# Puppy eating the garden



## bozo_boy (Feb 28, 2011)

I've been taking Charlie (9 weeks old) out to play in the garden. Is it normal for a puppy to be eating/trying to eat everything and anything? Grass, soil, leaves, bark...etc.:yuck: I find myself continually following him around and taking these things out of his mouth. 

Should I just let him get on with it as the more I retrieve stuff from his mouth the more determined he becomes to put new stuff in it?


----------



## Orchid (Feb 28, 2011)

I am no expert; there are more experienced people out there who could give you good advice.

However, there are some plants and flowers that are poisonous for dogs. I think that your baby should be okay if you keep these away from him. 

But as I said, i am no expert. I will be eager to hear what the others say as my own baby is 9 weeks old 2. And always gets into things.


----------



## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

They all do it, you should begin training him to leave it, but it sure takes a while


----------



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

It's normal for puppies to try to eat anything and everything, it's frustrating, and in some cases it is a health hazard. 
Here is the list of toxic/non toxic plants:
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...rd/76905-toxic-non-toxic-plant-list-dogs.html


----------



## Mavrk (Mar 11, 2011)

Yeah, our 9 week old is like that too. She eats leaves and grass. The rocks are the things I keep having to take out of her mouth.

My mother-in-law decided to plant some stuff in an area I had cleared out that was full of thorny roses. I told her not to because the dog will rip it up, but she said it would be okay. Sure enough, our puppy goes over there and pulls up each plant. She destroyed a couple and the rest were replanted on the other side of the fence like I had said in the first place.


----------



## tanianault (Dec 11, 2010)

Walking Grover is an endless round of distracting him from things he shouldn't pick up and taking things out of his mouth he did manage to pick up (I hate Spring in the city - a whole winter's mess of garbage is being uncovered) . A couple things that have helped me are: leave the house with a tug toy that you can use to distract or give to the the puppy to "carry" and take a pocketful of his kibble to "trade" for those things you'd rather not touch. I find that showing Grover a treat will usually make him spit out whatever he has in his mouth.

It does get better: yesterday Grover (who is now four months old) walked past an entire pile of pine cones and didn't try to eat a single one.

Good luck!

- Tania


----------



## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

Just like babies, they can get to it the first place it goes is in the mouth. You have to distract. Mulch can make them really sick...as can some plants.


----------



## julliams (Oct 27, 2010)

Zali did this when she was little and it made me incredibly anxious. Always have something you can exchange. At this stage they can learn to grab something and run away with it if they perceive it to be a "prize". I made the error of not having something to trade. It can be little liver treats or kibble from her lunch portion or a toy that she likes.

I can tell you that eventually it does calm down. And you will relax about it more when you are aware of what is ok and what is not. Chewing on grass is not a problem. It's more the sticks and stones that are an issue. And plants and things that plants/trees drop.

Be aware, supervise and have something to trade. If it's getting out of hand, keep him on a longer leash so you can "wheel" him in if necessary. Teaching "leave it' is the best advice I was ever given.


----------



## bozo_boy (Feb 28, 2011)

Thanks for your replys

Just had a scare when I saw 'apple' in the list of toxic plants, as we gave him a small piece (peeled and cored) as a treat only yesterday. Googled it and found that the fruit is ok (pips and peel not so good). 

When I scanned the list of toxic plants (not a short one!) it makes one wonder how dogs ever survive past the first year


----------



## vbud88 (Mar 8, 2011)

my pup is always eating leaves etc chewing grass eating soil, at first I was following him everywhere and taking everything out of his mouth I got so stressed but then decided to let him get on with it and he has never had an upset tummy or been sick, I think its instinct they know what they can eat and leave other things alone, I am no expert but thats what I have found


----------



## Deb_Bayne (Mar 18, 2011)

OMG, I'm so glad I'm not alone in this, Bayne picks up anything he can get his mouth on... I now have biscuits in my pocket for trading with him. I find though if I take him out right after a drink of water or his mealtime he doesn't seem to pick up as much. Pine cones are his favorite though. He loves the snow and is eating it constantly, at first I thought it was because he was thirsty so I would make sure he has a drink before going out, but I think he likes the crunch of the ice in the snow. To go along with this discovery, his stools were getting a little hard so I found out that giving pumpkin helps this and Bayne likes pumpkin. But, a whole can of pureed pumpkin or fresh pumpkin doesn't last in the fridge so I froze them in ice cube trays, about 1 tbsp per square. Since Bayne loves eating ice and snow I am able to give him one of these cubes and he loves it. And yes, his stools have went back to normal within one day. Should I continue with the pumpkin?, the recommended for his weight is 1 to 2 tbsp a day.


