chewing on sticks, mulch

[Anita]

Lucky, about 16 weeks old, has a habit of chewing on sticks and mulch when he is outdoors. When we try and get the sticks out of his mouth, he plays "keep away". I don't know how much mulch he is actually swallowing but he has started to have slightly looser stools. Any suggestions on how to restrict the mulch eating? Also, is chewing on sticks bad for him?

[elyse]

Gotta love these puppies - I didn't remember if my poodle did this and I thought it was just my puppy. Guess we're all in the same boat.

[jamiegirl]

Our puppy just tore up a $20 toy in the first 5 minutes. More than the cost, I was worried that he might have swallowed some of the "tough rubber" that the toy was made of and create problems for him down the line. We keep a close eye on her but she was still able to swallow a whole piece of paper towel in one gulp when she saw that we were planning on taking that away. We know what to do when we see that she has something that she's not supposed to (she also loves socks!) but can anyone share on what has worked for them to prevent them from getting them in the first place? We have tried both the "leave it" command and "claiming" the object. Some success but could use the help.