# How to I get her to stop eating everything outside??



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

Hi everyone, I'm hoping you have some ideas for me! Most of the snow has melted around our yard, and Josie is trying to eat everything!!!! Sticks, dirt, grass, trash, and especially mulch. Even if I rake up the sticks and trash, the mulch isn't going to go anywhere, so I need to find a solution to her noshing problem. It's just torture to bring her outside for more than a minute, I'm constantly fishing junk out of her mouth. I'm sure she gets enough to eat (almost 3 cups of Pro Plan a day, plus training treats), but she always seems like she's starving! I try to engage her outside but she wants nothing to do with playing or toys, she just wants to hunt down the next thing to eat. She's moping around here because she wants to go out and play, but I'm just tired of the nonsense. Has anyone got something for me to try? Thanks!!


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## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

I hear what you're saying. Marty is almost 7 months and I thank the stars we have snow. He's a total bark/cat litter/twig/ice/whatever dog. We're working on "leave it" command. Start inside with something cool on the floor and you've got something better in your hand. She's on a leash and you're walking her past object on floor say leave it, correct if necessary and if not give, better treat in hand. Work up to outside with bark as lower level treat. Object is to EVENTUALLY, get her to look at you when you say "leave it", as she'll think she's getting something great.


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## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

She knows leave it - when she wants to! She's great in class or in the house - even on walks. But, when it comes time to run free in the yard - nope, its time to feast! At least she seems to have lost her taste for rocks, but I'm really worried about the mulch. My husband takes alot of pride in his yard, and he uses alot of mulch in the landscaping. I'm planning on telling him to get an untreated mulch this spring, but all the old stuff will still be there underneath, and of course I don't want her to get sick from the chemiocals they use. I'm wondering if the hot pepper spray that you use on vegetable gardens will deter her? Has anyone tried something like that?


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

jmamom said:


> She knows leave it - when she wants to! She's great in class or in the house - even on walks. But, when it comes time to run free in the yard - nope, its time to feast! At least she seems to have lost her taste for rocks, but I'm really worried about the mulch. My husband takes alot of pride in his yard, and he uses alot of mulch in the landscaping. I'm planning on telling him to get an untreated mulch this spring, but all the old stuff will still be there underneath, and of course I don't want her to get sick from the chemiocals they use. I'm wondering if the hot pepper spray that you use on vegetable gardens will deter her? Has anyone tried something like that?


We used pepper to keep Lincoln from eating poop and bark/mulch...worked for us. He doesn't eat either anymore...he just eats rope thingies and horks them up at 3:30 in the morning. :doh:


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## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

Laurie said:


> We used pepper to keep Lincoln from eating poop and bark/mulch...worked for us. He doesn't eat either anymore...he just eats rope thingies and horks them up at 3:30 in the morning. :doh:


 Thanks, that made me laugh. Guess I'll go to the garden store and get a crate of pepper spray!


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Tess is the same, has been from the beginning...She also eats gravel, by the way, very nice! 'Leave it' does work with her, if only I would remember bringing treats every time we go outside. But really, even if I walk on the street with her, her tongue is licking the sand and dirt.:yuck: My breeder suggested using bitter apple, but she is so quick, by the time I am spraying, it's already in her mouth. So: you're not alone!


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## jenlaur (Jun 24, 2009)

The simple answer to your question is that you can't stop them from eating stuff in the yard. At least in my house it is a losing battle. On the leash Riley is great at the leave it command. But in the yard she thinks it's a game of chase. 

It might get better when Josie gets a little older. At her age she is probably teething and needs to chew. But don't count on it. Riley is almost 8 months old and still chews sticks, mulch, berries, and even a dead bird the other day (thank goodness she obeyed the leave it command on that one). We have a whole counter full of intercepted chew items on the counter of our patio: rocks, sticks, a giant shell, edging, etc. I can distract her with a treat but if I don't have one she pretends to be deaf. It is very frustrating.

I stayed in the yard with her every time she was out until she about 6 months old. That way I could get whatever she wasn't supposed to have out of her mouth right away. Now I just wait for her to try to bring it into the house.


