Eating inedible things

[Diesel]

This is not related to my Dutch Diesel but to Halo our Husky Lab cross...
We are struggling to teach Halo not to get into things when she is unsupervised...first some background:
We got Halo from a foster and knew little of her history but have since learned that she was rescued from a small community near Yellowknife and she was very sick when she was taken to the local shelter. Probably half starved, abused...who knows. When we adopted her, she would eat her food in two gulps. We have since managed to get her to eat at a reasonable pace but she has always had a habit of eating all sorts of wierd stuff. In the summer when there is more garbage exposed, she will snatch something off the ground and swallow it before I can even say leave it.
In the last few months while unsupervised she has eaten a 2lb sweet potato, a small tennis ball, tissue paper, 2 different tubes of hand cream and just yesterday a bar of soap. Amazingly, none of it has made her sick.

The wierdest part is she will get into this stuff when there is a full bowl of Diesels kibble, but she wont touch that.

In contrast, Diesel will spit out anyhting that doesn't agree with his palate. He sometimes takes a bite of kibble and spits it all over the floor because (I am guessing) he changed his mind about eating.

I am out of ideas on how to stop her from eating things like that...I am thinking she just isnt ready to be left out of her kennel when she is unsupervised.

[Raven]

[quote="Diesel":
We got Halo from a foster and knew little of her history but have since learned that she was rescued from a small community near Yellowknife and she was very sick when she was taken to the local shelter. Probably half starved, abused...who knows. When we adopted her, she would eat her food in two gulps...I am thinking she just isnt ready to be left out of her kennel when she is unsupervised.[/quote]

A lot said there.

All I can offer is the more you work with her (leave it, staging things not to take, OB, give-and-take, marking behavior, exercises in impulse control--the whole picture) the better things will get with time. No quick-fix. With time, treating the dog as a whole (you only know part of her), you'll see a difference, though a particular thing may always hold some enchantment.

If she's crated because she can't be trusted, she will never learn. She's new--yes?--to your home and regular meals and things being expected of her. Whenever she is not kenneled, it's time to work, period.

[Diesel]

Another thing worth mentioning is that she is left out of her kennel overnight and she doesnt get into things then...it seems to only happen if I leave her out and leave the house. We are trying to phase out the kennel all together but I realize it will take time and a lot more training.

[leih merigian]

I have to vote for crating/kenneling when she can't be supervised. If she's fine at nite when you're home and sleeping, great. You know where/when her issues are. But one of these days she's gonna eat something that's gonna get her in trouble.

Maybe in time and with a lot of work, she may be reliable on her own when you're not home, or she can't be directly supervised. But right now, she just ain't .

[wahinelf]

I have to vote for crating/kenneling when she can't be supervised. If she's fine at nite when you're home and sleeping, great. You know where/when her issues are. But one of these days she's gonna eat something that's gonna get her in trouble.

Maybe in time and with a lot of work, she may be reliable on her own when you're not home, or she can't be directly supervised. But right now, she just ain't .

I agree...I'm all for the crate as opposed to any dog getting a horrible obstruction.

Defintely practice "leave its" starting at low stakes items (starting with non food items and then slowly get to smelly stuff once you've worked up to it). And in time she might learn that her food/treats are better than lotion bottles and things.

Good luck! My dog is a big plastic chewer and box chewer...I can't trust her out of my supervision at home. It's no fun, but I know she's safe in her crate.