on you where it should be. Have him stop and sit now and then, get his eye contact and treat him so that he remembers that you have the "good stuff". It has to be better than whatever he is licking off the cement. 

My husband has a bad habit of throwing banana peels into the woods along our driveway and whenever I walk my younger doodle Rio there, he plunges into the woods and comes out with a banana peel!

Bentley sure is a cutie pie!

[Sabrina and Bentley]

I hope it's not the lab in him Ginny.  He's supposed to be a goldendoodle!!  haha!  Thanks for the advice!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

What kind of leash and collar are you using? If you use a plain 6 ft leash and a collar that allows you to control him (a martingale or slip collar would be best) you simply keep his head up and keep him from sniffing and/or eating anything.

I strongly recommend that you do not use a retractable leash, you do not want him more than 6 ft away from you. That alone will give you the control you need to prevent him from picking up anything.

[Sabrina and Bentley]

We have just a regular nylon collar on him and we use a 4 ft leash.  I usually hold the leash about a foot from his neck to try andd keep him next to me.  He walks so fast that I have to try and slow him down sometimes. I've been pulling up on the collar when he goes to sniff and this seems to be helping.  Thanks!

[Rose Ann and Amante]

what is difference between a choke collar and a pinch collar.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I agree with Karen' suggestion to use a collar and leash that help you maintain better control of keeping his head up. I do think this could be just a puppy thing as well. Dogs explore the world with their mouths. Tara was the same way at that age but after a while most of the things on the ground became boring to her.

[Carol Brand]

Also, the mind set you want to adopt is that out on a walk, the dog is working for and with you.  A walk is YOUR time, not the dog's time.  The dog needs to be paying attention to you not to yummie things on the ground or other dogs or joggers or squirrels.

 

I find that walking with purpose and quick active step helps.  Changing direction and pace will also keep the dog on his toes.  PRAISE PRAISE him when he is keeping up and watching you.  Give him a collar pop if he loses focus.  I agree that the retractable leashes are terrible.  These should only be used in certain training situations.  For a walk, stick to a regular 4'-6' leash.

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

The "drop it" command is for stuff that is already in his mouth. Another good command is "leave it" for situations that you are describing, things that you want him to leave alone. Teaching it is easier if you initially set up the situations in a controlled situations that you want to distract him from and are prepared to treat him as he walk past them on short leash. It doesn't take long for a young smart doodle to pick this command up - especially since they don't have to relinquish something that they already have (drop it). Zach is just a little younger than Bently and is also working on these challenges.

[Leslie J]

I just wanted to add that Cocoa had a huge problem with that and she got much better as she grew older.  As far as on walks, I have adopted the "working dog" approach that Carol recommended.  I was finding that I was no longer enjoying walking with Cocoa because she was so busy sniffing around that I had to tug her to get her to catch up (and this is on a six foot leash with a martingale collar!). 

Now, I have her walk briskly with me and occasionally stop and tell her "ok" in places where she can sniff around or go potty. When we're walking I make sure that her attention is on me- not the ground!  Treats in my pocket do help :)

 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It's probably just about time to start Bentley"s obedience training, and walking well on a leash is a key component of that.  I agree with the comments that walks are "work" and that there needs to be an expectation for how the dog should behave....and that doesn't include sniffing or nose to the ground.  I don't think that he will grow out of it without training...it will probably just get worse.

[Sabrina and Bentley]

As a new dog owner, I thought it was natural to let a dog sniff while he walks, so I started him off with some bad habits by allowing him to do it.  Now that I know, we've started with the training.  Thanks!

[Sue, Lola, Pongo & Hubby]

I agree with the collar and leash thing Karen's talking about. Lola had that same problem...and she actually still does during certain times of the year when things are "fresh"...when the snow melts, in the fall when leaves start falling, after a good rainfall...actually anything, really. Just keep her head up and try to be as consistent as possible!!