Puppy eating rocks

[AzAnne]

Our 9 months old border collie has taken to eating rocks :(
Not just small rock that pass through, but 1-1/2 - 2" rocks that so far she throws up. Which is good.. sorta
I called the vet and he stated that some dogs eat rocks :confused:
He offered the following.

1. Keep her away from all rocks (this is impossible since our entire back yard is desert lanscape w/ rocks)
2. She will eat a rock, won't throw up, require surgery to remove rock
3. She will die from an obstruction :(

I don't like these options :mad:
Anyone have ANY suggestions?

[engineer]

I empathize, we had a dog that ate rocks also. Only one of 20 sled dogs we had and we always were concerned that he would end up with an obstruction. But we were lucky and he didn't. He died of natural causes at the relatively old age of 15. The only way we prevented it was moving from CO to MN where he couldn't find any rocks of swallowable size :rolleyes:

You might look at some sled dog forums or Mushing magazine had a good article on it a while back. Good luck

[Kristilyn1]

beware, stupid dogs that eat rocks will also eat things like baseballs and this may be a little known fact--but the stringy stuff inside baseballs? Can cause an obstruction. The other good news? Dogs can be obstructed and NOT throw up and even have normal stools. How do I know? Because I just paid $1200 for stomach surgery for my dog. My advice would be to spray some of that stuff that keeps dogs away on a few rocks strategically placed in your yard where she'll be tempted by them and hope that it helps her decide to stay away. Otherwise, constant supervision is the best I can offer.

Kristi

[BucknellAlum]

I am hoping that eating non-food items is something they outgrow after puppyhood?

Our 6 month old labdoodle will eat mulch, plants, stray pieces of paper on the ground, etc. It is hard to keep an eagle eye on him outside, especially when he is content chasing balls and then all of a sudden darts into the mulch for a snack!

How about spraying Bitter Apple on some rocks and letting him try them? Eventually maybe he will give up.

[GingerPow]

We have rock eating dogs as well. I don't know why they enjoy it, but they do - especially our Golden Retriever. They bring them in the house for us to trip on - gee thanks! My DS picked up 6 from the house just yesterday. I never bothered to train them out of it because the rocks are no smaller than baseball size, so no worries about swallowing one.

I would also recommend, as Kristilyn1 did, to spray some rocks with "Bitter Apple" or similar, to train the dog to associate unpleasant tastes with the rock. Also, have plenty of dog toys and chew bones, then replace the rock he is chewing on with the dog chewie and praise him.

My dogs will chew on the dog toys & bones when they have them, but come summer the rocks become interesting. Luckily the rocks are not big enough to ingest.

Border Collies are one of the smartest breeds ever, so you can train him in a positive way. I buy a Chew-Eeze rawhide strips for our dogs. I get the chicken flavor, because the beef flavor stains the rugs. They chew these up - they don't become a dangerous wad that they could choke on.

Also good to keep in mind with Border Collies is that they are so smart they need mental stimulation. Sometimes it's more that just a chewing issue. I used one of those dog toys that has the hole in it to place a treat, or a little peanut butter. It keeps them busy trying to get that goodie out of the center. I'm trying to remember what it's called, but I bought ours at Petsmart - they always have them.

Good luck with your puppy! Enjoy him - Border Collies are fabulous dogs! He'll keep you on your toes. :D

[AzAnne]

Thanks for the suggestions.

The puppy, Stella, is one of 3 border collies, so we are very familiar with their breed.
She has quite a few toys, including a couple of Kongs, she also likes to take the male's toys and play keep away. Very funny to watch.

As far as spraying the bitter apple, well, there's probably close to 12 tons of rocks in the back yard, and not sure where to start. I haven't seen her chew, playing or licking on any rocks but I guess I'll setup a stake out :p

DH saved the latest ones for me to see and I really can't believe the size, larger than an apricot pit but smaller than a peach pit :eek:

I sure hope she out grows this stage

[GingerPow]

Thanks for the suggestions.

The puppy, Stella, is one of 3 border collies, so we are very familiar with their breed.
She has quite a few toys, including a couple of Kongs, she also likes to take the male's toys and play keep away. Very funny to watch.
That's it! Kongs!
If she is your third BC, you obviously have a true appreciation for this wonderful breed!

DH saved the latest ones for me to see and I really can't believe the size, larger than an apricot pit but smaller than a peach pit :eek:
I sure hope she out grows this stage
Good luck with that, maybe it is just a puppy thing. While our Golden still likes the rocks, and our little Havanese finds them fun, our Border Collie lost interest in them. Hopefully Stella will too.

