How do you get your dog to quit eating things that could kill it?

Question

I have a jack russle who eats and swallows EVERYTHING!!! She eats garbage, plastic rap, seeds, leaves. Then she yaks it up or poohs it out. She hacked up tinsle, and poohed out string, tin foil, and plastic parts. She even raids the garbage can in the bathroom if any guest don't know to keep the door shut. We let her into the living room and kitchen which is doggie proof. When we catch her she runs off and swallows it. we have a crate for her and keep her on a leash and watch her at all times but she will actually sneek it and eat fast. She is almost a year old. Any ideas to get a dog to stop chewing and swallowing things?

We feed her raw hide, treats and regular dog food. and have tons of toys since she was 8 weeks old. We have even spanked her yelled at her and taught her "drop it" I'm worried it kill her

we do keep everything out of the way and out of reach, we have doggie proffed the house we do feed her food you get at the vet and the treats as well. We do watch her. Just like a kid, you can not watch a kid every second. I want to break her of the habit not watch her and confine her 24-7. We have tried bitter apple. Vacuming. I will try the cyanne pepper and veggie mite so when she bolts for stuff and runs away to eat it, she won't.

she has been through the classes at Pet co and knows "drop it" and "leave it" she just runs or wolfs it down so fast we cant stop her.

Yes she gets exercised on a daily 1 mile jog. She gets a hold of things mainly when we are out.

Answer 1

there are just some dogs despite every possible precaution, correction are just determined to eat things,, Ironically these are not the dogs we see at the vets offices needing surgery for forign body removal...perhaps they have more robust guts,, and can pass stuff? good news is she is very young yet and may still outgrow this..

As far as the muzzle (basket type) this would be good idea for outdoor time,, to prevent her swallowing a toxic plant, wood or stone,, because you cannot remove every possible item.. we have a dog that we have removed a signifigant amount of intestine already,,because he is a avid stone eater,, he will dive and swallow any stone small enough.. and even tried this on me 12hrs after his last and 3rd surgery.. the basket muzzle has proven effective,, he does not mind it and can run and play and enjoy, drink and such with it on when he is outsirde.. ideally you would not want to use it all the time,, just when outside,,or times when there is a high risk for her getting something,, like when you have visitors.. that do not take your concerns seriously..

Keep up what your are doing,, odds are actually she may outgorw this, and or never get a blockage,, if the worse case happens,, then try to keep it in perspective,, you are aware of the risks have taken steps to puppy proof the home,, so that is all you can do,,

Good luck,, owner of another determined to have surgery or kill herself object eater..

Amanda

Answer 2

1. Put your WHATEVER you don't want your dog to chew on out of reach. Try keeping your shoes in a spot that is too high for your puppy to reach.

2. Create a disincentive. Buy a dog-deterrent spray from a reputable pet store or vet. One possibility is bitter apple spray. This carries a scent that people normally don't notice but it disgusts dogs. Your puppy may try to chew a shoe, but won't like the taste and will stop. You can buy some at a local pet store or you can order it online (search for "bitter apple spray").

3. Be consistent with deterrent sprays. Whenever the spray scent fades off, spray some more on. Make sure you cover every part of the shoe, as well as the bottom and the inside. Eventually, after a while of keeping this up, your puppy will lose his chewing habit.

4. Distract the puppy. When you notice the chewing, call him or her. Wave around an alternative toy, such as a rubber bone, a chew rope or other enticing goodie.

5. Buy some fun toys. Treat your new puppy to a basket of fun toys that he or she can focus on in place of the shoes.


6. Buy some chewing bones. Pet stores sell special bones for chewing. Ask for advice on what is suitable for a puppy. Let him or her chew on this instead.


7. Go for energy-busting walks. Take puppy outdoors as often as possible for runs and tumbles. This will be the best distracting activity possible and will go a little way to tiring puppy out.


Tips

* Teach your puppy which toys and bones are appropriate for chewing.

* Dogs chew as a learning tool; they are innately programmed to chew. Accept this and manage it rather than getting frustrated about it.


Warnings

* Make sure to keep the spray away from pointing at anybody's eyes.


Things You'll Need

* Bitter Apple Spray or other spray (ask a vet for advice)
* Patience
* Perseverance
* Alternative chewing supplies - toys and food
* Walks

Answer 3

Very simple, you make absolutely sure she has no access to anything dangerous.
You keep doors shut, trash out of her reach, and you watch her since you know what she is apt to do.

What are you feeding her by the way? Sounds as if she has nutritional shortages - try a good dry like Canidae, don't feed her supermarket junk, that is mostly corn fillers and artificial preservatives - give her good dry with meat listed as the first ingredient.

