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Post by orpheous87 on Mar 25, 2013 23:58:10 GMT
A friend has asked me to ask this question on here.
Her dog, Benson (an English Springer Spaniel), has a habit of eating stones. He's had two operations in the past and has just had another operation today and five stones were found in his stomach. One was quite sharp and causing a problem, hence the operation. He was fine on our walk yesterday, but apparently when he got home, he was acting oddly and pacing around a lot, so they took him to the vets where he was taken in straight away.
Short of muzzling him, which they don't want to do straight away, is there anything that can be done to stop him from eating stones? Does anyone else's dog do this?
I've passed on the name of the podcasts I've been listening to as one of the most recent ones was about dogs eating anything and everything but I was wondering if anyone else has something that's tried and tested (and works)?
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Post by caz2golden on Mar 26, 2013 10:33:20 GMT
Difficult one which I honestly don't have answer for. I would love to hear a perfect way of sorting this too  Your friend could keep dog on lead / long line!! Harsh, but would be one way to prevent the stone eating. Long lining may help with owner being able to reinforce the leave command where stones are concerned and hopefully then after a while when the dog has freedom again the retrained leave might prevent future episodes!! Possibly!! Keep away from the worst offending places where the dog undertakes the stone eating behavior. Avoidance can sometimes be the best way of preventing a problem!! Does the dog like playing with toys? Perhaps providing something for her dog to carry while walking will help. Perhaps playing with toys on a walk in the stone prone areas will help (divert off looking for stones). There is a dog on our local beach which would eat anything and cos it got a fish hook stuck (and an expensive operation later) it is now muzzled when on the beach. Dog is totally at ease with the muscle and still loves running about. Key I guess is the training on accepting the muzzle. The muzzle would be the obvious way to stop the behavior!! |
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Post by Jessie99 on Mar 26, 2013 10:42:51 GMT
I would do what Caz has said and just keep him on a long line lead until he learns that he can't eat stones, that way it will be easier and safer to stop him from performing this behaviour. Good luck  |
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Post by scallywag on Mar 26, 2013 13:48:37 GMT
I totally agree, either keep dog on a lead and restrict the freedom, or put one of those muzzles on that
looks like a basket, open weaved, and give dog freedom. Beau like nothing more than to have a tennis ball in his mouth when we go walking x
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Post by orpheous87 on Mar 26, 2013 17:27:49 GMT
I should have mentioned that the majority of stone eating takes place in their garden!! That's what I get for posting questions when I'm half asleep. He's very ball obsessed and always has a ball in his mouth. If he doesn't have a ball, he runs round in a circle as he walks - he rarely goes in a straight line. But he's not only ball obsessed, he's obsessed with anything that moves through the air and even if he has a ball in his mouth, he chases leaves in the air. He has been known to try and catch his breath - literally - on cold days. A lead may be an option, but I don't think a long line would work - he'd end up wrapping us up as we walk!!  It's looking like a muzzle is the only real option to them, which is a shame. He does enjoy his walks, and as you can see, he often has his mouth full!   Thank you for the ideas though! I'll definitely pass those onto her. But if anyone can think of anything else that may help, please let me know! Attachments:
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Post by caz2golden on Mar 26, 2013 18:05:52 GMT
If it is the garden then it sounds like some time is required in the back breaking job of de-stoning the garden!! Easier said than done but even if the garden is thinned of stones it should reduce risk.
As the dog is so ball obsessed I would have thought he could be distracted back to a ball if he goes near the stone?
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Post by BorderTerrier on Mar 26, 2013 18:18:41 GMT
Your friend could use the opposite to a long line and use a headcollar, which is kinder than a muzzle but will help keep her away from stones on the ground.
Has she asked the vet anything whilst they were there? When the dog wasn't being madly rushed for an opp?
If he is ball obsessed, then tell your friend to take a few favourite balls on walks or play and distract the dog from the stones with the balls.
Nice pictures - they show he is ball obsessed - being ball obsessed could definitely help with his stone training.
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Post by caz2golden on Mar 26, 2013 18:29:00 GMT
Just is case for information
I assume BT when you said headcollar you mean halti or similar?
A headcollar such as a halti, dogmatic, gentle leader will not prevent things being picked up and swallowed.
They should not be used on long lines as dog can build up speed and when it gets to end of lead can seriously hurt itself. Therefore can only be used on a short lead and for exercise reasons this will be very restrictive. They are a training aid to prevent pulling and lunging.
My dogs can easily fit a tennis ball in their mouths with their headcollars on.
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Post by BorderTerrier on Mar 26, 2013 18:32:15 GMT
Caz; headcollars are supposed to stop pulling. Why shouldn't they stop the dog PULLING to get at a stone? Surely they would help a little.
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Post by caz2golden on Mar 26, 2013 18:46:47 GMT
Think from the update the problem is mostly when dog is in the garden, so assuming it is not on a lead!
Yes headcollar can stop lunging as I put on previous post
Headcollar should only be used on a short solid lead and this will be very restrictive for exercise purposes as posted in my last post.
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Post by bextull on Mar 26, 2013 18:53:49 GMT
Caz; headcollars are supposed to stop pulling. Why shouldn't they stop the dog PULLING to get at a stone? Surely they would help a little. A head collar should not be used to force a dogs mouth closed unless it is an emergency. Headcollars stop pulling, they do not prevent the dog picking up objects, they are 2 very different behaviours. The only way you could use a head collar to do that is if you were to tighten it a lot which is not only uncomfortable for the dog but extremely unsafe. Also the idea that headcollars are kinder than muzzles is not necessarily true either. A very strong leave it would be my solution, along with the possible use of a clicker if its possible for them? Start in the house and bring in one stone, a fairly big one, have the dog on a lead with tasty treats and the clicker. Leave the stone out of reach of the dog and allow him to fixate on it all he wants, but at the split second that he looks away from the stone, at them or not, click and immediately reward not facing the stone. And just keep working on this one more stone at a time and so on. In the mean time I would have to say the muzzle is really the best option, do be sure they get him used to it first.  |
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Post by BorderTerrier on Mar 26, 2013 18:55:29 GMT
I didn't mean for it to forc a dogs mouth closed.
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Post by charlottte on Mar 26, 2013 18:56:39 GMT
I second Bextull, not much more I can add!
Muzzling would be the safest option until the leave it is solid
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Post by BorderTerrier on Mar 26, 2013 19:05:48 GMT
Bextull is right about slowly getting the dog used to the muzzle though as it is likely to spook the dog at first.
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Post by bextull on Mar 26, 2013 19:09:22 GMT
I'm going to just throw something into the equation here now, but don't attack me, its just a suggestion.
They could always try to make the stones undesirable. Do this by putting something that the dog hates the taste of on them. Lemon, bitter spray, vinegar, cinnamon or whatever he hates.
I know its not a positive thing but if everything else has been tried it might help.
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