Swallowing slugs / resource guarding

[russ-g]

Hi,

I've messed up and created a resource guarding issue. I was told dogs getting hold of slugs and snails is really bad. We seem to have a lot in our garden lately and Stanley always seems to find one before me. What usually follows is me trying to corner him and remove it, because he just will not come to me no matter what kind of distractions or treats I deploy.

This has now gotten so bad that he'll swallow a slug within seconds if he sees me coming to try and remove it. Snails are not so bad because he has to crunch them up, yuck.

I'm unsure how to resolve this. He's at risk of getting lungworm if this continues. Do I just leave him to it so I don't make it worse, and treat regularly with panacur? It seems whatever I do is making it worse.

Thanks
Russ

[Pepsi Hawks]

Hi Russ

We have a similar issue, we have been trying to do a sweep of the garden first thing in the morning and early evening to check and remove and snails/slugs. I have started looking into pet friendly slug pellets with idea of putting them where the puppy won't get to but slightly concerned this may cause them to be attracted to areas I can't put repellent. We have a massive issue with pup hoovering up leafs but luckily they aren't as dangerous to her.

[vixen]

Have you tried different treats?  I always reserve a very high value treat (such as a Sprat or a piece of pilchard cake) for such occasions. They only get their high value treats for a recall or as a swap.   Even my 15 months old girl steals things she shouldn’t and lets me know it    Instead of trying to remove the slug/snail, you could drop the smelly treat in front of him and hopefully his sense of smell will lure him away. .  I do feel that my dogs have trained me too.  If they fancy a treat, go and get something we know we shouldn’t have and then we’ll get a really tasty treat. 

[russ-g]

Hi Russ

We have a similar issue, we have been trying to do a sweep of the garden first thing in the morning and early evening to check and remove and snails/slugs. I have started looking into pet friendly slug pellets with idea of putting them where the puppy won't get to but slightly concerned this may cause them to be attracted to areas I can't put repellent. We have a massive issue with pup hoovering up leafs but luckily they aren't as dangerous to her.

Oh yes leaves too! Even small stones now too which is also a worry. I can't seem to do anything right.

[russ-g]

Have you tried different treats?  I always reserve a very high value treat (such as a Sprat or a piece of pilchard cake) for such occasions. They only get their high value treats for a recall or as a swap.   Even my 15 months old girl steals things she shouldn’t and lets me know it    Instead of trying to remove the slug/snail, you could drop the smelly treat in front of him and hopefully his sense of smell will lure him away. .  I do feel that my dogs have trained me too.  If they fancy a treat, go and get something we know we shouldn’t have and then we’ll get a really tasty treat. 

I must admit I haven't because it's gotten to the point that if I even approach him he swallows it. I can try throwing a treat at him. He's pretty keen on leftover chicken this week!

[Joules]

Hi Russ

We have a similar issue, we have been trying to do a sweep of the garden first thing in the morning and early evening to check and remove and snails/slugs. I have started looking into pet friendly slug pellets with idea of putting them where the puppy won't get to but slightly concerned this may cause them to be attracted to areas I can't put repellent. We have a massive issue with pup hoovering up leafs but luckily they aren't as dangerous to her.

Please don't use slug pellets, I don't think there is such a thing as a pet friendly pellet and they are terrible for wildlife. Also it wouldn't help with getting rid of them in the areas the pup can get too.

Russ - have you tried throwing some treats around as soon as you go out with him - hopefully he will be more excited to sniff for treats than picking up slugs. High value treats like dried sprats or liver or cheese might be good. Keep them just for that. Worth a go.  Hopefully he will just grow out of it, but I agree, there is a risk of lungworm which you would rather avoid 

[Mudmagnets]

Another thing you could try and I know it is not very popular, but a muzzle may be an idea for his night time journeys into the garden, slugs/snails mainly come out at night.

They usually hide under flowerpot rims and bases (& anywhere in the dark) during the daytime, so you could before it gets dark go (without him to help) round and pick up as many as you can find. I put mine in the dog-poo bucket  You could also pick them up with a shovel and put them on some grass away from your garden & where he is unlikely to venture for the wild critters to have a feast.

[makenna]

I must admit I haven't because it's gotten to the point that if I even approach him he swallows it. I can try throwing a treat at him. He's pretty keen on leftover chicken this week!

You could also try classically conditioning a reward word; a lot of people do this inadvertently with words like "treat!" where the dog learns that "treat!" means something yummy is coming so they will book it over and look for their treat.

Just sit down with something relatively high value (boiled/baked chicken works really well for us, since it's valuable but also not super rich) and say your word, give a treat, say your word, give a treat...over and over again. That way you don't even have to approach, you just give the word and pup comes running, looking for goodies. It does take a lot of practice, though.

I do agree with another poster that suggested muzzle training as a possibility; IMO it's not a bad thing for any dog to be muzzle trained. I know the Muzzle Shop has a lot of options and some are really cute; plus, they're lightweight and inexpensive.

[bizzylizzy]

I do agree with another poster that suggested muzzle training as a possibility; IMO it's not a bad thing for any dog to be muzzle trained. I know the Muzzle Shop has a lot of options and some are really cute; plus, they're lightweight and inexpensive

Totally agree!!! A muzzle can be very useful, for instance in case of an accident or when a dog is in pain or frightened and needs medical attention.  A bit of time taken gently practising with lots of treats and encouragement will get him familiar with it before you’re in a situation where you really need it.
Thankfully I‘ve never had to use it but I get it out and put it on every now and again for a few minutes and feed him treats  so he’s sees it as something positive.   

[russ-g]

You could also try classically conditioning a reward word; a lot of people do this inadvertently with words like "treat!" where the dog learns that "treat!" means something yummy is coming so they will book it over and look for their treat.

Just sit down with something relatively high value (boiled/baked chicken works really well for us, since it's valuable but also not super rich) and say your word, give a treat, say your word, give a treat...over and over again. That way you don't even have to approach, you just give the word and pup comes running, looking for goodies. It does take a lot of practice, though.

This is a great idea! It hasn't occurred to me I could do this but I will definitely start training a treat word

[russ-g]

Thanks all. I will consider the muzzle idea, but I have some success this week simply keeping him on the lead when it's dark first thing in the morning. I also restrict his outside movement when it's dark in the evening. As soon as it's daylight and I can monitor what he's got his nose into I allow him more freedom. This seems to be working and we've not had a slug incident in a couple of days!

[Mudmagnets]

Thanks all. I will consider the muzzle idea, but I have some success this week simply keeping him on the lead when it's dark first thing in the morning. I also restrict his outside movement when it's dark in the evening. As soon as it's daylight and I can monitor what he's got his nose into I allow him more freedom. This seems to be working and we've not had a slug incident in a couple of days!

That is good news indeed - sounds like you have it sussed     

[sophie.ivy]

I had the slug issue with my girl too and like you, made it worse by trying to take them from her. It's taken some time, but she will mostly leave them and when she doesn't, she will drop them for treats (normally cheese or something a bit more exciting than a dry biscuit). I started with the treat swap, then began ignoring her when she had them - turning my back or pottering about in the garden as I noticed that most of the fun for her was the big fuss I made when she picked them up. 9/10 she will get bored and drop them when she find something more exciting to do. I wouldn't worry too much about lungworm if your pup is on a anti-parasite treatment that covers it (my vet confirmed Nexgard Spectra def does after my panicky call when Ivy ate her first slug!)

You'll get a bit of peace from the slugs in the winter as they burrow underground to avoid the cold (good riddance!), but you could try a pet-friendly slug killer called nemaslug in the meantime!! It doesn't completely get rid of them, but it helps a lot!   
https://www.nematodesdirect.co.uk/6-nemaslug