# pup eating small stones , pooping out loads



## katieandnik

Hi my puppy is eating lots of small stones, we try to stop it but once he picks it upits too late.. 
He done a poo today and ut was just allll stones, it was even silver in colour :/ 
Any advice on this? He's also started doing a lot more poops then usual last couple of days. 

And does anyone know what age dogs start marking ? 

Thanks


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## Chantald

My pup does this too, and unfortunately pups put everything in sight in their mouths. Careful though with stones because they could cause a blockage. 

We have done a lot of work around the command leave it. Mind you we have yet to master it, so I'm also pulling stones and neighbourhood garbage out of his mouth on a regular basis. Just be really vigilant so that you can remove stones from his mouth before he has a chance to swallow them.


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## arycrest

This is a dangerous habit, as Chantald said it can cause a blockage. I'd keep him on a short leash until you can train him not to eat stones. I had a friend with an OES who almost died from eating pea gravel ... emergency $urgery saved Lulu's life!!!


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## katieandnik

Eek ! 
We have the ouse command pretty much down to a t. 
When he picks up something he shouldnt he does drop it but the stone's are swallowed before he has chance to drop them  

Do you think its worth mentioning to vet at next appt? 
We watch him like a hawk my partner esp its all he seems to do but when everywhere from pavements to roads , even the doggy walkways are coverrd in little stones its impossible to stop


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## erfunhouse

Sabo is quite used to me grabbing him and shoving my hand in his mouth to dig things out :/ 


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## MaggieRoseLee

You need to be walking a TON faster and keep his head OFF the ground. This can kill him. All he needs to do is swallow a larger rock and get a blockage and all bets are off.

MOVE when you are walking. His head doesn't need to be down near those rocks. If there is just grass around then maybe he can sniff a bit.

Think you need to make walks AND YOU a bit more fun. If the best thing going is to eat a rock then there's clearly not much going on  

WAY up the fast walking!!! Can you have him off leash anywhere for chuckit or frisbee?

How has your clicker training been going. If you train that 'leave it' is FUN!! and TRAINING then that will replace the 'joy' of rock eating. If their best reward is eating a rock, then there is also a training disconnect that they prefer to reward themself and ignore you (and reward with a rock?).

I know my dogs prefer cheese  

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...0-intro-clicker-training-perfect-puppies.html


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## shepherdmom

Major surgery and much $$ later my rescue is alive and doing well. Don't let your dog eat rocks... You can't afford it!


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## Neko

We had a problem too and ours would eat everything. The vet said it's puppy pica and to be very careful. We started giving icecubes and frozen carrots for that urge to crunch and it helped allot!


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## wolfstraum

This can kill your puppy....either do not walk him where there is the chance of him getting these or do not kennel him on gravel....at the very least, you will end up in surgery....from your comments, he already has some in his system that could cause a blockage....if a blockage occurs, intestine can die, and surgery is needed to resect it...they have to take out the dead section and reattach the live ends...and this is also risky...

This is very very very dangerous...it is not a matter of being fast enough...you have to avoid the places he can grab the stones!!!!!!!!!!! Or put a muzzle on him...I think you need to get him to a vet for an x-ray to see if there are stones in his gut - the increased need to defecate is an indication that his digestive system is in distress....

Marking depends on dog - some start at 5 months - some 2 years...that is the least of your problems right now...!

Lee


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## boygeorge

Aside from blockage, some sharpen stone or objects can inflict wounds inside the digestive system. He should have restricted access to such things and diver his chewing habit with right things such as chew toys.

Male gsd marking start at many age, does your dog showing this habit?


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## Oakley's momma

Neko said:


> We had a problem too and ours would eat everything. The vet said it's puppy pica and to be very careful. We started giving icecubes and frozen carrots for that urge to crunch and it helped allot!


My 7 week old GSD puppy has been chewing on small pieces of gravel and smaller pebbles. I haven't seen any in her stool yet, so I am hoping she is just chewing on them... but it has had me paranoid! I can't leave her outside off leash unattended without worrying about it. I love the idea of giving her ice to chew on. I didnt think of doing that, but I know she will love it. Is this something they will outgrow? Someone told me it usually means they have a vitamin deficiency?


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## Linck

Oakley's momma said:


> My 7 week old GSD puppy has been chewing on small pieces of gravel and smaller pebbles. I haven't seen any in her stool yet, so I am hoping she is just chewing on them... but it has had me paranoid! I can't leave her outside off leash unattended without worrying about it. I love the idea of giving her ice to chew on. I didnt think of doing that, but I know she will love it. Is this something they will outgrow? Someone told me it usually means they have a vitamin deficiency?


It is something they can outgrow. At least mine did. When he was about 4 months old the nurse called him the pebble eater lol It gave him run. The pebbles he ate were those decorative one in the yard. It was small enough that it went through and I can see it in his stool. We took him to the vet and the vet have him on prescription food for a while to get his stool back to normal. We took all the pebbles out of our yard that weekend obviously. But he also stops trying to eat pebbles in neighbor front yard while we are on the walk. Now he is 10 months old and became a tree eater instead :crazy: I'm still trying to figure out how to put up my Christmas tree this year :wild:


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## Oakley's momma

Linck said:


> It is something they can outgrow. At least mine did. When he was about 4 months old the nurse called him the pebble eater lol It gave him run. The pebbles he ate were those decorative one in the yard. It was small enough that it went through and I can see it in his stool. We took him to the vet and the vet have him on prescription food for a while to get his stool back to normal. We took all the pebbles out of our yard that weekend obviously. But he also stops trying to eat pebbles in neighbor front yard while we are on the walk. Now he is 10 months old and became a tree eater instead :crazy: I'm still trying to figure out how to put up my Christmas tree this year :wild:


oh gosh! SO great to hear.  We have SO much gravel, our entire driveway is the small pea shaped gravel, and then the landscaping is larger decorative rock pebbles as well. I am relieved to hear that there is hope she may grow out of it.


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