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## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

inge said:


> Tess is the same, has been from the beginning...She also eats gravel, by the way, very nice! 'Leave it' does work with her, if only I would remember bringing treats every time we go outside. But really, even if I walk on the street with her, her tongue is licking the sand and dirt.:yuck: My breeder suggested using bitter apple, but she is so quick, by the time I am spraying, it's already in her mouth. So: you're not alone!


Isn't it so difficult? I want to go out and have fun, and I don't want her to make herself sick. But she's so bored inside! Sadly, no one told her she's a retriever, and she has no interest in fetch or anything like that. She's happy to bite your hand off if you wrestle with her, or play tug with the 6 year old's stuffed animal, but she has no interest in the one million dog toys I have bought for her. Just venting - she's really been good lately - she just seems sad today and I feel bad about it. I worry too much. Maybe I'm the one that's bored!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

When I read the subject of this thread, my first thought was "you don't!" Jack has taken a liking to EVERYTHING at some point. Mulch was a favorite for awhile (luckily ours is non-toxic). Leaves, sticks, those sticky balls off our liquid amber trees, rocks, bunny poop.....pretty much anything and everything have been the hot item at one point. I've noticed that he seems to move on from most of the items. The only ones that are consistently favorites are the sticky balls and bunny poop. He'll pick up the mulch every once in awhile but usually drops it....it must not be as tasty as the bunny poop nearby! I try to have a favorite toy outside to distract him and take things away from him immediately so that it doesn't turn into a game. He's slowly getting better.


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Tesses absolute favorite is horse poop...She smells it through the snow and wants to dig it up. We walk a lot on bridle trails, so sometimes it's quite a challenge!


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## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

jenlaur said:


> The simple answer to your question is that you can't stop them from eating stuff in the yard. At least in my house it is a losing battle. On the leash Riley is great at the leave it command. But in the yard she thinks it's a game of chase.
> 
> It might get better when Josie gets a little older. At her age she is probably teething and needs to chew. But don't count on it. Riley is almost 8 months old and still chews sticks, mulch, berries, and even a dead bird the other day (thank goodness she obeyed the leave it command on that one). We have a whole counter full of intercepted chew items on the counter of our patio: rocks, sticks, a giant shell, edging, etc. I can distract her with a treat but if I don't have one she pretends to be deaf. It is very frustrating.
> 
> I stayed in the yard with her every time she was out until she about 6 months old. That way I could get whatever she wasn't supposed to have out of her mouth right away. Now I just wait for her to try to bring it into the house.


Its funny, at first I fished every leaf out of her mouth. Now I'm like - oh good its just a leaf! I figure leaves and sticks - at least they're natural. I worry most about the mulch - the chemicals. And the trash that seems to be everywhere all of a sudden - little plastic bottletops, foil wrappers, etc - where do they all come from??? I am hoping to be able to let her be by herself in the yard this spring, but at this point, I think I'd worry the whole time she's out there. I can stock up on bully sticks and the like, but then she's not getting any exercise or playtime, she's just sitting and chewing. Maybe I need to start a doggie daycare to keep Josie busy outside!


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## anniekc (Jan 29, 2010)

Oh my. I wish I could list all the "treasures" Finn has found for me in our yard! We've lived in this house for three years, but the folks before us had little boys and they must have buried/lost half their toys in the backyard! Finn's brought us juicebox containers, guns, bubble bottles, lego pieces, baseball cards! And we do keep a pretty tidy yard so I guess he's finding this stuff under the deck, which hopefully he will soon be too big to get under!

And yes, he's constantly chomping bushes, twigs, willow branches, but his biggest claim to fame was finding six, yes six, bags of leaves that had yet to be taken to the landfill.....oh yeah.....all the leaves, and a gazillion bits of bag all over the backyard! and truthfully- he must have destroyed them in about a ten minute period, because thats about the limit of how long he's out there without me watching what he's doing! Good thing they are so darn cute!


