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problems with eating sticks - what should I do?

Harley & Carley

Harley & Carley

Well-known member
I know there has been discussion about eating sticks and such in the yard, but we are having a really big problem with our girls, and especially Carley. She literally lives to be outside eating whatever she can get in her mouth.
She will hide it from me and only chew when I look away or am digging something out of her sisters mouth. Carley does it non-stop, and there really isnt a space where I can find that is stick/bark/nut free to let them play (we live in a wooded area and it is full of trees). My only option is to walk them briskly, but even then, if I stop, she is eating something again.
We have picked up the yard daily and watch them, but at this point, Carley would have to be held for her to pee/poop from about 2 ft above the ground in order to keep her from eating stuff.
Tonight, she pooped nothing but yard debris. Lately, I have been noticing that they arent eating all of their food, and I am beginning to think they are full of yard debris and are to full to eat their dinner.
My husband is ready to put puppy muzzles on them, when we take them out. But seriously, what can we do? We say 'No, Drop it, stuff like that - we give them bones to take out to have something else in their mouth - that doesnt work either. Usually, we just watch them and dig out as much out of their mouths as we can see.
While it is a little comical, we are really getting worried about their health.
Any suggestions???
 
Tucker is the same way. He grazes in the yard. I am less anxious about it than I was at first. But I know what you mean, one day he pooped out what looked like a little branch, complete with fir like greenery. That couldn't have felt good! I've had everything except the grass pulled up in the yard that I can get to, or hire others to. Still there is always something coming up. I've got some bushes that cannot be killed and there are red berries on it. I've got chicken wire around them now, because I worry he'll eat the berries. I fear they will make him sick. The pet friendly bush killer, didn't kill the berries. Anyway, it sounds like your yard is much larger than mine. I still let Tucker out in the yard on his own, but I check on him every 5 minutes, see what he's getting in to.
 
Mary Alice also picks up everything on walkies, it's a real nuisance, she's so darned fast.

I just grab everything away from her, I've pried bits of chicken bones, old gum and yard debris from her mouth.

Once the summer is here, we can sit outside and let her have larger sticks to chew and remove them as she demolishes them.

Our Charley used to love to chew up a thick stick but we didn't let him eat it if at all possible. He was quite good about leaving it on the grass.

Mary Alice wants to eat anything and everything!!! :yuk: :roll:
 
:lol: Sorry guys, I shouldn't laught but I am remembering Scarlett running around the yard all terrified with a plastic bag hanging half out of her rear end. Guess who got the fun job of catching her & pulling it out for her? :yuk:
 
If anyone finds a cure for stick eating you could be a millionaire. I am the same I just dont worry about as much as I used to. Harvey is 18 months and still eats every stick he can find. He is even putting on weight because when we are in the park rather than run around he lays on the grass snacking on twigs. I,ve also done the chasing round the garden with debris stuck half in half out trying to catch him.
 
I have had this discussion with my vet after a few trips to them due to stick and stone eating and the problems it causes, it was recommended to train them to use a muzzle on walks and in risk areas to stop them picking up. There is a certain type of muzzle that they can still drink through and breathe nicely but can't pick things up and of course I can't remeber what type ? Sorry. Maybe basket ???

I did not do it, I instead spent thousands of dollars on my garden making it stick and stone free and we really choose our route when walking to best avoid sticks and stones.

If you do decide to use the muzzle you must train them to wear it so its not a terrible experience. You'll find articles if you google. Good luck.
 
Hi, this will make you all laugh... this week i was out in the garden and daisy dug up a parsnip and a carrot from my vegetable patch and was running around the garden with them in her mouth! on another day i looked out into the garden and she had a huge carrot across her mouth! with a face like "look what i found!" she really is cheeky!

but on another note, daisy does also eat soil, its terrible, i try to stop her but i think she just enjoys having a good sniff and play in the garden, her poop the other night was pure soil! not good. i am kinda hoping she will grow out of it... that and stealing my veg..... :lol:
 
Perhaps you could clear an area in your yard and fence it off to create a run for them. I know many people train their dogs to pee/poop in a specific area.
One of my girls has decided that she likes snails :yuk: so I have to check the back and front gardens every morning and remove the snails before she finds them.

