Q: My wife and I recently adopted an 8-month-old hound/Lab mix at a Summit County Animal Shelter adopt-athon. Natasha is a lovely dog but we are concerned because she likes to eat rocks. She chews them, too, and we are worried she will break her teeth. What do you suggest we do to stop this behavior?
— D. R., Akron
A: According to the dictionary, pica is the abnormal eating of substances by children or animals. This can be due to a nutritional deficiency. Your first step when a pet is eating unusual things is to find a veterinarian who is either a nutritionist or a holistic vet who can determine if it is a nutritional deficiency.
This can be a very serious issue that may lead to expensive surgeries or even death.
The problem is often seen in Labrador and other retrievers and their mixes, but is not exclusive to them. Breeds that were bred to be very oral do have a higher tendency toward pica. Having had Labs or Lab mixes for more than 30 years, I have experienced this firsthand. In some animals, it has nothing to do with a nutritional deficiency but because they are bred to have things in their mouths. Plus, like children, young dogs explore their environment by putting things in their mouths.
I start by having structure and not giving the dog a lot of freedom. Too often they are unsupervised which allows them to get into trouble. A dog should be crated when you are not able to keep an active eye on him/her or be blocked into the room you are in to help prevent him/her from chewing and eating things that he/she should not. If I see a dog picking up something that he/she is not allowed to have, I can take it away and replace it with something more appropriate.
I am always outside with a dog or puppy that is not trained. This allows me to monitor the animal and what it is doing. Often we push the dogs out the door into an enclosed area, leaving him/her unsupervised. This may not work out for the best. For example, if they are allowed access to mulch (treated with chemicals to prevent bug infestation) and they eat it, they can be poisoned.
So what do I do if they do pick up something? I begin by teaching all my dogs to drop what is in their mouths on command, and rewarding them with a treat when they give it to me. This is very handy not only for picking up things they should not but also for play — they give me the ball so I do not have to chase them or pick it up off the ground.
I have had success with my dogs dropping or letting go of garbage that had been brought into my fenced-in backyard by stray animals. This also allows me to do a “mouth check” with my puppies and young dogs as they come into the house. A client’s dog once brought in a live mouse. The client started mouth checks after that!
Another handy command I teach all my dogs is “leave it.” Leave it means just that — leave it, no matter what it is — leaves, rocks, sticks, other dogs, garbage or goose poop. I also incorporate “watch me!” in order to get the dog focused back on me. Again, I reward with a treat when the dog looks at me. Granted, this all takes work and depending on the dog, I might have to increase the value of the treat to get them to leave that goose poop alone.
Keep the dog on a leash until he is reliable. Always be aware of what your dog is doing and what is around that he might pick up, be it a stray cat, dog or a skunk.
Always remember, when reconditioning behavior, it takes a minimum of six weeks to begin to develop a new behavior, longer to perfect it. How long it takes will depend on how complex or how ingrained the behavior is you are trying to modify.
— Susan Jenkins,
owner of Papp’s Dog Services and a member of the National Association of Obedience
Instructors and the International Association of Canine Professionals
Please send questions about your pet to Kathy Antoniotti at the Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640; or send me an email to kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com. Please include your full name and address and a daytime phone number where you can be reached. I will forward your questions to the expert I think is best suited to answer your particular problem. Phoned-in messages will not be taken.