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## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

I KNOW I get very tired of saying "leave it", sort of takes the fun out of things. And as at least one person pointed out Marty is fine in the house, while in class and even outside ON lease, if off leash....the skies the limit. We didn't have a lot of snow a few weeks ago and he figured out there's deer poop on our property. I was tempted to take him out with a muzzle on!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Hank is a nature lover too, I finally gave up figuring dogs-will-be-dogs. Our yard is wooded and impossible to keep every stick, leaf, dirt clod, mulch, & rock picked up. I'm just happy he's not a poop eater and the deer are outside the fence.


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

jmamom said:


> Hi everyone, I'm hoping you have some ideas for me! Most of the snow has melted around our yard, and Josie is trying to eat everything!!!! Sticks, dirt, grass, trash, and especially mulch. Even if I rake up the sticks and trash, the mulch isn't going to go anywhere, so I need to find a solution to her noshing problem. It's just torture to bring her outside for more than a minute, I'm constantly fishing junk out of her mouth. I'm sure she gets enough to eat (almost 3 cups of Pro Plan a day, plus training treats), but she always seems like she's starving! I try to engage her outside but she wants nothing to do with playing or toys, she just wants to hunt down the next thing to eat. She's moping around here because she wants to go out and play, but I'm just tired of the nonsense. Has anyone got something for me to try? Thanks!!


LOL!! Seriously, are Oscar & Josie the same dog???? We seem to have all the same problems... :doh::doh::doh::doh::doh: We have no yard, but when he's outside on the leash, he honestly tries to eat everrrrything...!



jmamom said:


> Its funny, at first I fished every leaf out of her mouth. Now I'm like - oh good its just a leaf! I figure leaves and sticks - at least they're natural. I worry most about the mulch - the chemicals. And the trash that seems to be everywhere all of a sudden - little plastic bottletops, foil wrappers, etc - where do they all come from???


YUP! LOL that is now my attitude... leafs & grass & sticks are fine! But he l-o-v-e-s anything crunchy and/or plastic... plastic bags, chip bags, bottles, soda cans, anything like that. Gah! He USED to be MUCH worse with his rock eating -- like he would try to eat every single one he saw -- but that actually seems to have subsided a LOT in the last month... so that's hope for Josie right??? Our vet actually suggested we try "booby trapping" some rocks outside with bitter apple or the pepper stuff, but we were never organized enough to do it... maybe that's an option for you though, since you have a yard? You could randomly booby trap different stuff and maybe she will get the idea that non-toys aren't tasty...? I mean instead of spraying it with stuff while you are outside with her, you do it before she can see you... and leave it where you know she will go for it first.

The dog park is where it really gets bad for us, since I can't reel him in on the leash like I would on a walk if the "leave it/drop it" doesn't work (which, OUTSIDE, is most of the time :doh. Today it was... A DEAD MOUSE... YUCK!:yuck: He just digs them up. We tried distracting him with his frisbee and tennis ball; eventually he ran after the ball when we threw it right by his head along the ground and dropped the mouse so we snatched it up. Sigh.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Funny, I've been meaning to post about this subject because it's making me crazy. I was sorry to see our snow melt because now the little scavenger can't take a step without scrounging for mulch... I worry about splinters.

I guess if it EVER quits raining here I will douse all our mulch and rabbit poo with pepper spray and see what happens.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

When Lincoln was younger, he also like crunchy things....except for his faves were dead animals!! He loved dead crispy gophers. We would take the dogs out to the creek area and go equipped with bags to pick them all up before he got to them. He did a pretty good cleaning job!!! Thank goodness he's grown out of that......hopefully. It does get better......hang in there!!!


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## gold4me (Mar 12, 2006)

I have bad news here. Gambler is going to be 2(that is 2 YEARS) this month and I am CONSTANTLY pulling sticks, leaves, pine needles and ROCKS out of his mouth. I worry about the rocks. He loves to eat EVERYTHING. I am also saying leave it constantly. In the house and during training he does a perfect leave it but outside----forget it!!!


