# dog ate a block of cheddar cheese!



## dogclass

Man, our dog just put his mouth on the counter and grabbed a block of cheddar cheese. Like maybe 7 oz. He just swallowed the whole thing!

I'm not sure what to do. I know it's not poisonous, but should I skip a meal? I wish I could undo it. We've had him for 4 months, and I want to avoid teaching him bad habits.


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## Willowy

He'll probably have an upset tummy. Either diarrhea or blocked. I think I would give him some food to kind of absorb some of the cheese and help it along, but not a full meal. Although if he's a big dog 7 oz of cheese might not even register. . .


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## winniec777

Our dog ate a big block of cheese once. Long story - she had escaped the yard and was running around the neighborhood leading us on a merry chase. I tried to coax her with a bit of cheese but mistakenly tossed an entire block at her feet. She nabbed it and ran like the wind! Caught up with her and got her back home. No ill effects. Her poo may have been a little runny and stinky the next day, but that's it.


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## Puddin's Training Tips

Interesting. I have no advice other than taker her out to potty often. Wouldn't hurt to call her vet. Keep us updted.


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## Poly

dogclass said:


> Man, our dog just put his mouth on the counter and grabbed a block of cheddar cheese. Like maybe 7 oz. He just swallowed the whole thing!
> 
> I'm not sure what to do. I know it's not poisonous, but should I skip a meal? I wish I could undo it. We've had him for 4 months, and I want to avoid teaching him bad habits.


You said that you had a shepherd/collie mix - which is probably a large dog - so digesting a a 7 oz block of cheese generally won't be a problem. You may see a little soft BM for a bit but nothing to worry about. I wouldn't skip a meal - skipping a meal completely can sometimes be problematic - but I *would* cut down on the amount of food for the next day or two. 

A lot of dogs really like cheese - which is why it is so often used as a training treat - and they will make a special effort to get it. 

Much more important in the long run is starting a training program to stop the counter-surfing RIGHT NOW. Behavior problems don't correct themselves.


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## dogclass

Yeah, it's the behavior that I'm most worried about. He seems ok today. He's 38lbs.

He does a bit of counter surfing, and quite a lot coffee table sniffing. It's easier for him to take stuff off the coffee table. We train "leave it", but he won't if we're not around. Some people say they've trained their dog to not eat anything that doesn't belong to them...but I don't know how we'll get our dog to that point. He's pretty food motivated.

If never leaving food out is a solution, then any kind of training is kind of moot. If you don't give him the opportunity to take food off the counter, it's less important to try to train him to not do so. Then again, if you try to train him, it's almost inevitable that he will get food at some point...and that's self rewarding...

So, I'm having a hard time thinking up how to discourage counter/coffee table eating.


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## Puddin's Training Tips

dogclass said:


> So, I'm having a hard time thinking up how to discourage counter/coffee table eating.


Dogs continue to do what is rewarding and cease to do what is not rewarding so I agree with you about keeping food off the counter. If there is nothing there to surf for, eventually it will be boring. But since he got a whole block of cheese once, he might be looking for that cheese for a long time. Even if he is looking, if there is nothing there, nothing to hurt himself with.

Not saying you are contemplating this, but I am NOT a fan of startle methods for many reasons. Especially when the more humane thing to do would be to just keep things out of reach.

But you could work on a positive barrier training program. It is probably tedious and time consuming and you'd have to physically keep the dog away from the counter while you proof the behavior


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## sassafras

Counter surfing is one of those things where I just manage it instead of training. For me, it's far less frustrating for everyone involved to just keep stuff out of reach, it's not the training hill I want to die on.


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## Labmom4

sassafras said:


> Counter surfing is one of those things where I just manage it instead of training. For me, it's far less frustrating for everyone involved to just keep stuff out of reach, it's not the training hill I want to die on.


Same here. Just keep clean counters. 
My daughter's dog, Dylan the choc lab, is terrible about this. He's eaten a huge hunk of cheese, a stick of butter, a container of sour cream...She's a chef and cooks constantly so theres always food spread all over her tiny kitchen. He'll sneak in, grab something and run! There's no catching him. I keep telling her to be more careful, but it keeps happening.


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## cntrysigns

My pup finally stopped to smell everything when he got a hot pepper. At least when he slowed down to smell we had time to correct him.


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## stacey101

Koda's favorite treat is cheese, but I agree nothing terrible is going to happen to him just expect an upset tummy


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## RonE

Your dog will likely suffer from some constipation and a nearly overwhelming desire to move to Wisconsin.


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## Goldens&Labs4Me

RonE said:


> Your dog will likely suffer from some constipation and a nearly overwhelming desire to move to Wisconsin.


LOL. Too funny!!! 

Our chocolate lab is a bad counter surfer--if I leave it, it's fair game. I have to make a real effort to leave them cleared or else it's "my" fault! 

Hope she's ok!


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