----------



## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

vbud88 said:


> my pup is always eating leaves etc chewing grass eating soil, at first I was following him everywhere and taking everything out of his mouth I got so stressed but then decided to let him get on with it and he has never had an upset tummy or been sick, I think its instinct they know what they can eat and leave other things alone, I am no expert but thats what I have found


It's certainly not instinct, I can tell you that...or mine is missing a gene altogether! @ 7 months mine's still throwing up things early in the morning. Last week it was the plastic bag the dog walker let him get hold of (as I watched from work on the webcam). It's gotten better through training and a pocketful of treats, but when we're in the front yard training, he would rather chew on grass and sticks then come running for whatever treats I have. It's driving me crazy, but the only reason I haven't jumped off a cliff is because he's much larger now and there is less of a chance that some of these things can cause an obstruction. When he was < 30 lbs and swallowing this same stuff I would be in fits wondering if tomorrow would be the day I would have to rush him to the hospital.


----------



## Luccagr (Feb 25, 2011)

This is perfectly normal. Lucca does this everytime I bring him out. I'm constantly having to take things out of his mouth. He puts stones, some plastic thingy, rubber into his mouth. So far I've been pretty ok at removing those things from his mouth when he puts them in but it's frustrating. I've to constantly steer him away or tell him a firm no. I do wonder if he'll ever learn to stop putting rubbish into his mouth.

Any other methods to train them to stop doing this?


----------



## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Luccagr said:


> Any other methods to train them to stop doing this?


Treating them after the fact has limited value. If you're walking them on a leash and they are darting around chasing things they want to stuff in their mouth, give them a verbal correction and a gentle tug at the leash. Never allow them to self-reward (get the stick, etc.), so you have to keep a hawk's eye on them and the area you are walking. In parallel, encourage them to walk by your side and pay attention to you using the food as bait if you have to. Watch carefully and you'll notice he/she will eventually hesitate when they see something tempting. Give them lots of praise and a treat! Eventually you'll notice their attention goes straight from the object of interest to you. Lots of praise and a treat. In both instances, after the treat, keep their attention as you walk away from the object of interest. That can be making high pitched noises, jumping up and down, anything to make you more interesting than a rock. Sure you'll look like a loon doing this, but you'll get over it. As in most cases, timing is everything. The second you notice hesitation or eye contact with you following their interest in something, reward for it. This allowed us to walk with our pup very well in 2-3 weeks (nearly impossible before that). But now that he's off leash in the front yard, he doesn't think that applies and everything in the front yard is his personal all-you-can-eat buffet! *sigh* Back to square one.


----------



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

vbud88 said:


> my pup is always eating leaves etc chewing grass eating soil, at first I was following him everywhere and taking everything out of his mouth I got so stressed but then decided to let him get on with it and he has never had an upset tummy or been sick, I think its instinct they know what they can eat and leave other things alone, I am no expert but thats what I have found


We found out the hard way our dogs eat things that are not good for them. Our first Golden ate stick chards and had some bleeding from irritations and scrapes in his intestinal area. He also tried to eat a live squirrel. He also indulged in other dog's poop, a particularly unhealthy habit. :yuck:

Our Barkley raided trash cans and ate raw chicken packaging. He also tried to eat a live cat once too. 

Our Toby, well, he loves leather, cell phones, acorns, lantana, weeds that most certainly have been sprayed by pesticides and oh, the road kill that's caused multiple bouts of colitis and in one case, a tapeworm. He's very intelligent for a dog, but he lacks that _instinct_ to distinguish the good from the bad edible items.


----------

