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4 month old eats EVERYTHING. HELP!

1511 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  cocking003
I have a 4 month old male and he well, literally eats everything. Rocks are ones of his favorites. Oh and he loves to eat wood, not just chew it but eat it. I can never find the pieces. I also have a 1 1/2 year old son, and the pup eats his toys too. The puppy even consumed some of his frisbee before I took and threw what was left of it away. I don't understand why he eats everything instead of just chew. What can I do for him?

Even when we go for walks he takes any opportunity to consume whatever he can manage to pick up.

Are there really any indestructible toys that he won't be able to swallow maybe?? Thanks to anyone in advance for advice. I love my boy and don't want him to have any unnecessary discomfort..... I'm desperate here.
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I have a 4 month old male and he well, literally eats everything. Rocks are ones of his favorites. Oh and he loves to eat wood, not just chew it but eat it. I can never find the pieces. I also have a 1 1/2 year old son, and the pup eats his toys too. The puppy even consumed some of his frisbee before I took and threw what was left of it away. I don't understand why he eats everything instead of just chew. What can I do for him?

Even when we go for walks he takes any opportunity to consume whatever he can manage to pick up.

Are there really any indestructible toys that he won't be able to swallow maybe?? Thanks to anyone in advance for advice. I love my boy and don't want him to have any unnecessary discomfort..... I'm desperate here.
He definitely needs to learn the "leave it" command. When you see him about to eat something he shouldn't, he should leave it alone upon command. You can google how to teach this command, but it could seriously save his life. You don't want him getting a blockage or something. I have young kids with toys everywhere and the "leave it" command has been very helpful with Gunner. Until you get this under control, I would crate him anytime that you can't watch his every move. It should get better with age, but you need to protect him in the meantime.
You can try redirecting him. He needs to learn the "leave it" or "off" command or a word you want to use. Walking him you can give him a correction (remember a correction is NOT a continuous pulling him away from the object, it is quick jerk of the leash) with the leash at the same time give him a firm stearn voice "leave it" or "off" command then a treat. For training and walking we use a choker or prong collar, also at times we do use an electronic collar.
He is still a puppy, our dobes did the same thing.
You can try redirecting him. He needs to learn the "leave it" or "off" command or a word you want to use. Walking him you can give him a correction (remember a correction is NOT a continuous pulling him away from the object, it is quick jerk of the leash) with the leash at the same time give him a firm stearn voice "leave it" or "off" command then a treat. For training and walking we use a choker or prong collar, also at times we do use an electronic collar.
He is still a puppy, our dobes did the same thing.


I'm definitely going to give these suggestions a try. Is 4 months too young to start with a prong/training collar? Right now I just walk him on a slip lead.
I'm definitely going to give these suggestions a try. Is 4 months too young to start with a prong/training collar? Right now I just walk him on a slip lead.
I would try using a chain choker first. How is he on walks? Does he know how to heel next to you?
I'm definitely going to give these suggestions a try. Is 4 months too young to start with a prong/training collar? Right now I just walk him on a slip lead.
Most important!!!!!!! Puppies need supervision, they need to be watched. One of our boys ate a cat toy once and it had gotten stuck in his intestines. Lucky for dog insurance. The bill was $4,000

Have you taken him to any training classes?
Are there really any indestructible toys that he won't be able to swallow maybe?? Thanks to anyone in advance for advice. I love my boy and don't want him to have any unnecessary discomfort..... I'm desperate here.
We have had great luck with antlers with our puppy. They can chew and chew and chew and they last! Our pet store sells them by weight and I paid $5 for one that will probably last 6 months easily. Our older dog, who is a power chewer, can have these too, so it works for both of them. In the crate, we give bully sticks. We can't leave these out, as they stain the carpet and our older dog can get one down in minutes!

We are using the good dog collar by Starmark and it has been great. It is gentler than a prong collar, but effective. With our boxer, we used the sensation harness as a puppy.
Join the club, my little tard ate a pair of my socks, and I wear a sz 12 shoe.

He then proceeded to throw them up one at a time, in the house and in the yard.
I would definitely suggest pet insurance in case you need an obstruction surgery. That being said... supervise, supervise, supervise! The ONLY reason my dog has never eaten anything unwanted is because he's watched 100% of the time that he isn't crated. Also, everything that I don't want his mouth on gets put out of his reach.

As Coco said, antlers are AWESOME chew toys. I don't really get why but my dog loves them too and will just chew for hours. Bully sticks are great too but after a while it starts getting eaten quicker and quicker. I also have to supervise my boy with the bully sticks because once he gets them down to about 6 inches he tries to swallow them whole. I don't know if you have kongs but those are good too, especially for a teething puppy. You can smear some peanut butter on the end and then stick them in the freezer for a bit. My dog loves them! The cold rubber will feel good on the pup's gums and peanut butter is tasty.
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Definitely listen to the advice given on this thread! My little guy has been having the same issue since I brought him home back in July. I have actually watched him have a movement that consisted entirely of rocks! I counted 6 3/4" stones in the single movement! the situation has gotten better over the past couple of weeks...after a fretful emergency visit to our vet and the addition of A LOT of alternative chew toys. Most everyone will tell you, it comes down to the "leave it" command and lots of supervision. As far as the e-collar is concerned, I have read posts advocating both sides. Personally, I feel they are unnecessary, and have been able to rectify the problem without one.....but I also feel every dog and every situation is different.... Hope everything turns out okay! Good luck
Definitely listen to the advice given on this thread! My little guy has been having the same issue since I brought him home back in July. I have actually watched him have a movement that consisted entirely of rocks! I counted 6 3/4" stones in the single movement! the situation has gotten better over the past couple of weeks...after a fretful emergency visit to our vet and the addition of A LOT of alternative chew toys. Most everyone will tell you, it comes down to the "leave it" command and lots of supervision. As far as the e-collar is concerned, I have read posts advocating both sides. Personally, I feel they are unnecessary, and have been able to rectify the problem without one.....but I also feel every dog and every situation is different.... Hope everything turns out okay! Good luck
lol, off topic but when you say movement...cracks me up, it was either young guns or young guns II when the sheriff dude was hunting billy the kid and had the writer with him...he kept saying he had to have a 'movement'...the other guys were like a what? The sheriff then said..."he has to have a sh*t"

:D
lol, off topic but when you say movement...cracks me up, it was either young guns or young guns II when the sheriff dude was hunting billy the kid and had the writer with him...he kept saying he had to have a 'movement'...the other guys were like a what? The sheriff then said..."he has to have a sh*t"

:D
just trying to clean up a potentially sh*tty conversation lol
Moose boy is almost eight months old and we can not find a toy that he does not destroy in a matter of minutes. Like somebody already said, we purchased a deer antler that worked well and he still has it. We also found a raw buffalo bone at the pet store, you actually have to keep them in the freezer until you give them to your dog because there is still raw meat, but Moose loved it and still chews on it. Moose also had a similar situation to the socks, we were cleaning the kitchen and he somehow went ninja mode on us a snatched the sponge off the counter and swallowed half of it before we knew he had it. He threw it up a few days later, it was pleasant!! He starts obedience classes next Tuesday so we are hoping to learn a lot there. Moose is our first dog/doberman ever and still can't believe how enjoyable this breed really is!!
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