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## Blondie (Oct 10, 2009)

Thank God I'm in the right place by joining this outdoorsy, nature loving thread! OMG! My Maggie is bringing me treasures of all sorts of natural things! Twigs, acorns, leaves(her favorite!), big branches and evergreen twigs. She will go after her poopscicles too. It must look like an "I Love Lucy," scenario at our place. The one with Lucy working in the candy factory and the chocolates are coming down the conveyer belt too fast that she can't keep up and starts eating the chocolates! I can't keep up with our 9 week old Maggie! She darts from one tree to the next, at lightening speed! She will go from tree to tree searching the base for treasures. Then, she'll run to piles of fallen trees and brush piles. We still have snow, but boy is she fast! When she finds her poopscicles I have thrown in the woods with the shovel, I go berserk! She is fantastic on the leash when walking! It's that run, run, running and zooming around that's comical, yet maddening at the same time!


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## GoldenOwner12 (Jun 18, 2008)

Lol same problem here Shelley will be 2 years old on 11th of april this year and she still eats dirt,poo,anything that she finds enjoyable. Today she got ahold of a stone from a fruit lucky for me when i say drop or leave it she does. I always then pick up what she was chewing or trying to eat and throw it away where she can't get it. 
But i know Shelley will always do these things so i have accept that and just make sure things that tempt her are put up. Execpt for the dirt etc as i can't do anything about that, But a bit of roughage wouldn't hurt.


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## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

zephyr said:


> LOL!! Seriously, are Oscar & Josie the same dog???? We seem to have all the same problems... :doh::doh::doh::doh::doh: We have no yard, but when he's outside on the leash, he honestly tries to eat everrrrything...!
> 
> So funny!!! They are kindred spirits, that's for sure!!!
> 
> ...


The booby trapping might work - once she's turned off to something, she won't go near it again. I'll have to bring a bottle of the spray outside with me later. Not looking forward to the critters coming out of hibernation - we find often dead mice in the yard since there are a gillion cats on my street. There is a groundhog living under my shed - now that should be interesting when he wakes up.
I swear she goes for the mulch because she knows it bugs me. Maybe she figures that's the only way to get my hands in her mouth these days???


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## SamDog (Dec 31, 2009)

Sam is the same - he goes for anything and everything he sees on a walk. One trick we're working on is giving him a special toy that he is only allowed to have when we're on a walk. He loves to carry stuff in his mouth so this has worked fairly well. Good luck - I know how aggravating it is!


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## HudsensMama9 (Dec 17, 2009)

Yep, Hudsen is exactly the same way!! Our walks take FOREVER and sometimes we don't even really walk! We may spend 45 mins. outside and hardly make it a block because he stops to sniff, and then lies down to chew whatever he finds. Thennn he is a wild man when we get home because he didn't get much execise. Tonight was the worst by far-- he stopped to sniff, then started digging. I just assumed it was rabbit poop, which I don't even try to stop him from eating anymore. Nope, he pulled up a SQUIRREL TAIL!!! Ewwww it was sooo gross and stinky- good thing I had gloves on because I had to pry open his jaws to pull that thing out because he was clenching them shut for dear life. I was so nervous he was going to get sick! I kept telling him to leave it, but nope he just clenched harder! Now he smells like a dead squirrel- bath time it is!!


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## Love Big Max (Feb 7, 2010)

You gotta love the "flop." My little pup doesn't do that one. She's dash from the door until we get bach home. I'm constantly tapping my thigh, which now has a permanent indentation, and "saying, "Harley, heel." Yes, I know fitting name. Both the pups love to munch and crunch while out and about, however, and all the training in the world hasn't stopped dear old Harley! Max is new to our pack, so we'll see, but so far...I'm with you leave it only works when they want what you've got more than what they're "leaving," and if they feel like cooperating...sometimes, a puppy's just gotta eat some poop 'cuz it tastes so darn good! I personally, do not want to partake in the gravel munching, bark gnawing poop prodding ritual


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## walexk (Nov 13, 2009)