[schuh]

My one-year-old dog (see avatar) stops to ingest various things whenever I walk him. It happens so quickly I can't stop him. I don't know what to do so I just keep my fingers crossed. I don't think I can spray Sour Apple throughout the neighborhood.

Good luck.

[nancymaring]

Azann...I've worked for vets and seen this first hand. It can and does kill dogs. I remember one client with an Airedale that finally had the dog put to sleep because they could not afford another surgery...he was on his 4th.

More exercise would be my first suggestion. Dogs are soooo underexercised in this country. "A tired dog is a good dog"....and no, playing in the back yard is NOT enough exercise....more brain exercise also...
obedience, agility, learning tricks. You can now buy a device that holds 4 kongs and 'spits' them out at pre-timed intervals...that might help....
If your dog continues, and you are giving PLENTY of exercise...(at LEAST an hour of HARD running daily) then I would seriously consider a kennel run with cement or horse mat flooring.

My understanding is that they really don't know why dogs do this. Boredom, mineral deficiency, etc. You might try changing dog foods (even if you are on a good dog food, it might not be good for THAT puppy) you might also try adding digestive enzymes to his food.

and Schuh...walk faster!!! don't give that pup time to pick anything up!

cheers...nancy

[mcgeiger]

I second all that Nancy said.
Rocks can both cost a lot in surgery and can kill a dog....
Another idea...I also know of someone that "glued" their rocks down... Also try giving the dog a "good/safe" place to dig...

[LakeMartinGal]

The Dog Whisperer had a show on this (National Geographic Channel), and he echoed what nancymaring said... exercise! He says that about every behavior problem, though. The thought was to walk the dog, collar just below the ears, walking briskly, and not let them sniff or anything until you say it's ok. Also, when he pick up a rock, say no! Stand over the rock, and don't even let him look at it without a correction... You should really watch the show (http://www.tv.com/national-geographic-channel-the-dog-whisperer/show/30251/summary.html), or at least read about it! :)

[Jewel]

I sympathize with this....my new puppy isn't eating rocks, he's eating twigs and tree bark! :confused: He's a purebred mutt, about 15 lbs. He's a rescue dog brought in from Puerto Rico, a breed they call a 'street terrier' because there's about 10 different strings of DNA in this one! ;) We love Murphy, and he's very smart! But we've got four huge trees in our yard that are consistently dropping twigs and some little pine cones, and he's snarfing them down...can't stop him for anything. If I reach for him, he runs from me 'cause it's suddenly a game of 'Can't catch me!' :( I've tried putting him in a 'sit' to take it away from him, but we're still learning sit...I've got it down pat, he doesn't have it yet. *sigh*

Last night he snarfed a twig about 4" long by 1/4" around before I could stop him. Will this...pass? :o

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-6/1191702/murphyfacesmall.jpg

[GingerPow]

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-6/1191702/murphyfacesmall.jpg
Look at this face! Absolutely adorable.

[Peweh]

You've gotten great advice from Nancy - I second the "a Tired dog is a Good dog", lots of exercise has really eliminated our dog's chewing on miscellaneous things in the house. (Search for my post: "My dog ate two NetFlix DVDs"!!)

That said though, your vet's right, some dogs just eat rocks. Reminds me of when I worked for a vet during college, this old yellow lab came in for his FOURTH rock removal surgery and the vet joked that we should just 'install a zipper'.

If your dog is supervised while outside, obedience training may help. We took our older unruly adopted Plott Hound puppy to PetsMart school (even though I had some training experience I needed help with this one!). I'm amazed she learned anything since she spent most of the class time howling at the billboards hanging from the ceiling but after much practice she has the "Leave it" and "Drop it" commands pretty down pat.

Good luck!!

[nancymaring]

LakeMartinGal...Cesar says 'more exercise for everything' because that is a HUGE part of why dogs have behavior problems. They are soooo bored and soooo underexercised, it is driving them crazy.

Think about it...the average dog gets about 15 minutes of attention a day...perhaps an hour, if they are lucky.

Sleep all night
Get up, owner lets outside in fenced yard. Go potty in 2 minutes, stand outside door to be let back in....(owner is getting ready for work, getting kids ready for school, etc.)
Back inside...eat breakfast.
Back outside to spend boring day in back yard...chewing twigs and eating rocks, barking at 'everything', diggin holes,
Owner comes home from work. Busy, busy trying to get dinner on the table, help kids with home work, clean up kitchen, do laundry, toss food to dog, yell at dog for jumping up on them and knocking kids over...owner collaspes on couch..'tough day' needs to relax...doesn't 'have time' to walk dog. (buffy...go lay DOWN already!!! But, that's what buffy HAS been doing all day already)
Time for bed....and it starts all over....no wonder dogs go stir crazy...add to the mix the fact that the most popular breeds are dogs that are designed to be working 8 to 10 hours a day..(retrieving, herding, pulling sleds, etc) and is it any wonder they have problems.

