# Eating rocks??



## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

Hi Everyone,
I'm a new GSD owner and new to this site. My puppy Rocco is always eating rocks!! I have to constantly watch him when he's outside and I have to pull rocks (and other stuff) out of his mouth. I can't even let him loose in our fenced yard because he'll eat rocks before I can get to him. Is this weird? Has anyone had this experience? What should I do?


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

Yep. I have. My 12 week old loves rocks. She carries them around in her mouth and brings them in the house. I usually intercept and take them away when I see her. 

I used to have a Doberman over 10 years ago that did the same thing when she was a puppy.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Shasta did the same thing when she was a baby. If it's any comfort to you, she never actually swallowed a rock, just picked them up and carried then in her mouth. She did swallow a hemlock cone once, though. We didn't even know it until it came out the other end. Thankfullly, they are tiny and close up when they get wet.


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## andreaB (Nov 6, 2011)

i have 12 weeks old puppy. he is doing same think, love to eats rock. we are hoping he will outgrow it, and for now just keep really close eyes on him and fish stones out of his mouth. i'm really worry about him too, he did eat some of the rock, but looks like they all pass through. he did not eat much for two days, but he is better now. hope they are gone now.i still didn't find any way to fix this. he will drop it when i tell him to but he is realy sneeky.(sorry about my not perfect english)


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

Ok. Thanks for the responses. I guess it's a puppy thing?? I do hope it stops because Rocco does eat them. He chews them up and ends up swallowing them. Sometimes I can't get them out until he's already chewed them up to crumbs. We've found them in his stool. He also likes to eat all kinds of other stuff, like snails, and licks the concrete porch and sidewalk. What's up with that?


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## RICO (Oct 11, 2011)

Seems like lots or large breed dogs do this. Rico did it when he was younger too, on occasion I still have to pull things out of his mouth; he is now 6mo old. Just keep correcting him, the best thing I have found is when he goes to pick it up, tell him no or leave it, if he actually does pick it up, remove whatever it is from his mouth. Rico learned pretty quickly with doing this because he really didn't enjoy me shoving my fingers down his throat, sounds a little mean, but it can be effective depending on your dog. My parents has GSD's when I was a child, they both ate rocks as well, lol.


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

RICO said:


> the best thing I have found is when he goes to pick it up, tell him no or leave it, if he actually does pick it up, remove whatever it is from his mouth.


This is what I do; but he's just learning the leave it command and doesn't usually obey it when he's chewing rocks. Instead he tries to get away from me so I won't get it. I guess I'll just have to be patient for a while. I hope it's not too long...

I was beginning to think that I named him by some chance of fate (Rocco). LOL.


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## RICO (Oct 11, 2011)

Just keep at it, and be paitent - I know it's really frustrating, but soon enough he'll get sick of you shoving your fingers in his mouth, lol. But Rico does the same thing still, if he has something in his mouth that he knows he's not supposed to, mostly things he finds in the house, if we tell him "Rico, what do you have, bring it here?" he bolts. Lol.


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## TheActuary (Dec 17, 2011)

My pup loves to pick up rocks too. She never actually eats them, though.


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## skischool (Nov 11, 2011)

My 4 1/2 month old GSD pup Uli brings in rocks from our back yard through the doggie door...
They are getting bigger in size each one..
He is up to a baseball size now..
I just tell him no and take them away, I hope he doesn't go for the real big ones... :help:


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## MattA519 (Feb 25, 2012)

They dont usually swallow them, just carry and play with them. No need to worry


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## GSD2 (Jan 27, 2012)

My puppy used to eat rocks, although I think she mostly played with them, rather than actually eating them. I do think you need to continue being very careful about this, there is always a chance of swallowing one which could cause an obstruction.

My vet suggested giving her vitamins and she never touched a rock after she started taking her vitamins.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

It's a puppy thing - you'll just have to be very vigilant and be on top of it to keep him from doing this. Too big a rock can cause a blockage which could kill him.