When Gable and I are playing out in the backyard, he has to stop every other minute and chomp on the mulch in my beds. And I have a lot of beds. It is hard to avoid them. I certainly hope I can find something in the spring to stop him from eating the mulch. You said that you just let them eat the rabbit poop. Does it make them sick? I think he has found a love for it since I don't let him eat his own. It is maddening when you just want him to have fun and play. Perhaps Petsmart should make a ball made out of mulch and poop and then they would play with them. LOL


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## dmsl (Jun 7, 2009)

We have a rock eater too.....has anyone tried spraying something like vinegar on the rock area? Our entire back yard is rock around our pool...no grass at all! They love running around the pool & behind the garage which is a long stretch to pick up speed...but after a quick run, they stop to eat the small pebbles. How in the world would you know if there were some stuck?? There are small ones that come out in the poop...so I know the small ones are passing, but makes me wonder how many may not be coming out!


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## kaysy (Jan 9, 2010)

Marty loves to eat everything also. Cat litter...doesn't have to be dirty. As for outside, bark and anything sticking out of the snow is fair game. I'm trying to ignore it, as I think he's doing it to "push my button", which he found out early how to dod!


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## grlove (Mar 27, 2015)

OMG!!! Sounds just like my 15 week old puppy. Makes me crazy. He wants to eat grass, dirt, moss, bunny poop and mushrooms. He's very quick. I've followed him with bitter apple and treats, and I am sure my neighbors think I am a lunatic. He's a sweetie other that this, but I wish there was a solution! He also doesn't like leash walks around the neighborhood and has no interest in fetch, so it's hard to tire him out. :-(


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## grlove (Mar 27, 2015)

If anyone has suggestions, that would be great.


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

Willow52 said:


> Hank is a nature lover too, I finally gave up figuring dogs-will-be-dogs. Our yard is wooded and impossible to keep every stick, leaf, dirt clod, mulch, & rock picked up. I'm just happy he's not a poop eater and the deer are outside the fence.


I too have given up. Buddy has what my little girl has delightfully named his "laboratory". (A two square foot piece of grass under a bush) He hoards all actual and potential chewing materials there namely, twigs, acorns, logs, dead lizards if he got very lucky, the odd flip flop, big stones, and a whole load of other things. I clear it out every day, but by the next morning he has always restocked it!


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## Brads035 (Apr 1, 2014)

Work on teaching "leave it" by holding a treat to your puppy and closing your fist around it and not let him have it until he draws his head away and shows no interest. Repeat several times. Gradually move up to putting treats on his paws and saying leave it until he waits for instruction to eat it. repeat. Drop treats on the floor and practice leave it. Don't put down your puppy's food bowl until he is sitting. Make him work for everything. Sit to go through a door. Sit to get a toy....Get him into a habit where he only takes things after you give them to him. Eventually you should be able to say leave it and he will drop items found outside. You can reward for dropping the item and giving a treat. If you repeat these behaviours it will become habitual and by 1/2 years he will drop things automatically. 

You can also practice trade - presenting a new item in exchange for what he grabs outside. 

My dog loves fetch now, but it took several weeks to build up to it. Practice at home rolling the ball along the floor. Get him to play fetch indoors (less distractions). Then only offer to play outside - eventually he will understand that if he wants a fetch session it only happens outside. Also, get a kong wubba and play tug and fetch. Get your puppy into habits of playing with his toys. And get lots of chewtoys (deer antlers, bully sticks, beef marrow bones) that taste better than sticks. Teach him to entertain himself with acceptable items so he isn't trying to amuse himself with found objects.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

My guys get to graze all they like.... grass doesn't hurt anything. They also get to chew on sticks all they like - as long as they don't eat the sticks (which they don't). 

Actually eating anything else besides grass - it can be discouraged very easily. But you have to go outside with your dogs each and every time.


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## grlove (Mar 27, 2015)

I go out with him every time, but it's very annoying. I have a dog door and fenced in yard, so that he can go out there, but it's so bad I have to close the door and take him out with me. His face is to the grass, just looking for things! I bring treats and follow along, but I feel foolish. It's hard to get him to stop looking, and I feel like I am feeding him constantly and that he has trained me! :-D


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