# I can't get my puppy to stop eating rocks!



## rlstill (Jan 15, 2009)

I can not get my puppy to stop eating rocks! My back yard is full of lava rocks and I have tiny green rocks in a planter in my house. She keeps eating the rocks and even watching her 24-7 I can not get to her before she swallows them! I have tryed putting bitter apple on the ones inside but I can't spray my entire backyard so I am not sure what to do!
Here is the planter I am talking about and what she is doing!


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## Erick Aguilar (Jun 9, 2008)

I don't remember where i read, that usually when dogs eat, or chomp on rocks, it's due to a lack of vitamins or minerals on them.

My Boxer would do that, and we started on vitamins and minerals, and he grew out of it.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

Remove the planter from her reach and constant supervision in the yard would be my recommendations.

The rocks will cause a blockage and you are looking at an expensive surgery to remove them from her stomach and intestines. 

If you have to keep her on a leash or a long line in the yard then I would do it.


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## Erick Aguilar (Jun 9, 2008)

Also, i forgot...
Try with Tabasco sauce, just smelling it your pup will back up instantly.


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## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

If the Tabasco sauce doesn't work. This horse product will. Use it sparingly however because it is really hot!! http://www.zootoo.com/horses_repellants/raplastwbrushtop


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## rlstill (Jan 15, 2009)

My Boxer would do that, and we started on vitamins and minerals, and he grew out of it.[/QUOTE]

What vitamins did you use?


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

Is there a way to block her off from the area in the house where you have the rocks? 

Straight Cayenne pepper can work too.. I have a cat who chews wires.. not the high voltage ones.. things like the phone wire and the computer mouse wire.. and I made a paste of Cayeen Pepper and water and put that on the cords. This way he knew when he got hold of something.... LOL

I would also teach him "leave it" so you can train him to stay out of the rocks. 

No matter what you do, you need to keep him from doing this as the surgical cure when he gets blocked is big money.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

I had a Cocker that when she got older would eat rocks. She ended up with a blockage. The vet removed 8 landscaping rocks from her. You MUST get her to stop as it can kill them, or result in needing surgery (which is very expensive and not without risks.

You can buy Raplast spray from Jeffers Pet, online, or at tack shops (horse supply). That should help but will need to be reapplied after rain. Otherwise fence off the rocks.


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## Erick Aguilar (Jun 9, 2008)

rlstill said:


> My Boxer would do that, and we started on vitamins and minerals, and he grew out of it.


What vitamins did you use?[/QUOTE]


I honestly don't remember, it was many years ago, you could go over with your vet, and ask him his opinion before self medicating vitamins.


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## myminpins (Dec 20, 2008)

Maybe try changing his food? What are you feeding? Maybe it's lacking in something?


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

My dog eats leaves. :-/


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## pamperedpups (Dec 7, 2006)

I give my dogs Solid Gold Seameal or The Missing Link supplements on occassion, in addition to a rotation of top kibble and can brands in various flavors, and raw. Check out www.dogfoodanalysis.com for more info.

In addition to a quality diet, I suggest you prevent your dog from eating rocks (which may cause a serious impaction that would be costly to fix, and may result in death) through strict management and redirection. Crate your pup when you can't watch his every move, put up a solid barrier around the rocks indoors just in case, and whenever you see the pup starting to fixate on something that's not edible redirect him to something FUN and rewarding, such as a stuffed Kong.


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Get rid of the rocks. In the long run, it's probably cheaper, safer, and less of a hassle than constant supervision + barriers. Training is good, but I think the risk is bad enough that you don't have time for that. 

Find an alternative that isn't a problem. I ha (concrete, tile, grass) d no idea how many different things a dog would get into before I got ours but learned pretty quickly that we needed to do a lot of adapting to keep her safe and to protect our things. So you do it.

P.S. Your post made me laugh because when our dog was a pup she was digging up the flower beds. A trainer told us to bury big lava rocks where she was digging and she would stop because dogs generally hate the feel of the rocks on their paws....Generallly...except for the small percentage who love lava rocks, like mine! And yours. 

P.S.S. Your pup is very cute!


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## Tarekith (Mar 30, 2008)

Our lab puppy would scoop little rocks on our walks, quick before I could get them out of his mooth too. Little black ones though, nothing else. Anyway, by the time he hit 1 year he just stopped on his own, I think it's just a puppy thing. A friend of mine had the same issues with his puppy, it would eat rocks from the yard. He too just grew out of it as he got older. As long as they are small, I'd not worry about it too much if you can't get to him in time.


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