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## [email protected] (Feb 7, 2012)

My 11 week old does the same thing. I can't turn my back on her for a second. We have a creek on our property that she loves. We walked down to it yesterday and she was in it playing one minute and the next she had a mouthful of muck. I had to literally scrape the junk off the roof of her mouth. YUCK! 

She loves gravels too. I constantly am opening her mouth to make sure she hasn't got anything in there she isn't supposed to have.

The first vet visit when they went to take a stool sample they pulled out a stick, I was so embarrassed.


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## katdog5911 (Sep 24, 2011)

Stella did the same thing. I came up with the "NO ROCKS" command. At first I would have to physically take them out of her mouth. Eventually she just spit them out when I said that. I tried to keep treats with me and replace the rocks with something yummy. Or lacking a treat, lots of praise when the rock was not in her mouth. She is 8 months now and rocks don't seem to be so much fun anymore. Although she now likes to snag an occasional poop.....yuk.


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## fox_hound (Feb 26, 2012)

this is funny cause I can relate my 10 week old gsd loves rocks .I have been trying to find a way for her to stop .
She even nibbles at the concrete floor lol.
I also have to dig my hand down her mouth to get em out she drops it sometimes ,but boy she chase's those rock as if they were treats


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

fox_hound said:


> this is funny cause I can relate my 10 week old gsd loves rocks .I have been trying to find a way for her to stop .
> She even nibbles at the concrete floor lol.
> I also have to dig my hand down her mouth to get em out she drops it sometimes ,but boy she chase's those rock as if they were treats


This is just how Rocco was. He's pretty much grown out of it. Now he likes to eat dirt and sticks...LOL.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

MattA519 said:


> They dont usually swallow them, just carry and play with them. No need to worry


Actually there IS a need to worry.

They can swallow rocks either intentionally or accidentally and get an obstruction or choke.

At the very least, carrying rocks will wear down their teeth over time. I have seen plenty on "rock carriers" whose teeth are worn down all the way to their gums. They can also break off teeth.

Rocks do NOT belong in dogs mouths!!


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Puppy was VERY interested in rocks and seized every opportunity to pick them up the first week she was here. I was so worried that I wanted to pick up all the rocks from my yard. 

It ended pretty quickly. I took the rock from her mouth without making it a big production and without giving her more attention than taking the rock out. 

She still goes for the occasional rock now but is MUCH MUCH better.

She never chewed her rock either, but I was still worried about blockage.


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## Dakotasmom23 (Jan 11, 2012)

I just wanted to warn everyone to be VERY careful with this habit. My 4mo girl just had surgery for an obstruction on Saturday. Guess what they found??? Rocks! Yes, $1100 rocks to be exact. I was super diligent about watching her, and removing things from her mouth. But she got several down apparently. Its been a horrible nightmare and I don't wish this on anyone's puppy.


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## Jeven's Tyde (Feb 1, 2012)

I'm feeling relieved that this seems to be very common. Tyde is a rock lover as well. 

I'm taking him out on leash now because he started digging holes... Lol. I know he would be bolting from me as well if I didn't have a leash on him. 

I'm also glad to read the posts saying it gets better, instead of "Find every rock in your yard and get rid of it." .... which was high on my to do list.


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## JoMichelle (Jan 20, 2012)

I read this thread the other day and didn't think much of it as it's not relevant to me. But now EVERYWHERE we go Winter finds stones and rocks! If she can't find one, she will dig one up. I always thought with a dog they either love digging or don't care for it. I have a digger. My garden is full of foot deep holes.

She eats the rocks though. Tarmac is her favourite and as much as I try and pick the bits out of her mouth she often will swallow before I can get to it or the pieces are too small for me to get. When we go out for walks now she is like a hoover with her mouth attached to the floor waiting to suck up a rock


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I had never had a dog that ate rocks until Masi

My entire back deck is surrounded by pea gravel and she used to just love chowing it down I was on her 24/7, because I was so afraid she'd load up and then have to have a major surgery for removal. (it DOES happen!)

