# Eating things



## Audog (Mar 17, 2017)

My guy is a vacuum as well. Like you, leave it, works when I am around. Since I know he will try to eat anything, we are very conscious of leaving stuff he shouldn't eat around. he still finds the oddest things while out in yard, but mostly organic ( plant) material. This year ha has taken a Liking to our Hostas.


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

Have you considered a basket muzzle, its less restrictive of the regular muzzles. I've never used one, but I've read a couple stories of people that make their dogs wear them for the dog's safety when outside, one story was the dog was allergic to grass. I believe there is a facebook group called the Muzzle Up Project. Its main goal is to reduce the stigma of a muzzle and that it doesn't necessarily mean the dog is aggressive. I know I would put one on mine if her safety were a concern, something to consider. If trained properly the dog wouldn't mind it on at all


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## littlecreek86 (May 1, 2017)

We have a similar issue with our boy. Some things that have reduced, though not fully eliminated the issue are: 
a) We started putting his slow feeder at a slight height, so on a stool that holds the feeder (i.e., not floor level) - we read somewhere that placing the bowl at floor level makes them expect to find food there always. 
b) We are keeping him on a long lead (50 foot leash) when he's outside having 'off-leash' time. This way when he grabs something even at a distance we can quickly reel him in and ask him to 'drop it' in exchange for a high value treat. He's getting much better at this. The key is to watch him with an eagle eye the whole time. 
c) If I'm treating him and the treat falls to the ground in the process, he isn't allowed to pick it up off the ground anymore. He has to 'leave it' then wait and do a couple of commands before we treat him again. 
Our golden's vacuum habit is a huge work in progress, so don't despair! These things I listed are rather slow to work, so if you are looking for some quick progress, the basket muzzle might be an option like someone suggested. Good luck!


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## LdyTlfrd (Jan 11, 2017)

I am in the same boat, today while on our walk, Luna wolfed something that looked like a chunk of SPAM. I managed to get my jack russell to "leave it" and before I could pull them both away, I caught a glimpse of it disappearing into Luna's mouth & throat. UGH! 

We can usually stop her indoors, but outdoors it is a work in progress. I told hubby I may get a muzzle for her to prevent her from "snacking" when we're out.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

For me the secret was to teach my pup to make better choices. We watched lots of youtube videos on leave it. 
Basically set in the floor and used clicker training to teach leave it. I can leave a sandwich on the floor and she won't touch it. 
Once you have this down take them out on a leash... the secret is to reward every time they look at you so they soon learn to choose this behavior. 
When you see them look at something with that "I want that" look in their eye I say her name and as soon as she looks at me I reward. 
This is much easier when you start the behavior as a pup so be patient with your 3 yr old but it is possible. 
It's always easier to teach the behavior you want vs. trying to manage the one you don't.


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

Probably re-do the leave it training all over again, in the space of three weeks at least, a few times each day. Do it even during his meal time (eg..let him wait and then signal when he can walk over to his bowl and start eating). Start with simple leave it exercises, graduating to putting treats on the ground and walking past it, rewarding him when he ignores what's there. Reward consistently.

One of the more advance exercises I used was throwing Amber's treats on the ground with a command leave it. Then I would tell her after a few seconds -- okay, get it!

Another was done outside on our street, where I had my daughter put little pieces of sausages on the ground. Then I walked Amber out and as soon as her nose hit the sausages, I would say leave it without pulling the leash (I have to see that the decision to actually stay away from the sausage was her own, and not because I pulled her away). But by this time, the leave it command is very strong for her so she chooses to obey the command, because she knows she will get rewarded for it (and yes, I did reward her -- with something even better than sausage -- chicken meat!)

As soon as she was consistent with following the command, I also lessened the food rewards and used verbal praise instead. 

Of course -- I did train Amber intensively on this when she was young so I have not had problems with her now that she's older. She will not take food from a stranger's hand...and even from people she knows unless I tell her she can (and even then, I do not allow strangers to give her a treat). She may end up sniffing food on the ground but she has learned it's off limits. So yes -- these sort of goal can be achieved.

Training your 3 year old dog might take longer time but if you persevere, you will get results. It is all very dependent on how much time you are willing to invest in leave it exercises every day. The objective must be that your dog learns he will get something better from you if he chooses to listen to your leave it command. When he has learned that lesson well, you can wean him off the food rewards and go for the occasional treats.

Good luck!!


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