eating wood

[Carolyn]

Bailey is 11 months old and loves to eat wood.  It can be lumps of wood that he finds on the ground or branches that are still attached to trees.  It happens mostly when he is off the lead.  If you go near him while he is eating he runs off with it in his mouth.  Using treats to call him back doesn't work so I tend not to make a fuss and just walk away and he catches me up when he's ready.   The main problem is that he is usually sick afterwards and I'm sure a dog being sick every day can't be good.  Although wood is his favourite he will pick up other inedible things.  Any help would be much appreciated.                    

[Mary]

Hi Carolyn,

Eating wood should be discouraged due to the splinters.  My Lottie was terrible for picking up and eating anything and everything but luckily has grown out of this habit on the whole :wink:

Lottie could always be tempted away with a treat.  I always take treats that she loves and that she only gets when out for a walk.  Have you tried cheese or liver cake?  Most dogs will do anything for these treats.

As soon as you release Bailey from his lead I suggest giving him a treat to let him know what you have in your pocket so that he knows what's in store when you call him :wink:   The liver cake is usually a winner.                    

[Colin]

I've had this problem with both Jimmy and Misty. Luckily Misty is such a greedy guts, a bag of treats works with her. For Jimmy I used a ball to divert his attention, it seemed to satisfy his need to be carrying something in his mouth when on walks. You could try a squeeky ball to attract Bailey's attention, teach him to retrieve ....... hopefully he may find this more fun than playing with sticks.                    

[Sheryl]

Holly is a definite twig eater.  Chloe won't eat anything that isn't food   Mind you, Holly doesn't really eat twigs, just shreds them into shavings.  However, I try to stop her as she is going to get something stuck somewhere, law of averages :wink:                    

[hectors best mate]

unfortunatly my 11month old has the same problem! luckily he doesn't make himself sick (wel, not yet!).
      He drags sticks out of the log basket when no-ones looking and manages to shread it in seconds! I'm worried that one day he's going to attempt to jump into the fire just to get his beloved wood!
 
 Hopefully they will grow out of it!                    

[daftcockers]

Archie used to eat wigs etc, until he was poorly, his glands were swollen and a very unpleasant smells was coming from his mouth. We took him to the vet and they discovered he had a splinter stuck deep in his gum and had become infected £270  later he was fine, but has learnt not to eat twigs.                    

[valerie]

hi folks, max chews a twigs/ and sticks anything he can get his hands on i wish i could get him to stop as we live in the country thats impossible to do?. val :?                    

[montsmum]

Monty has the same bad habit, he loves to chew sticks. This can sometimes make him sick. I used to think he mistook them for treats...... However, he has now progressed to sheep poo - see my posting!