New goldendoodle puppy owner- help please!

[Sharae & Winston]

I hope I'm posting this in the right place... So my boyfriend and I just brought home our puppy near the beginning of the month. Unfortunately, our little guy had a rough start by being diagnosed with parvo TWO DAYS after we got him. It was a very emotional experience, but he is one strong puppy and made it through, although he is still recovering :( This experience put a damper on our plans for him and training schedule, considering we couldn't bring him around other dogs for at least two weeks. While we are having many issues (none of which are that out of the ordinary for puppy behavior), I need some advice and somewhere to vent. 

My main concern right now is him eating EVERYTHING he comes in contact with outside. It's to the point where we actually dread taking him out because the entire time we are jerking the leash and telling him "NO" or "leave it". He has already scared us by swallowing an entire pine cone, leaving us with another scared trip to the vet for an x-ray (as if he hasn't been there enough lately). I've realize part of it may be because he is incredible hungry because the tiny meals we've been forced to feed him (due to the parvo while his intestines are healing). So maybe he is literally trying to eat everything because he is SO darn hungry? Does anyone have any experience with this? We want to be able to take him on walks and expel some of the energy he has cooped up but I'm afraid every time is going to end up with another foreign object consumed and I am legitimately scared to take him!! 

Any advice or experience with this would be greatly appreciated! :)

[M.J.]

Our boy got deathly ill 2 days after we got him too. Bad news? He still likes to eat everything outside. Good news? He doesn't eat anything he's not supposed to inside. Also, use this to teach him to "leave it." When Porter got sick, I fed him little by little for days. I feel your pain!

[Ginny Nightingale]

Join the puppy madness group! I am sure you will see other discussions like this--puppies explore with their mouths and you will spend a lot of time pulling things out of their mouth!  It takes lots of repitition and a development of self-control before the pup has any idea how to "leave it" --and positive reinforcement is important too! Bring very small treats with you on walks--when you say no or leave it and give him a tug, say good boy! and reward him with a treat--eventually, he will be more focused on you and the treats than the stuff on the ground.

I hope he is well enough for a good obedience class soon--there are many things you can learn there to get you on the right track with your cute pup.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

One of our Doodles, Guinness, has IBS and when he's having an "episode" he can't ingest anything other than food or it gets much worse.  We have to watch him very carefully outside.....even a small twig will cause serious problems.  We walk him only on paved areas during these times.  We will let him stop to potty where there's grass but watch to see that there's nothing that he can pick up.  For now I would look for paved areas to walk your puppy.  We have bike paths in our area that are perfect. 

[Jen and Annie]

I feel your pain - Annie is 6 1/2 months and STILL picks up and chews things she's not supposed to. :- |
We just have to watch her like a hawk and quickly tell her to 'drop it' or retrieve whatever it is she's munching on. I think it might be a trait of poodles and or retrievers, but I sure hope she will outgrow it at some point... You could try to keep him busy by playing fetch and giving him a 'job' to do while you're outside. If he's retrieving a ball or frisbee for you, he will only be going after the things you WANT him to go after. Thats what we have to do with Annie when we take her outside - when she has a specific task (chasing and retrieving the ball for me) - she is much less likely to pick up other things. I think because these are 'working dogs' they want to be 'working'... Best of luck to you, what a cute pup!

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Lily Grace is now 4 months old and although I have been very fortunate, no intestinal or stomach problems at all, I have dug the equilivent of a whole tree out her mouth. A solid "leave it" is a lifesaver. Lily wants to carry something in her mouth when we walk. I am guessing it is the Lab in her.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Oh yeah--that could work! Have him bring a toy to carry!

[Donna Bay & Buzz]

We tried that for a little. She got bored with it. Then,we just lost toys,lol. Gentle leader collar has been a Godsend. I actually enjoy walks now.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Oh, I had a problem with my dogs eating everything on the trails also.  Tried taking them for walks with a muzzle, not because they were mean at all but to keep them from eating things on the trail.  They hated the muzzle.  We have also taken them on bike paths with the bike tow leash (BTL) but they have skidded to a halt to sniff something out.  Treats would probably be a good alternative for when you tell him to "leave it" but I don't know if treats are even an alternative now.  Sorry I can't be of more help.  But realize that you are definitely not the first person to have to deal with this.

[Sharae & Winston]

Wow, this site is awesome :) Thank you everyone for responding, it's nice knowing I'm not the only person who is having this issue! Sounds like I should just keep doing what I'm doing and eventually incorporate treats for when he "leave's it" when he can start having them :-/. I will definitely try bringing his squeaky ball outside to distract him from what's on the ground, after he's went potty of course. Thankfully, he's going to his first puppy class on the 30th so hopefully I'll learn some more tricks on how I can curb this. I am dreading the fact that I might have to deal with this til he's a year old or even forever :-l

[M.J.]

Tip from my trainer that really worked. Teach leave it by placing a desirable treat on the floor. Cover it with your foot and say leave it. Do this a lot until he knows he can't have it. Praise him with a different treat each time he shows restraint/lack of interest. Porter learned quick and it stuck!

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Traz is 7 1/2 months old and STILL going for things on the ground.  At first it was acorns...and those were driving us CRAZY! I mentioned the acorns to our trainer and she had me bring some into class for our "leave it" session.  With lots and lots of treats and praise, we were able to desensitize him to the acorns.  Phew!  But, just when we thought we were good with Traz leaving things alone, he found a new item to go after...paper - ugh!  So, we are back to square one on a different "leave it" item.  Our trainer's advice...practice, practice, practice...just like we did with the acorns and he'll soon leave the paper alone too.  So, when we practice his training at home, we put him on his leash, have LOTS of treats on hand and throw paper around the house.  IF, he leaves the paper alone, he gets a treat.  If he doesn't and our "nope" doesn't work, we take it out of his mouth and start again.  Good luck with your training.  Remember, they are still babies and we have to be patient as we teach them the ropes.  I am constantly reminding myself of this too.  Happy Holidays and enjoy your puppy :-)

[Lorie dorazio]

Hello everyone, I know this post is about a year old. How are everyone's puppies doing now? Did they grow out of it after a year? I'm hoping that sprocket will grow out of eating everything, he is such an amazing puppy. He has such a great personality and he is so loving, but he is always getting sick. My mother recently said maybe it is in the breed. So I started searching about goldendoodles and eating everything and I found a lot of results. But, maybe it is just being a puppy too. He listens pretty well, we can have him off his leash and he will stay in the yard with us. We were having so much fun just running around the yard chasing things, but he has to eat everything, dirt, sticks, plants, chicken poop, mushrooms, grass, mulch, etc... During the summer I pick every mushroom I could find, so he wouldn't eat any. He ends up with diarrhea a lot. Right now he is finishing up a 20 day bland diet and we are going to slowly introduce food back in. We also have issues with him eating my sons socks, I try to make sure if my son takes off his socks he puts them up. He will throw them up the next day. I tried spraying a sock with Apple bitter and leaving it on the floor,he doesn't even go next to it, but he will still go after one without the apple bitter. I think he is too smart to fall for that trick. I bought a citronella collar to only use to keep him away from the guinea hen poop, they roam free. I think this is what is making him sick. I was going to try using it, I read it isn't bad for him. I bought it and now I'm hesitant to use it. I would really appreciated any suggestions from the members who have successfully got through is stage. Thank you so much. :)