15 minutes of ball play is not enough, nor is 'a big back yard'...which is 'just a big kennel'....Dogs need to get out and really put in some miles, to have healthy minds and bodies...(I road work with a car to give the big dogs a good workout, and my little dogs do a workout on the treadmill on rainy days.)

Long before Cesar came on the scene, my mantra has been "A tired dog is a good dog", also..."Dogs are not hyperactive, they are underexercised'....

Get Cesars book, or videos or check out the website...lots of great information....

In the mean time...get out and WALK THOSE DOGS.

cheers...nancy

[luv2cook]

15 minutes of ball play is not enough, nor is 'a big back yard'...which is 'just a big kennel'.... It's so funny how I hear people say they cannot have a dog because they don't have a backyard or the opposite, their dog is too big to be in the house. Sad. How can people have a dog that just looks at them through the door all the time and not feel guilty? Why have a dog? I know that some dogs like to be outside all the time, but let's be honest. Most don't.

My dogs go for rides to school every morning, walks, do tricks. The don't get as many car rides in the summer becuse of the heat. My maid does volunteer dog awareness at elementary schools and brings my collie mix for demonstration, petting and tricks. He loves it.

My issue isn't rocks, it's trash cans. My lab mix can't keep her nose out of my office trash, dd's trash. Kitchen is protected. I practically live in my office. She seems to know when I"ve thrown saranwrap in there! :rolleyes:

[Jewel]

I also totally believe in Cesar Millan's 'rehabilitation of dogs, training of people' philosophy. We're trying to use this with Murphy as much as possible, and it's actually helped me as much as him! I NEVER walk for exercise because I have 'foot issues'. I think I've used it as an excuse for a long time. After we realized that this 11 month old puppy was never going to listen to our commands because he was quivering with pent-up energy, we started taking him and Sasha for short walks. For me, a walk around the block is exercise. I'm simply out of shape... :o At least four nights per week and once on the weekend we've been walking them for a half hour to an hour, depending on the weather and how tired we are. Murphy is more relaxed in the evenings (four legs in the air on the couch...plain tuckered out! ;) ) and we find he listens better. He's not good on a leash yet, he pulls and zig zags and trips me up, but it's getting better each time.

My feet hurt, but not as much as they did when we started. I'm thinking in the long run, even short walks around the neighborhood are better than couch-sitting for all of us!

[nancymaring]

Jewel...do you have a bicycle? I have roadworked my dogs with a bicycle before...if you are going fast enough, the dog can't pull or zig zag. They should be moving at a fast trot....if he has lots of energy, you may need to start out at a gallop for a short distance. That burns off the immediate energy..then slow down to a trot.
Do make sure Murphy has had time to 'go potty' before starting out. Not fun for YOU to be pulled off the bike because the dog has to stop 'suddenly'.!

Also, for pulling...When walking Murphy..if he gets out in front of you, simply turn around and walk the other way. No hints, no little tugs...just turn and go. Murphys reaction will be 'Whoa! Where did mom go?"...he will then probably run out in front of you again, and you again will turn and walk the other way....it won't take him long to start thinking..."I'd better keep an eye on my mom...you just never know when she is going to take off and go the other way". Use this also when he runs out in front of you when he sees other dogs, cats, kids, cars, whatever....you want him to think of any distraction as a reason to look at you, his leader.....of course, when he does look at you, praise him and give him a small treat.

Your right...short walks are better then no walks...keep it up and you will have a happy and mentally healthy dog.

cheers....nancy

[LakeMartinGal]

Jewel -- it sounds like you have found a solution that really works for both of you! Way to go, girl! :D

[Jewel]

Thank you Nancy and Kay! :)

I do have a bicycle, but sadly it has not been ridden in several years. Hubby and I spent $1000 on two gorgeous his and hers about three years ago and after only two long rides around our extended neighborhood, I put it away. I hyperventilated seriously on that trip going up a hill and got so scared that I've been afraid to get back on it. My issues, of course. It'll happen, Dave keeps going on and on about us getting the bikes out on a 'flat trail' in the area so my outta shape body doesn't collapse. :(

I'm going to try the 'turning the other way' thing with Murphy on his walks. I walked him around the block this evening by myself, and he was MUCH better. Part of it has to do with the heat, it's the hottest day of the year here so far and it's wiped him out! Plus, we were alone. No Dave and Sasha the Siberian to compete for sidewalk space or distract him. He didn't pull too much and he was much more relaxed.

Of course he snarfed a small pine cone before I could get it out of his mouth. :confused: