My dog eats everything, literally!

bfocusd

I was here a couple of months ago and ended up goingbthe puppy route, it's quite difficult to find an elderly lady that doesn't want to kill my parrot, not their fault, just natural.

Anyhow I've gotten a Japanese spitz puppy, I have her 2 months and she's teething! I have an older lady who had her chewing habits, the usual teething etc, but the new pups habits are becoming out of control.

She's loosing her front bottom teeth and a really cute gummy bear, all of the stuff can be replaced, that she's eaten, the thing that's concerning me is she's swallowing stuff too, she robbed a sock from the linen basket and within a few seconds its in pieces and she's trying to swallow it, She shreds paper too, better than any machine!

I've gotten her all sorts of toys, Kong mini tennis balls, a rope dolly, a rubber piggy that makes oink noises, a teddy elephant, which she abuses if she's being told off, she releases her temper on it!
Some teething toys, a kong toy that you put pate into so she can chew to get it out, a regular Kong, then various rope toys with a ball attached or some have squeakers.

She plays with them for a short time, which is fine, but she's swallowing everything!

She's not left alone either, there is 90% of the time someone with her, including during the day so she's not left alone for hours on end, she's walked twice a day (usually after 15-20 mins she's tired and almost expects to be carried)

She's fed red mills, leader, puppy one, mixed with James wellbeloved (or something along that line) wet food mixed in.

For treats she gets these teething treats, she's only aloud 2 a day, they've chamomile in them (can't recall the name) and royal canine treats also.

This probably sound silly, but my grandad swears that animals can be to 'fresh', ie fed too well, not worked and are restless because of this, every time Im with our horses he says it, could it be similar with the pup..?

Im taking a trip to my vets too have her looked at too as she pooped blue string earlier, I've still no idea where she ate it from, its impossible to follow her 24/7. She even somehow vomited a feather off my parrot last week, how she got it is beyond me?!

Has anyone any old house wives tricks or any suggestions at all, as these toys are doing nothing for her.

Im not frustrated or mad about it either, just for her sake, if I can find a toy that's safe to eat, it will put my mind and her tummy at rest!

meoklmrk91

First thing you do is get her insured if you haven't already, if she is eating stuff like that something could cause a blockage, with these costly surgery is often necessary.

Also get a crate if you don't have one already, that way for those times when you can't watch her you'll know she is safe. I would be very weary about giving her toys, but she does have to have something, kong toys are incredibly strong, so usually can take a battering, why not fill the kong with one of her meals and freeze it, will keep her busy for while and will help ease the irritation of teething. You can also buy teething rings for puppies in some pet shops.

Also I don't agree that an animal who is too well fed will be restless, she is a puppy they go from happy, exited playing, to eating, to pooping and peeing before collapsing in a heap, snoozing for a bit and then starting all over again. I don't think that is anything to do with the fact that she isn't hungry all the time. Also just as a side note, I wouldn't be feeding her all those foods, find one and stick to it, it's much better for her little puppy tummy.

tk123

Nylabone puppy stix and keys worked really well for our guy when he was teething - they have the right amount of a give for a puppy but are very strong. You can get a facecloth, wet it then ring it out a freeze it but I wouldn't give it to her if she's eating everything. I'm not sure if bones would be too hard for her - my guy wasn't bothered with hard chews when he was teething.

bfocusd

I got her a teething ring and the other dog got one sniff and ran off down the back of the shed, I've to get a ladder to climb over the shed..

With the food I mix the wet with the kibble, if you leave it for 30 mins or so covered it makes the kibble softer, I tried it with water but she's not to interested and I suppose I've bad habits from my older lady, she loves her food with loaf and kibble, no jelly or gravy either..

Yeah I was waiting ti get her cert back so she's registered to me to sigh her up, she hasn't eaten much at all today, so hopefully she's just upset and not blocked/ serious, then off to the vets..

It's awkward though as I've never known a dog that eats and actually swallows everything.. I took the squeakers out of all the ball toys cause I was afraid that shed swallow them too

With the crate, yeah she does be in that and she's fine, her mums owner crate trained her so she's fine there.

Vince32

Young dogs at that age explore the new world with their mouths, nose and ears pretty much in that order, and with teeth coming in the frustration can be maddening for some dogs.

Your first port of call, is too remove all the toys and anything else you don't want her to swallow that are bigger than her head ! Dogs need to chew on something, but just because they are small doesn't mean they need small toys.

