Dog Training Community

Hi

My dog has recently started eating EVERYTHING she finds on the ground, as well she has started eating grass.  Cigarette butts, kleenex, garbage, and worst of all other animals droppings!!!  I use the "leave it" command and it works sometimes, but she is so fast I can not always stop her.  It is turning our walks into a constant "leave it" over and over and is not fun at all.  I am afraid she will eat something harmful to her, and also it is disgusting.....

She eats "Royal Canin Large Breed Puppy" food, and has for at least a month.  She had Eukanuba before that.  She is not overly thrilled about her dog food, but will eat between 4-5 cups per  day.  (She is almost 5 months and weighs almost 50 lbs, she is a big puppy).  Is it possible that her food is just not the right kind?  Is there another brand which would be better for her, and which would satisfy her so that she did not eat garbage/grass?

Please help!  I am tired of fishing dirty garbage out of her mouth!

Hi Susie,

It is common for puppies to go through a phase where they eat everything they can get a hold of. Here are some strategies to try, and let me know if you have more questions. As far as the question about her food, that is absolutely a possibility. That is a decent food (not like Puppy Chow which is awful) so it may or may not be an issue. Try these options and then also consider switching foods if you are still frustrated.

• Work on being more interesting on walks to counteract her desire to make her own fun
• Work on eye contact exercises
• Bring an outside only toy that she LOVES and play with her and let her carry it
• Purchase the Puppy Biting and Rules of Tug video if you need to work on teaching drop or want to learn the rules of tug
• Stay closer to your home away from "surprise" things on the ground and work on the above exercises until you feel confident that you can get the behaviors that you are looking for and then expand your area
• Run past things that she is foraging for to keep her from getting things and to keep her attention
• Do quick and gentle changes in direction on walks to keep her focused on you
• There are lots of leash walking tips in the Intermediate Leash Walking Video

Let me know if you have more questions.