Goldendoodle puppy eating absolutely everything outside!

[Mary]

Hi everyone,

I am new here and in fact new to the doodle world. I got my F1 goldendoodle last week, her name is Belfi (Belle_Fille) and she is three months old. She is the most adorable and the most energetic puppy out there! (I am sure you know what I mean!)

She loves eating sticks, leaves of all sort, in particular grass, and occasionally rocks. She was even attempting to eat the asphalt ground of our parking ramp (not talking about the particles but literally the ground)!

I know this is normal for puppies to try things by their mouth but I think her case is a bit more extreme. Her nose is literally attached to the ground and she is constantly trying to pick new things. I always try to lure her into treats and try to use "leave it" command. This usually works for the first 5 minutes or so but then she just wants to try new things and not interested in the treats anymore. For example, today I took her to our backyard to play fetch/chase and after couple of rounds she was so much more into grazing the grass than the ball. Squeaking the ball and running away did not have any impact until she was done grazing.

The most important problem is that she has a bit of diarrhea/loose stool on and off, we have taken her to vet couple of times and they check her and it seems that she does not have any parasite/bacteria issue causing the stomach problems.

I am worried that she would further harm herself by eating sticks and possibly rocks. Any suggestions on what to do? Is this a puppy phase which will go away by time? What can I do to at least reduce this behaviour? 

She has tons of chew toys of all sorts but if you have any particular suggestion I would be happy to try them! 

Thanks,

Maryam

  

[Lynda Kamrath]

I am on my fourth doodle puppy right now and they have all had chewing problems.  Harpo was the worst and he would chew on the deck.  My husband started putting tobasco sauce on the deck (he bought huge jars and a dauber) and that stopped the deck chewing.  Right now, he is repairing a lamp because our newest puppy got behind the couch one night and chewed up the entire cord.  He swallowed some little copper bits from the cord, but he has vomited them up.  We also have lots of chew toys everywhere and he loves the toys, but also chewing the chairs, cords, clothing he can snatch, etc.  My best recommendation is to put everything up high and close all doors (especially closet) and then wait it out.  There are some little bone chews that my puppy likes, but she always has something in her mouth.  She has favorite plants and eats all the bird of paradise plants that come up.  Also all the water cords in the planter boxes.  It will get better.  My dogs all love bully sticks and they are go for about three chews each.  I put the timer on the range and give them 15-20 minutes a day to chew their bully sticks.  You will find something that will keep her occupied.

[Mary]

When we are inside I can contain her with different chew toys and barter our cloth with her favorite toy or treat, my problem is mainly with outside. I have tried to take chew toys with myself on the walks but again they just work for the first few minutes. 

I will try bully sticks as well. Thanks a lot,

I hope she survives puppyhood! :D

[Mary]

Our doodle stopped eating the asphalt in our driveway before he turned one year old.  He is 5 now and he still loves to chase leaves being blown by the wind and eats those, but it is just the ones he catches - he's not going out there having a feast or anything. That first year was kinda crazy though.  He survived so much, it was amazing - but no fun for mama to clean up.   All of his "I'll literally eat anything" ended within the first year.  He has broken his tooth on things and continued chewing.  Sigh.  Anyway, we just kept a watchful eye on him and luckily, he'd rather be with a human than alone eating something crazy, so he was closely watched.  And, if we weren't home, he was (happily) crated.  We call his crate his room and when we say "go to your room," he be-bops in there gladly.  He even hangs out there voluntarily, so it was never really a punishment, and we knew he was safe (except for the things he snuck in there for later, but regular inspections stopped that).

Today, our guy counter surfs, big time.  We can't leave ANY human food anywhere.  Nor things tubes of things - i.e. he has eaten a whole tube of antibiotic ointment, a container of lanolin, lip balms, and the like.  It is all somewhat food-ish though - not the drywall and wood and rocks, lol!

 I second bully sticks - our guy loves them and also he like his antler, but as I said, he still wanted to chew some strange things up to one year old.

Good luck!

[Mary]

Thanks, it seems that there are not as easily destructible! 

Belfi also loves her crate from the first day. So much so that if she gets scared of anything she goes there immediately, also she takes any new toy that she likes to the crate. I should start working on leaving her alone though.  