You can find reinforced toys everywhere, I had something of the same problem with my Siberian when she was coming up, and I can't stress how important it is to set the rules early in life or pay the fine later. Some simple to teach commands like, leave it, wait, drop it and sit, stay and come (instructions available on youtube) will help alot with the puppy stages.

I found freezing rubber toys overnight works wonders, if you have some kong toys think about putting mashed banana and peanut butter inside them before freezing. that will help the dog want what's inside and not the whole thing. Just a thought. My girl used to love to get the squeakers out of the toys and just chew them and enjoy the sound they made, I learned very fast that a cheap toy, is just that, cheap. Spending the extra couple of quid on a toy you know the dog can't destroy in less than 2 weeks is a sound investment, it will help with the teething process and keep the dog entertained, with the added bonus of chewing up only what you give it to chew up, sneaky lessons still count :P

With exercise, most people will follow a simple guideline, 5 minutes for every month of age, 2 months=10 minute walks daily, if the dog is anything like mine, it will want 2 walks a day, which is fine as long as there is a decent rest interval, - 3-5 hours.

It can't be stressed enough, the dog needs to be engaged on a mental level, with training, comfort and companionship, but training can't be more than 10-15 minutes at a time or it will become bored and disengage, but get as much in as you can until the dog starts to look bored and then stop, and it should feel like a game to be won, rather than a lesson to be learned, they will learn alot quicker if they are enjoying themselves, not unlike children in that aspect.

anyways, I type to much when it's late at night, hope you can use something in this post to make your life a little easier and keep your little girl save and well.

Vince

bfocusd

Hi Vince,

Thanks, helpful stuff there, im going to freeze her Kong toys, I didn't know they could be frozen, I done an overhaul today and took a lot of the possibly dangerous toys up, she's not been to bad today, she's lost 4 teeth now and is eating fine and healthy, vets given her the okay (thank god)

For walks, usually she's out around 11am then again around 5pm, if I leave it too late or go too early in the evening she has her nap then is wide awake at night. She goes for about 20-25 mins, usually she'll stick around me while the other dog is having her gallop

I guess im just hoping it's a phase and she will grow out of it, she even swallows her own fluff!

Next stop now is sorting her insurance, hopefully it never comes to needing to use it.

Is that behaviour common? I heard of dogs that chew and swallow but I didn't think it would be everything, plus the stories I read about were all based on separation and the panicking, bored alone

catherine1984

it sounds like your dog has pica

Vince32

awh hell,I don't know how I missed that.... sorry

First off, your welcome I don't know how common the swallowing part is, but every dog will want to chew on something, I don't know if it's the noise it makes or just exercising the jaws, but unless they know it's not cool, they will eat everything.

My little one has found out that bulbs live inside the dirt of the plant pots, and she just loves digging them out and eating them... ah well, I drilled a tether into the shed wall and when she's bad, she gets a 30 minute time out. It still happens from time to time, but less often than it did.

How's your little one doing now? still tearing up the place? she must be finished losing her teeth by now, how did you find the frozen toys? does your dog like peanut butter as much as mine does ? you could throw up a pic if you like, I'd love to see how big she's getting.

Vince

cjf

My guy was a 'pica' dog too he literally ate everything that wasn't nailed down. He also figured out how to open the kitchen bin and the wash basket. He has thrown up/ pooped out intact socks! I used most of what was listed above during this time. I stayed away from ropes and anythin with fur/material as it was shredded and swallowed within minutes of having it. I also got some antlers for him which he loved and they last ages - they don't chip off into small bits which is great. He is three now and has all but stopped his stealing and swallowing but I do still have to keep a cover over the kitchen bin and the wash basket it locked away in the bathroom. Only toys allowed in house are pressed rawhide bones, kongs and antlers.

I crate trained him as he couldn't be left to his own devices when I was out and that really helped ... For him and my own piece of mind!

Insurance is key - my chap has been to the vet the vet twice over this. Luckily the blockage occurred at the back end so the vet could remove it without surgery.

It was gradual but he did grow out of it ... For the most part.

bfocusd

Vince32 wrote: »

awh hell,I don't know how I missed that.... sorry

First off, your welcome I don't know how common the swallowing part is, but every dog will want to chew on something, I don't know if it's the noise it makes or just exercising the jaws, but unless they know it's not cool, they will eat everything.

