My dog eats EVERYTHING!

[Mutley]

My dog has been a Hoover since we brought her home at 6 weeks old. She has eaten many crazy things like nails, rat poison, those silica packets that come in your shoes, and other stuff, but always did just fine. Last night was a different story. She woke me up somewhere around 3am just gagging and eating any little thing she could find on the carpet. I was worried so I got up and she and I went downstairs, I gave her water, and just sat with her to make sure she was okay. To me (at 3am) it looked like something might be stuck in her throat and she needed a little help getting it down. After awhile she seemed fine and I went back to bed

When I woke up this morning she seemed like her normal self except that she wouldn't eat. I wasn't too worried because occasionally she will go on a hunger strike for a day or two for reasons unknown. But, just a few minutes ago she started gagging again. So I got on the floor with her and tried to just pet her and calm her. I was about to get her in my car and take her to the vet when she started throwing up. At first, it was just normal throw up. Then, after a few seconds, guess what suddenly came up? Three socks!! Three! Still mostly intact. My crazy insane dog swallowed three socks whole!!!

Once she was done throwing up those three socks, she immediately went into the kitchen and ate her breakfast and drank her entire bowl of water.

So, what I need from you guys is some advice on how to get her to stop eating things. She gets more than enough to eat; hunger is not her problem. She has plenty of toys and bones to chew on; boredom is not the problem either. What do I do to stop this? This is the first time she's really made herself sick by eating something and she has scared the S out of me if you know what I mean.

[flvegan]

1. Glad she's okay, at least.

Some of that stuff is dangerous.

What kind of dog is she? How old? Where did she come from?

[Mutley]

2. I sometimes watch that show on Animal Planet

Emergency Vets. And I've seen dogs die on that show of stuff they ate. My dog stopped really eating stuff around a year and a half, or so I thought.

She is a Keeshond mix (daddy unknown), two years old, and I got her from a woman I work with whose dog had puppies. That's her pic in my sig line.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. I have also seen Emergency Vets show pups that have eaten unbelievable

stuff! Rocks, coins, socks, all sorts of pieces of clothing, entire knives, you name it! Don't know what inspires them. Perhaps you can get a trainer to help you to teach your dog not to eat ANYTHING unless you give her permission. Like, when you put down her food, she cannot even eat that until you say "EAT!" or some other code word.
The only thing my pup goes crazy over is the tissues in the bathroom garbage. Now I keep the bathroom door closed at all times.
Many dogs cannot resist kitty poop.
It is an important behavioral problem to resolve since it can become a life threatening situation some day.

EDIT: She is adorable, and certainly well worth taking the extra steps to keep her around for many happy healthy years.

[Mutley]

5. Thank you!

I was thinking about looking into a trainer for this. I just have no idea how else to stop her. I'll just feel horrible if she dies because of something she ate!

[prole_for_peace]

4. i wonder if animals can have pica like some people do.

i have that right i think. pica is the urge to eat stuff that isn't necessarily food.

[Mutley]

6. lol

well my dog certianly has that!

[China_cat]

7. You aren't likely to stop her.

What you'll have to do is get everything out of her way and crate her when you can't directly supervise.

[Kolesar]

8. & unplug the lamp cords so she does not get electrocuted chewing them

Our dog used to surf the DR table and grab mittens and take them away and chew off the fingers.

[Lowell]

9. I got one of those!

I share a home with two Jack Russells. One is 12 years old and the other two. Watson, the older dog used to eat anything he found laying around. He ate staples, nails, wood screws and frogs. Once he got about 8 years old he lost interest . But, Lucille, the two year old eats everything. Roaches, rats, marbles and flowers are fair game. She too heaves many of these things up, but unlike Watson, she also has done some damage. Occassionally she will pass a lot of blood. Our vet has some medications that help clear this up, but there isn't much you can do about their eating habits. Hopefully your dog will out grow this behavior before it kills her.

[sleepyhead]

10. Keep her in a crate when you can't watch her.

They don't mind it at all. Don't present it as a punishment - make it her "special" place and have her stay in there when you are not around.

Worst case - try a cage muzzle for those times she is unsupervised. She will be able to breathe normally, pant, lick, and drink water, but won't be able to get her mouth open wide enough to swallow anything bad. This is of course a last resort, but I know someone whose Lab had 4 (four!) surgeries to remove foreign objects from his stomach. Finally they got a cage muzzle - problem solved.