Sorry I can't be of more help - perhaps one of the more experienced owners will come on here and advise you.

:flwr:
 
My cavs used to chew on all kinds of things, acorns, twigs, bark mulch. They were often sick with diarrhea and colitis, requiring vet visits and medication.

We paid for a veterinary behaviorist to come to our house and assess the situation. She told us that it's normal dog behavior, and couldn't really suggest anything to fix the problem.

We tried to keep everything picked up and used little wire fences to keep them away from mulch and plants. It reached a point where they could not go in our backyard at certain times of year due to the acorns, which made them very sick. Even when I had them on a leash, I still had to pull acorns out of their mouths!!

We ended up selling our house, and finding a new one with no oak trees. I still have to keep an eye on them - every now and then I'll catch them chewing on a pine cone or a piece of mulch bark, which I take away immediately!
 
Cathy Moon wrote:
Claire, there is a warning about snails and slugs that was posted on this forum recently.
http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8166
Click to expand...

Thanks Cathy!
been there , read it and that's why I'm constantly checking the garden.
We get bucketfulls of snails in our gardens every summer so I've decided not to plant up my usual containers out back as they usually attract lot of the little blighters and I do not like using slug pellets.
It will have to be hanging baskets only this year.

:flwr: :hug:
 
Slug pellets or chemical powders are a real no no, as slug killer has caused the deaths of many dogs; some having stolen froma storage shed/garage. There is something, in the products, that is very attractive to dogs. You could try the beer to drown in method of controlling the slugs.

I've been lucky in that the only 'grazing' problems I've had were with a collie who chewed, but spat out the bits of sticks and Joly, who, just once, chomped a mouthful of lily plant. I don't think he actually ate any, but i had a worrying couple of hours searching the internet to find whether my variety was the poisonous to dogs one. It wasn't.

I wonder whether coating sticks with something foul tasting and leaving them to be found would deter.
 
We ended up selling our house, and finding a new one with no oak trees. I still have to keep an eye on them - every now and then I'll catch them chewing on a pine cone or a piece of mulch bark, which I take away immediately!
_________________
Cathy Moon
Click to expand...

This is gold Cathy, and I thought I was over the top spending a fortune to modify my garden for the dogs, you actually moved.
I love it (y)
I wish I could have friends like you people on here, then life would be good. I don't meet many like minded souls in the real world.
 
Claire L said:
One of my girls has decided that she likes snails :yuk: so I have to check the back and front gardens every morning and remove the snails before she finds them.
Click to expand...
Oh all this snail/slug talk will drive me crazy come May. I couldnt possibly remove them we grow more of them than flowers in this area. I did know about the lung worm with our lab, mind you she never touched one in 15 yrs. Kodee is at that taste anything stage I may loose my mind come spring! :yikes
 
I have put down lettuce leaves in the evening for slugs. Then I check the undersides of the leaves for slugs at night and throw them in the garbage. Doesn't get them all, but at least it helps control them a little.
 
luvzcavs said:
We ended up selling our house, and finding a new one with no oak trees. I still have to keep an eye on them - every now and then I'll catch them chewing on a pine cone or a piece of mulch bark, which I take away immediately!
_________________
Cathy Moon
Click to expand...

This is gold Cathy, and I thought I was over the top spending a fortune to modify my garden for the dogs, you actually moved.
I love it (y)
I wish I could have friends like you people on here, then life would be good. I don't meet many like minded souls in the real world.
Click to expand...
:lol: :lol: :lol: I know what you mean! There are many people who wouldn't understand, but after all these are members of our family! We want them to be happy and healthy. :)
 
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