eating rocks

[Puppy Madness]

Does anyone else have a puppy who eats everything in their path including rocks? Jersey has decided to eat everything. When we are on walks she eats anything including garbage, it is so gross. She chews on rocks and I'm so afraid that she is going to choke on them before I can get them out of her mouth. She is usually really good with her leave it command but lately she acts like she never even heard the words. Do you think this will pass when her puppy teeth fall out? I gave her a bully ring last night for the first time and she chewed it forever....... and today I noticed two teeth missing and one really loose.

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

It's probably just a phase but one thing you can try is to give her something to hold in her mouth while you go for walks. I've read on here that some people give their dog a papertowel roll, some a firm stick, others random things their dogs like to carry, and this occupies their minds and helps them focus on the proper walking.

[Phoebe's Mom]

My Phoebe eats--or at least tries to--everything. I am constantly opeing her mouth and taking something out from rocks to leaves (her favorite) to some small piece of something my eyes did not spy first. I am hoping it is just the puppy stage--she is ten weeks old--as she chews everything in sight as well. This morning she started to eat her bed!

[Maggie Mae (n Mom, Kay)]

My Maggie is 6 1/2 months old now and still likes to "eat" rocks. I have some lava rocks in my back yard. They are so soft that she really can eat them! She will still pick up hard rocks and roll them around in her mouth. When she was a puppy she used to grind her teeth on the edge of the concrete patio. She doesn't do that anymore.

Her favorite things to eat are tissues and napkins! Heaven forbid I leave one where she can reach it.

She does not do well on a leash so I'm going to remember to give her something to carry in her mouth. Perhaps that will help.

[elyse]

My puppy is just over 5 months and it is only a little better than it was. At first it was so bad I couldn't let her out with out a leash because she would eat everything - I have a fenced in yard but she would find every acorn to be had. I've worked on leave it but she's still a puppy with a mind of her own. I hope she grows out of this before springtime.

[Cam & Oski]

Oski is 17mo & will sometimes pick up a rock but he never chews on them, just rolls them around in his mouth. FYI: our old UPS guy had a chocolate lab that would chew on rocks to the point where she chipped her teeth. I've also heard of dogs that had to have emergent surgery due to swallowing rocks that subsequently got stuck. Eek! If you want to keep her from picking up stuff on your walks, you might want to try letting her carry a ball so that she's already got something to chew on.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I agree and relate to ALL of this. Spud does eat rocks. When he was at the very worst "biting at us" stage, my husband said relax Dear, think of how dull it will make his puppy teeth!! AGH So we carry things with us the walks. Yes he eats rocks, toilet paper, and my hand. Its nature and this too, shall pass.
My pup especially likes to bring something special home from his walks. Mostly pine cones. He will carry them the last 1 or 2 blocks and he is so proud. After all, these pups are "Retrievers"
My mastiff chewed paper towels his entire life and although he loved toilet paper rolls he hated paper towel rolls. He would never eat computer paper.
I give my dogs cardboard boxes. They love to tackle them and rip off the pieces and shed them. They have fun hiding and chewing and they are a lot like paper.

[Debra Ference-Luongo]

Edgar, who is now in the throes of losing teeth, puts everything in his mouth. He loves carrying sticks and pine cones but will drop them in a flash if he spy's something he decides is more interesting - including bottle caps, grubby papers and other discarded trash items. This is a problem even when we take him out for a quick pee. I feel like all I say some days is "Leave it." I have tried all sorts of tricks. One that works the best is to say his name quite often when we walk so he looks up at me. Sometimes I give him a treat - always lots of praise. It makes it hard to grab all the delicious morsels to be found lying on the ground when he is looking at me plus he is less likely to pull on his leash.