rock eating

[sharon jean]

I have a 7 month jack russel mix. He, as you can imagine is very, very active. He has one habit we are trying to break, that is eating little rocks. When we take him (his name is Cody) outside to potty, we keep the lead on to control him and to direct him away from any rocks. As soon as he goes out, he is looking for rocks to eat. We have used bitter apple,
we have corrected him, we reward him with praise when we say no and he listens. But his intent is to eat rocks. We understand he is just a puppy, but we are concerned one time he will swallow one and get very ill. We have over 1/2 acre and can't clear all the rocks out, but are thinking of clearing one area just for him. We would like to let him run and play on our property, but as soon as he is not doing something, playing ball let's say, he immediately runs to rock and grabs them and starts chewing. So our play time is very monitored and controlled.
He is well fed and I do not think it is diet related.
Any suggestions?
Thank you
Sharon:::dogunsure:

 

[leema]

Clover chews on rocks, too - but she is mostly interested in throwing them around and hearing them rattle and chasing them. I worry about her hurting her teeth, but I am thinking that it's perhaps her teeth that is causing the worry (she is 5 months and still teething).

Actually, Mac's mother, when taken the vet when pregnant with him, had rocks in her stomach! They passed through as normal.

Er, but I understand it can be annoying to have rocks everywhere all the time. And for this I have no suggestions. Just you're not alone and I wouldn't worry too much!

 

[luna may]

Does he just chew on them, or does he actualy swallow them??? 0.0
I read somewhere that dogs may lick pebbles for Calcium, and also nibble on grass if they have stomach-aches... I don't think it's related, though =P

(And I'd also like to know- how does the dog know his Calsium is low? Does he just get up and think "Hmmm, I think I'm out of Calcium again... I guess I'll just take a rock or two "?)

 

[storm22]

dogs eat rocks and stuff all the time (storm still does:dogtongue it can be a mineral thing but also they will chew if there teething:dogbiggrin: also i read somewhere that they have them in there gut as a digestive thing to churn there food around kinda like horses do they eat sticks and rocks

 

[jewels1]

Jewels is four months old and eating little rocks too. I don't know why, I think it is because of teething

 

[snooks]

They do really need to chew at that age b/c their teeth are falling out and being replaced by adult teeth. How about a good indestructibe chewey like a hurley or a kong ball?? And for more fun bully sticks are very alluring to dogs. I order them online. Much better and healthier than rawhide. Pizzles are washed and dried and do not go through the process of treating with bleaches and lyme to deflesh the skin like rawhide does. They're much less chemicals in an easy treat. The are slightly barnyard smelling so a bed or crate is a good place to enjoy-not the couch.

Hurleys and bully sticks should be supervised. A kong is about all i leave them alone to chew.

 

[maven]

What is a bully stick? Can you point me to a link?