You're the human - make sure your dog doesn't have access to what she shouldn't eat and STOP HITTING HER, whether you call it hitting or spanking, it is animal abuse. Yelling at her will just make her more nervous too - get a grip onthis and do what a responsible dog owner is supposed to do - monitor what your dog is into.

Answer 4

Most dogs are scavengers and some are worse than others. The best remedy is to get trash receptacles with lids that cannot be accessed by the dog. I'd do the same in the bath, or move the receptacle up high out of reach since it is impossible to get everyone to remember to keep the door closed and also, not always convenient. We have the same issues with our Miniature Poodle and this has helped a great deal.

Answer 5

Don't yell, no punishing. Teach her to leave things alone. Put some items in the floor that she would want to gobble up and stand and guard those items with your body. When she starts for them, block her with your body and your extended hand and a sharp noise (snap, shush, grunt -something that is easy for you do do often)

Make a space around that item and CLAIM IT FOR YOURSELF. Every time she heads that way, block her with your body, hand and noise. Be patient. She will learn that is your item. Add some more items that she may want. ...even the trash can. Block and guard. She will eventually, sit and then lay down. When she backs off and lays down praise her and reward her for her good behavior> Don't stop until she has submitted at least some. This will have to be done a number of times. Eventually, when she goes to the plant, back her off with the noise and the hand, when she approaches the trash can do the same. It won't take her long to realize that those items are yours.

BUT MORE IMPORTANT. Take her for some good long power walks and have her behind and next to you. If she leads then she is the leader and will not respect your other demands.

more info: http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/

Answer 6

You have to keep him away from the ducks. Keep him on a lead until you can get a hutch and/or pen built for the ducks. I'm sorry, I'm not aware of any way to train a dog away from killing something once he's got the idea. Perhaps someone else will respond with a training idea. Do a google search on duck keeping for advice on penning them away from the dog. Good luck

Answer 7

There are a couple of things you can try doing.

1. Make sure that there isn't a chance she can reach the stuff she is eating. (Tinsel for one thing is a big no no to have around the house with a dog).
2. Watch her like a hawk (if she is sneeking stuff away, then your not watching her close enough) and whenever you see her start to think about, sniff, or open her mouth to something - use your hand like a pair of jaws and slightly grasp her neck (dont do it hard, just enough pressure to get her attention and distract her from the item she wants to eat).
3. Train her to never leave your side while your home.
4. Wait for her to get out of her puppy stage. Puppies use their mouths to learn what new things are, they are not doing it to just eat, but doing it to figure out what it is.


One point I do want to make is: If you are catching her and she runs off - it sounds like your making it a big scene and the dog thinks that what she has in her mouth is exciting and wants to make sure she eats it. The best thing to do to ensure she doesn't run off is to calmly walk over to her, don't say a word, grab her and take whatever she has in her mouth out and throw it away. Calmly walk away and don't make a big deal out of it. That should stop her from running away instantly.

Answer 8

I am in doggy classes right now for my dog riley. It is all about teaching you how to handle your dog. First of all I highly recommend doing classes for your dog. But I will tell you what we learned to get your dog not to take certain items.

This is called "Leave it" First you start with treats, then you can move on to other items like the things your dog eats. And if you see your dog eating something it shouldn't you can say "Leave it" and she will leave it alone and eventually learn she cannot eat that.

Have a really good treat in one hand and a mediocre treat in the other hand, the key here is that your dog will never get to eat the mediocre treat. You hold the mediocre treat in front of your dogs nose, if she goes for the treat say "Leave it" and close your hand to hide the treat. Once she looks away and leaves the treat you say "Good leave it" and reward her with the other treat using your other hand. Then just repeat that until she understands the command.

Hope that helps.

Tina

Answer 9

Sorry about this eating problem...

when on a walk= hold her leash tight (or short ) and let her learn that she cannot just barge and pickup garbage from the side of the street. practice.
when inside= make sure you watch.... and play "Alpha Dog" with her... show her it is not ok for her to just eat everything under the sun... seriosly works. Or you should keep her leash on when she is in the house and step on it when she tries to run.
***TIP***= When you see her about to eat whatever she's about to, make sure that yo are very stern "NO MA'AM!" And don't use her name when you are scolding her dogs take that as affectionate. However if she is getting better reward her.... and DISTRACT her with toys and whatnot....
I hope this helps:)

Answer 10

I would puppy proof the house as much as possible but for the garbage cans, I stopped my Pomeranian by making it very accessible to her and sprinkled ground cayenne pepper all over the top of the garbage. It didn't take long!