Hi, our 12 week old black lab is eating rocks and swallowing them. She is obsessed with them. We are taking her to the vet tomorrow, because I can feel them in her tummy. Is there anyway to train her to leave the rocks alone? We are very worried about her safety. We have too many rocks in the back yard and it is not possible to fence the whole area where the rocks are or to prevent her from access to them. We are crate training her and using a lead as well. We have chew toys everywhere and encourage her daily to chew her toys. Is there a command I can teach or a way to get her to associate the rocks as bad? Thank you...
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Please Help!! Puppy eating rocks
mnielsen
Sep 23, 2003 11:53 PM
Replies (2)
KDiamondDavis
Sep 24, 2003 04:12 PM
>>Hi, our 12 week old black lab is eating rocks and swallowing them. She is obsessed with them. We are taking her to the vet tomorrow, because I can feel them in her tummy. Is there anyway to train her to leave the rocks alone? We are very worried about her safety. We have too many rocks in the back yard and it is not possible to fence the whole area where the rocks are or to prevent her from access to them. We are crate training her and using a lead as well. We have chew toys everywhere and encourage her daily to chew her toys. Is there a command I can teach or a way to get her to associate the rocks as bad? Thank you...>>>>
If you are leash-walking the dog for potty outings, you can use a head halter or basket muzzle during those outings to prevent her from eating rocks. You can also fence an area for her potty use that has no rocks in it. Eating rocks does present a huge hazard to dogs. Many dogs wind up having repeated surgeries to remove them.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com
elle77
Sep 28, 2003 10:35 PM
Our Lab did the same thing when he was a pup. The only remedy we found was to move all the rocks out of his living area. We also had to have an $800.00 surgery to remove the rocks in his stomach. They were too big for him to pass. He is nine years old now and we don't regret the expense or labor involved in fixing the situation. He is the best dog and worth every bit of effort! Good luck, I hope you are able to figure out a solution.