Luckily she outgrew it by about 5-6 months, guess they no longer tasted so great


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## chicagojosh (Jun 22, 2010)

i pulled a rusty nail out of Cody's mouth as a pup lol


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## SiegersMom (Apr 19, 2011)

My Vet called it a "rock fetish" and said some dogs just love to chew on them carry them play with them etc. I was concerned because his teeth are getting worn down. She said by the time he is 5 his canines will nubs at the rate he is going. My yard is also full of river rock...he even finds bricks and pavers that he will drag around. Nothing to do to stop it except keep him away from rocks.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Jasmine is a rock lover too. Ever since we brought her home at 10 weeks old we've had to pick rocks, loose pieces of concrete, asphalt, etc. out of her mouth. She has taken to digging them up lately as well. I can usually tell when she's found one by the way she prances away from the hole she dug and plops down to chew her 'treasure'. She's gotten better about it lately, but I still have to fish the occasional rock out of her mouth. Hopefully she will grow completely out of the habit when she gets a bit older.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

Simba brings tons of rocks into the house, just puts them in his mouth, brings them in, moves them around the house, and they hurt just as bad as lego to step on lol. 

He doesn't chew on the tiny rocks, just moves them around, he does however, chew on extremely large rocks outside that he's unable to bring inside. I guess it works for his teething.


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## Saynt J (Feb 22, 2012)

Angelina03 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> I'm a new GSD owner and new to this site. My puppy Rocco is always eating rocks!! I have to constantly watch him when he's outside and I have to pull rocks (and other stuff) out of his mouth. I can't even let him loose in our fenced yard because he'll eat rocks before I can get to him. Is this weird? Has anyone had this experience? What should I do?


Sounds like my guy, Kanan. He would snatch up rocks, pieces of cement, and even chew on my stone wall until he was about 3 1/2 months. After he cut most of his teeth and set them (playing tug of war is a huge help and saves your arms and hands from his teeth)..... he switched to picking up his poop. Especially during the colder winter days when it was frozen. At 6 months, he's growing out of that now... and on to the garbage cans in the bathrooms. We can't wait until he gets tired of that. 

When he would pick up a rock or a turd, raising my voice and walking towards him ("NO, leave it!") only made it a game for him, and he loves playing Keep-Away. Now, when he has something he's not supposed to have, I call him playfully and ask him what he has, tell him to "fetch it up" and he comes to show me for his reward. If it's something he shouldn't have like a piece of his own product or the TV remote, I'll take it from him and tell him "NO TOY", and usually he listens. If he has something good, like a toy, or even a stick, I'll reward him with a treat. 

After a few repetitions, you're going to be impressed with how eager they become for your praise. Instead of barking commands at him at first, I've moved to embedding them in sentences (Go over there : pointing : and lay DOWN).


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## shannonrae (Sep 9, 2010)

I did not read the entire thread, but be warned, rocks can kill your dog. 

I know a Golden Retriever pup who had over 4lbs of grape sized rocks removed from his GI tract. The surgery cost over $2,000, without surgery the pup would have died. 

If your pup is actually swallowing the rocks have him wear a basket muzzle when he goes out. Or you could try covering the ground in his outdoor area with a heavy canvas of some kind.


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## JillyBean40 (Nov 8, 2011)

My 10 week old Thunder is not discriminatory. He will pick up, eat and chew pretty much anything he finds in the yard..rocks, mulch, worms (worms are his favorite)...

Talk about frustrating!  We recently aerated our lawn. To my dismay, Thunder tried to eat every darn dirt clump the aerator kicked up! 

My neighbors thought I was nuts when my two sons and I spent 4 hours last saturday raking the dirt clumps into piles and then sucking the piles up with the shop vac! lol 

I guess it did look comical. I got lots of comments like, "..why are you vacuuming your yard?" lol It worked though and I'm calm when I take him out to potty. :wub:


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