[LORRY SWETLAND]

So Turbo isn't an aggressive chewer but he is an excessive mouther. He loves to drag around towels after his bath. He has a fleece 3x5 blanket and he plays with it. He loves squeaky toys and does not kill them but if it squeaks be prepared for him to squeak it till it drives you nuts. He also has a very hard rope toy that he likes to toss in the air and catch it. He entertains himself very nicely. All doors are closed at all times. So now you might think I have the perfect puppy.....Nooo he's not perfect. His downfall is the kitchen counters....He is now tall enough to nose surf for any food left on the counter. He has eaten the last 2hot dog buns. Left over egg fu young. Got the salmon filets that were being thawed out for dinner. Tried too get the spare ribs. He ate my chicken sandwich and my 3 chicken wings---swallowed the wings whole....He had ripped my index finger wide open from the palm to wrapping the cut to the front of my finger (should have gone for stitches) it took forever to heal. He gets a wild hair up his you know what and zooms around the yard and tries to jump up and do a karate kick to my head....He was potty trained within the first week I had him. He is smart but can be stubborn at times. He is always with me no matter where I go. I have found that if he gets enough running time he is a very content dog. I use Yak bones for the days when he can't go out and run or we can't play fetch due to weather. e has never destroyed anything that isn't food or smells of food. He is now 11 months old and 77.5 lbs and stands 27 1/2 inches tall to the shoulder. As for the leaves.....Turbo used to try and eat them but I found out by way of the internet that the oak leaves were toxic to dogs. He likes to grab some grass and tree mulch but spits that stuff out. He's never in a crate. I never used a crate for any of my dogs that came before Turbo. Mouthing is his biggest problem. He likes to mouth and slobber on my clothes and my bed but a firm NO usually gets him to stop. Being a puppy doesn't last long....You will survive and so will your puppy.I am retired so Turbo spends all his time with me all day long.

[Mary]

I laughed out loud when I read your reply.  Sounds a lot like our dog, nicknamed "Food Jerk" by our children.  He cannot be trusted.  The only safe place for food is closed inside the microwave.  If it is left out, it's gone.  Broccoli *might* be safe, but certainly not if it has butter or oil on it.  Some of his greatest hits are a whole pound of prunes, 20 Easter cupcakes, 8 oz. of lard, 2 sticks of butter I set out to make cookies - just to name a few.  It's amazing how long he can QUIETLY balance on just two paws and QUIETLY eat a whole pizza that is deep on the counter (his neck is like that of a horse - his reach is astounding) with us 10 feet away and not know it.  Yet, he does listen no matter what - it's just that if he is not being watched, he will absolutely try and succeed.  He actually caught a cat outside our house and while it is was in his mouth, I yelled, and amazingly, he just dropped the cat right then and happily came over to me.  Doodles.  So smart, agile, loving, and sweet, but they definitely have a mind of their own.

[LORRY SWETLAND]

So true. I never had a chewer but a food addict Oh yes......all my dogs were food addicts. Nothing eatable is sacred around my doodle.

[Mary]

Belfi is 3 months old and she is perfecting that skill already. She is now tall enough to reach the dining table and take a look! I should start working on "off" command.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Puppies chewing everything is normal, but Belfi's does sound a bit extreme.  There are muzzles to put on dogs who insist on getting into 'stuff' when outdoors.  In order to keep her safe, you might check into one until this phase is over.

[Cathy Murphy]

Just a different thought- Is she hungry?? When we got Finn the amount of food the breeder told us to feed him was a bit less than he needed.  He would literally try to eat the grass.  Luckily we saw the vet 2 days after we brought him home and once we increased his food that settled down!!  Not to say he still didn't try to eat mulch, sticks, rocks but it was more typical puppy chewing/tasting/exploring!  sounds like you've got a cutie!!

[Mary]

I am already giving her more than the amount the puppy food suggests, but it might be still too little for her as they have these suggestion for an average puppy, but I guess we all know that these doodles probably need more! I will add half a cup to her daily food to see if that decreases the grazing part a bit! 

[Emery & Watson]

One of my doodle's many nicknames is Goat, because he eats everything outside.  The breeder we got him from had goats on the property so maybe he learned a thing or two from watching them.  He will eat grass, dried up earth worms (his favorite), leaves, sticks, mulch, rocks, but we haven't caught him eating asphalt.  Its surprising because he is so good indoors in that he only attacks his own toys.

He is 1.5yrs now and I feel like his goatiness has decreased a little.  He finally actually realized how fun fetch is, so now he'd rather do that than eat things in the backyard.  We also changed his food and I think his desire to eat grass has decreased, although I might be convincing myself of that :)