My little one has found out that bulbs live inside the dirt of the plant pots, and she just loves digging them out and eating them... ah well, I drilled a tether into the shed wall and when she's bad, she gets a 30 minute time out. It still happens from time to time, but less often than it did.

How's your little one doing now? still tearing up the place? she must be finished losing her teeth by now, how did you find the frozen toys? does your dog like peanut butter as much as mine does ? you could throw up a pic if you like, I'd love to see how big she's getting.

Vince

She's doing great now, she's gotten all her front teeth and looks like the dog off the doggy dentures ad! Yesterday she lost her last canine tooth, she was barking at it and flicking it around for almost two days, she's not chewing even 1/4 as much as she was, she still has the odd nibble till she's told off, then she goes and plays with her toys.

Funny enough she doesn't really take to the peanut butter, I dunno if it's because it keeps sticking to her fluff, the older dog loves it.

I've switched their food to barking heads, the puppy and older dog bags, they're both flying through it and she's taken quite a stretch!

The chewing was all because of the teething, I heard some animals consume other objects looking for more nutrients, so maybe that's why she was swallowing stuff, I dunno?

Im on the phone at the mo so can't post pics, but I'll give it a try when im on the laptop, thanks

Stheno

I've had dogs do this for numerous, the best was when I put my four month old puppy in kennels for two days and they informed me when I picked him up that he had been eating underwear, that they picked out of his bottom along with cassette tape, they were even able to describe the color and pattern of the underwear!

Anyway, have you heard of destruction boxes?

They can literally be a lifesaver if you have a dog eating out of boredom?

bfocusd

cjf wrote: »

My guy was a 'pica' dog too he literally ate everything that wasn't nailed down. He also figured out how to open the kitchen bin and the wash basket. He has thrown up/ pooped out intact socks! I used most of what was listed above during this time. I stayed away from ropes and anythin with fur/material as it was shredded and swallowed within minutes of having it. I also got some antlers for him which he loved and they last ages - they don't chip off into small bits which is great. He is three now and has all but stopped his stealing and swallowing but I do still have to keep a cover over the kitchen bin and the wash basket it locked away in the bathroom. Only toys allowed in house are pressed rawhide bones, kongs and antlers.

I crate trained him as he couldn't be left to his own devices when I was out and that really helped ... For him and my own piece of mind!

Insurance is key - my chap has been to the vet the vet twice over this. Luckily the blockage occurred at the back end so the vet could remove it without surgery.

It was gradual but he did grow out of it ... For the most part.

It's amazing how self destructive they can be, we thought she'd ate string once and got a soar tummy so hopefully she wont do it again but nothing was stopping her, she's mot pooped anything unusual in about 2 weeks now, thank god.

The last chew she had was pajama bottoms, a hole I could of fit my head through, but she didn't swallow it, just tore it apart

The odd thing for me is, my other dog was kinda similar, except she was a ninja for getting food, she can open the fridge, she opened our sweet press and took only the parrots baby banana food, she does knock bottles over, lay on top of them and opens them with her mouth, then kicks them to spill the drink on the floor! she would never go hungry if in the kitchen alone thats for sure, she even robs apple's from the fruit basket, anything the parrot eats she's gotta have some too!

Where do you get antlers from?

CiaranK

My guy used to eat EVERYTHING as well. He's getting much better now though. Many times when picking up poop you could feel all sorts of things inside the bag. A few times the poops would be connected by sting, once or twice (and this is gross) I had to pull out the string because he couldn't get it out. Haha. They grow out of it though

cjf

I order them from uk - puredog.co.uk - they quite pricey so I only bought a few first time to make sure my guys liked them!

Wizard01

Vince32 wrote: »

My little one has found out that bulbs live inside the dirt of the plant pots, and she just loves digging them out and eating them...

Vince

My big one found this out during the start of summer, bulbs are a tasty snack for her, she doesn't eat the flowers or stems, just pulls them out and eats the bulbs!! So the flower beds are now off limits to her and plant pots are placed on the fence

bfocusd

She's not eaten any plants, she has tried to take them down when their blowing in the wind though, my other dog doesn't eat the plants, but she does sleep on top of them, on the bedding and on the soil in plant pots! Theirs a circle around them from where she sleeps, pups gotten a lot better lately, she's getting her canine teeth now so hopefully she'll be past the destruction stage