I first noticed this on our morning walk one day. Every five feet, Gracie would scoop up something in her mouth. Usually it is just a leaf, or a stick, or maybe a chunk of grass out of my neighbors lawn. (Don't worry...Gracie is doing my neighbors a favor by dethatching their lawn for Spring.)
Then she scooped up something and I could hear her chewing on it for about a block. Finally I stopped and pried open her mouth and out dropped a rock! Since that day I find her chewing on a rock almost every day. I feel like I need to learn the Puppy Heimlich maneuver in case she tries to swallow one of those rocks. Until yesterday I assumed that she would never actually try and swallow a rock. I was outside scooping poop and low and behold, there was a rock about the size of a large grape! Can you imagine digesting and passing a jagged rock! That must have been fun.
I'm kind of at a loss as to what I should do about this strange phenomenon. I'm not able to watch her every second of the day. I certainly can't remove all the rocks from my backyard. Half of my landscaping is rocks. I guess I'll just have to trust that she will only try to swallow the small rocks and also hope that rocks provide some kind of nutritional value. They should certainly provide plenty of roughage!!!
2 comments:
There was an episode of The Dog Whisperer about a dog who loved chewing rocks. If you google it, there are a number of links with suggestions! Good luck. Your puppy is adorable :)
There is a number of different products that you can look into. A company by the name of Real Pet Solutions makes a bunch of different things like the Cord and Cable Keeper, and the Plant Protector. These are training aids that might help the problems that you are encountering with your very cute puppy. In my experience their products work very well. They are a great deal more concentrated then other products. I have used the Cord and Cable Keeper to help my cat stop chewing on wires.
You could select a product and potentially apply it to the rocks. When the dog goes to pick up a rock and it tastes very bad he will drop it. Please dont forget that these are preventative measures.
Your puppy needs lots of toys, love, and exercise, and possibly a job. Real Pet Solutions is to be used as a training aid to help make your home safer for your animals, and make for a better relationship with you and your pets.
Your puppy does not look like its missing any love and it is very well taken care of. Have fun and just remember just like kids they grow up fast.
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