Stick Eating

[stan the man]

Not sure if this is the best place to post but here goes,

Stan the lab has this awful habit of chewing up sticks and eating them. This only happens when we are out at dog park or beach. I try to stop him and tell him to leave, which he does sometimes and other times he just picks the stick up and runs off with tail in the air looking at me as if it is a game. On the beach its not too bad as I continue to walk on and he doesnt get too much time to chew and swallow but at dog parks he seems to get more time where we are contained and I can walk the other side of the area and he lays down happily chewing and eating the sticks. Many a time I have wondered how his poos have not pierced the poo bags or his stomach for that matter . He gets chicken necks and wings at home and when we are out he has a ball or his hoop but he will drop these as he passes a good looking stick. Any ideas how to stop him or is it something he is missing in his diet.

[stan the man]

Not sure if this is the best place to post but here goes,

Stan the lab has this awful habit of chewing up sticks and eating them. This only happens when we are out at dog park or beach. I try to stop him and tell him to leave, which he does sometimes and other times he just picks the stick up and runs off with tail in the air looking at me as if it is a game. On the beach its not too bad as I continue to walk on and he doesnt get too much time to chew and swallow but at dog parks he seems to get more time where we are contained and I can walk the other side of the area and he lays down happily chewing and eating the sticks. Many a time I have wondered how his poos have not pierced the poo bags or his stomach for that matter :D . He gets chicken necks and wings at home and when we are out he has a ball or his hoop but he will drop these as he passes a good looking stick. Any ideas how to stop him or is it something he is missing in his diet.

Any ideas Guys, sorry to be pushy

[persephone]

Give folks a chance ! :D

My thoughts:

Muzzle your dog in an appropriate light muzzle which allows for proper mouth opening/airflow.

walk your dog on leash in areas where there are sticks.

avoid dog park/areas where there are sticks.

MUZZLES~ available

oh - and take time and patience, add lots of rewards, and teach your dog to happily give you objects he picks up

Edited December 16, 2010 by persephone

[Loraine]

Give folks a chance !

My thoughts:

Muzzle your dog in an appropriate light muzzle which allows for proper mouth opening/airflow.

walk your dog on leash in areas where there are sticks.

avoid dog park/areas where there are sticks.

MUZZLES~ available

oh - and take time and patience, add lots of rewards, and teach your dog to happily give you objects he picks up

This is a good idea.

My son has a Wei who has eaten sticks since he was a pup. I kept telling my son that he should stop the behaviour, but what the heck would I know . Two months ago they had to rush the dog to the vet - yup he had heaps of chewed up branches in his gut. The vet managed to get most cleared out and has warned my son that if they do not stop the Wei from doint this they will be up for a large vet bill for a stomach operation!!!

[persephone]

So ... does any of this sound as if it may be something you are able to try?

Chewing sticks can sometimes also lead to wood splinters in gums/throat

Edited December 16, 2010 by persephone

[Jigsaw]

Just coming at this from a different angle in thinking that he may actually be showing some stress by chewing the sticks. As it only happens when at the beach or dog park he may be a slightly anxious in these areas and relieves the stress by tearing a stick apart. Or he may just really enjoy the rip, tear and crunch that a stick can give. Some dogs also explore with their mouths and if your dog is a youngster this may also be the case. Stick fragments can irritate the bowel and cause irritation leading to diarrhoea. Teach your dog to swap the stick for another toy or a treat. Don't let him sit down and stop with the stick, encourage him to keep moving and keep interacting with you.

[stan the man]

Thanks for the replies, we have thought about a muzzle but as a last resort, its not so bad on the beach as most of the sticks are pretty big and if we call him and carry on walking he drops it to catch up, the main problem is when we stop or at the dog parks that always have trees around so plenty of sticks twigs etc, I normally try to keep him occupied with something else, its when we stop to talk or start chatting with someone else. The reason we take him to these places is so he can run off lead so I dont really want to keep him on lead. He has no problem about bringing his toys back or dropping them when we say but it is just sticks, if I am too far from him to stop him straight away he sees it a game and keeps just out of my reach (walking into the surf whilst looking at me as if to say " You want it, you come in and get it" ) I shall have to try the higher reward for sticks. I wouldnt mind but he seems to enjoy eating them and crunching them up. He loves going to the beach and having play dates with other dogs so I dont believe he is anxious. More training coming his way.

[labsrule]

Labs LOVE sticks, they are retrievers and very mouthy so they love to carry sticks and chew sticks and it is not normally a sign of stress for them. All 3 of my lab boys from seniors to youngster LOVE chewing on sticks and my Lab youngster has been obsessed with them since he was a pup and he brings sticks inside for my older two boys to chew on. However, all 3 of them tend to chew/shred them and spit out the shredded pieces rather than swallow them as EVERYDAY I pickup up shredded/chewed up bits of sticks that the youngster has brought inside.

The bigger the stick the better as far as my youngster is concerned and the little bugger tries to drag in 6ft plus branches that have fallen off the trees so that all 3 can have their regular chewing/shredding session I normally hear the crash bang of the large stick or branch banging against the door frame as he attempts to navigate his way inside with it in his mouth ;) and he gets a short shift from me and I take the stick/branch away from him and break it up or saw it up and place in rubbish bin If I see him running around outside with a stick in his mouth I get him to drop it or remove it as it is too dangerous and if the little bugger decides to be a brat and ignore my "leave it or give" command and rush off doing zoomies with a large bloody stick protruding from either side of his mouth , then I will call his name in an excited tone and wave my arms above my head to get his attention and he ALWAYS comes to me all excited when I do this and I then remove the stick/branch from his mouth if he hasn't already dropped it ;) Some days my patio looks like a bomb has struck it with his pile of sticks, branches and bamboo shoots which they all love to chew on.

I know from the daily poo patrol and the pile of shredded/chewed up stick remains that my boys do not ingest much if any of the sticks they chew. They seem to get a lot of enjoyment out of their daily stick chewing sessions by the look of contentment on their faces and noises they make in their huddle they form around the sticks the youngsters brings in for them all to share ;) in either my office or family room. These two rooms can be painful to walk thru in barefeet after their chewing sessions, but I would rather have this than worry about whether or not they have ingested large amount of the stick. If I thought or had evidence they were ingesting the sticks rather than chewing it/shredding it, then I would certainly restrict their access to the sticks.

Given that your boy is actually eating the sticks, then yes as others have mentioned you will need to work on redirecting him from the sticks with toys/treats. My youngster hardly touches sticks during his daily walk and if he decides to pick one I tell him to leave it which he does. When he is at the dog park sticks or for that matter toys are of no interest to him whatsoever as he is too busy having a great time with the other dogs and when he also has no interest in them when I take him to the river or beach . I think he more than gets his fair share at home, so they are not a temptation for him when we are out All my Labs over the years have loved chewing on sticks, some more than others, despite having bones daily as part of their diet.