Eating Crap

[TrishB]

Parker will eat anything. Twigs, bark off branches, dirt, leaves - you name it, he'll eat it. We'll go on long walks through the woods off leash and a few hours later, he'll bring it all up (typically on the carpet :p ).

Even on leash, he'll constantly stop to pick things up. He's 9 1/2 months now (to the day!). How do you stop your dog from 'grazing' during your walks? If he's focused and we're working, he's great - but what about on casual walks?

I could do 'Leave It' or 'Off' or / with a pop of the leash - but I'd be doing it for the duration of our walk. :p

[Rott-Wiley]

Trish,

My dog, Bailey used to be that way. She was sooooo oral she even ate plastic she found outside. She no longer does that and to be perfectly honest, I think she did cause she was lacking something in her diet. OR -- she just out grew it but I don't think that is the case. I think she was born and raised on a raw diet in Austrailia but I can't confirm that. Very soon after I put her on a partly raw diet and started juicing veggies for her she seemed to stop eating all those leaves and twigs outside.

My wife thinks I'm nuts the way I feed her so many different things combined with her kibble but she (the dog) looks and acts extremely healthy. Take it for what it's worth.

[jayneliz]

My dogs have always been taught 'drop it' and 'no' (amongst other things) without failing before I ever felt comfortable letting them offline. Once they learn it, I don't need to keep them online for corrections. (Although my ridgie will test me every now and again - at which time he goes back online and loses his privileges of being offline.)

I see you've posted 1600+ times, so I am wondering if I just missed something in your post... I don't mean to oversimplify your issue....

:)

Jayne May

[LynnS]

Eating the grass in a nearby park gave Bella a lovely case of Giardia when she was 4 mnths old - That was enough of a lesson for all involved - she quickly learned what Leave It means. Of course she has periods of puppy amnesia .....

[whitney greenway]

Trish,

That would be Dru as well. We have a heck of a time with her. She will pick up each and everything she possibly can.

She is almost nine months old. I hope that she will grow out of it. And, she has not learned the OUT command.

In time, I hope!!!!!!

[Birdie'sMom]

I have the same exact problem with Birdie. She knows leave it and drop, but she'll still try to go for whatever "it" happens to be at that moment, so, like you, I am "leave it"ing and "drop"ing almost the entire walk!

[Bruce Lanthier]

Have you tried giving them something to carry? Betti will carry a stick or two for the whole walk. Judi W uses dowels to get her dogs going on the idea of carrying a wooden dumbbell for the retrieve.

I have also taught my dogs that "lets go" means we are walking at a brisk pace and no stopping. They usually move out front then and we move right along.

[TrishB]

Originally posted by Bruce Lanthier
Have you tried giving them something to carry? Betti will carry a stick or two for the whole walk. Judi W uses dowels to get her dogs going on the idea of carrying a wooden dumbbell for the retrieve.

I have also taught my dogs that "lets go" means we are walking at a brisk pace and no stopping. They usually move out front then and we move right along.

Bruce - that's a great idea! I'll see if I can pick up something at the show at the end of next week. :)

[Rottnlove]

Trish, has Parker always picked up stuff on his walks, or is it something he's started a while ago?

[TrishB]

Originally posted by Rottnlove
Trish, has Parker always picked up stuff on his walks, or is it something he's started a while ago?

Nope - always done it. It's just a resurgence right now because the snow has melted. :p It's tougher to eat crap when it's buried. ;) I don't think he's lacking anything - it's just a habit for him. I just want to have a plesant walk with my dog rather than "Leave it", "Drop it" and "Off" being the topic of the day....

[LynnS]

I like the idea of giving Parker somerthing to carry - Just recently, Bella has started finding a stick or some other article to carry with her as we walk - I never thought about bringing something along with us...

[Birdie'sMom]

I'd like to try that, too, but I'm afraid that if I give her something like a stick, she will just want to lay down and chew it, instead of walking. Birdie is not actually a dog, as I have said before, she is really a land shark! She'll try to eat anything she can find!

Trish - with the spring here now, are you having trouble with the little piles of freshly cut grass? That's Birdie's new favorite "snack" during our walks! You're right - it was much easier when the snow covered everything!

[LynnS]

I thought all Rottweilers were land sharks!:D

[Rottnlove]

Originally posted by TrishB
Nope - always done it. It's just a resurgence right now because the snow has melted. :p It's tougher to eat crap when it's buried. ;) I don't think he's lacking anything - it's just a habit for him. I just want to have a plesant walk with my dog rather than "Leave it", "Drop it" and "Off" being the topic of the day....

Hmmm, interesting. I wonder if this is just a puppy thing that will pass with time, or if it's a habit. I'm sure many puppies do this.

Am I wrong when Xena tries to grab something out of someones grass or somewhere as we walk, I just keep walking? If she's not paying attention to me, she'll get yanked on her leash and have to pay attention. I usually do the training with a good quality prong collar on as we walk. It's been working very well. But, what works for one dog, might not work so good for someone elses. I don't even let her get it. She's learning that unless I stop for her to look at it, we are going. Unless it's a big distraction like another dog. That's a whole other subject. :)

[Rott-Wiley]

Lisa, NO -- definately not! That's exactly what I/we do on our walks. She's allowed to enjoy herself within reason. It's a "look but don't touch," for her.