Eating Stones...

[RosieCoppolo]

Everytime I let Dolly out in the garden she eats mud and stones, I don't just let her do it but she always seems to be able to get a cheeky mouthful. Its making her have really runny poo and theres a little bit a blood in it sometimes which i think is down to the stones because she's still acting fine and its like the littlest bit. Today i found a biggish stone in her poo and i was just wondering if anyone else has had experience with their pups eating mud and stones and what they did to stop it because i would like to let her outside for ages so she can run around with my other dogs but I haven't got time to constantly watch her all day.
P.s i've got her on chicken and rice and its seems to be helping with the runnyness and blood.

[vneerland]

Hello Dolly's owner,
Welcome. Please post an short intro about yourself in the intruduction section. It does not have to be a whole lot, but your real (first) name would be nice, and where you live. Then anything else you want to share. Your posts will have to be signed, but if you create a signature, you would not have to remember that every time.

To the stone eating issue. I suspect that she has a tummy ache that she is trying to nurture. Most dogs that would eat foreign objects like that are trying to induce vomiting. Feed too many raw bones and see them graze until they barf. I don't know what your worming regime is, but since she is a pup and pups get born with worms, have you wormed her lately?

[Dutchringgirl]

Be firm on " leave it". Sadie too tries to eat everything when i take her for walks, in the house. She has started chomping on my plants but if i yell to her to leave it, she does. You could then let her out and if you see her eating something she shouldt then you could tell her to leave it. Pups are just like kids, you have to watch them always untill they learn something.

[RosieCoppolo]

Oh sorry yeah i'll do my intro after this, I'm Rosie. Yeah she's been wormed regularly. And i don't think she's trying to induce vomiting, saying that i'm not a vet but its just she is a very greedy dog. She basically inhales her food, hardly chews it at all and eats what ever she can find, we found her eating a newspaper the other day and i think its just out of greedyness. I don't think she's unwell because like i said she's acting fine and still rolling around and fighting with my other dog. And yeah I have been being firm with "leave it" so I guess its just going to be a matter of time. Thanks for the advice.

Rosie

[Dutchringgirl]

Dolly is about 14 weeks or so? My pup will chew anything in site, papers, toys, mittens, they are still teething at this age so its more out of that i would beleive than to actually eat it. For the food, if she inhales it, put things in her bowl to slow her down. Sadie is doing so much better now, I use a deep bowl, its actually a Dominos sugar container, then i put a few chew bones in it or a tennis ball that she hast to work around and that slows her down. Sadie still goes after anything on the floor and I must say "leave it" a gazillion times a day, but she does leave it ( after giving me a "not me" look ) Yes, it will take time and be consistant

[asheleylane]

Some puppies seem to have "problems" with ingesting all sorts of things, others will chew but never actually ingest....
Sounds like you have thought about/addressed some medical causes (worms), the only other health suggestion I would have is making sure her diet is fully balanced especially if you feed raw.
If it is only a behavioral problem, you must be FAST and always pre-emptive when thinking about stopping the behavior with corrections. After she has a mouthful it isn't going to be very helpful in the long run (and perhaps damaging to your relationship) to chase her around saying "NO"! I use a drag-line and think ahead to when the dog is probably going to do a behavior, so that you can catch the exact instant with a leash correction and verbal correction with it. With the drag line, even if they do "sneak" something in you can still get them under control and correct the behavior within a reasonable time.