Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't know what it is, but my 2 older dogs, ages 9 and 10, keep eating random things they find in the house. It's mostly kids' toys that they can get a hold of - small pieces of plastic, broken balloons, silly bandz, and occasionally they gnaw on a cardboard trunk that holds stuffed animals. Sometimes they get food off the counter and might eat part of the plastic bag. I am a sahm so my dogs are under supervision most of the day. This happens on the sly when I am not home or not in the room. We haven't had an emergency yet, but we've our fair share of digestive upsets, due to the things they eat, and I find the stuff in the yard. It was very interesting finding a big wad of silly bandz in a pile of her poop! The main culprit is my beagle. She is food obsessed and licks a lot. She wants to lick the kids on the mouth and she knows she's not supposed to, so I think she is trying to get the smell and taste of the kids or whatever they have been eating. My lab-shep mix never chewed before the beagle has picked up this habit (other than when he was a puppy). He's just following along for the ride. Most of what he eats passes through with no problem. It is the beagle I am worried about. She's 10 and I don't know if she'll make it a few more years due to this habit, and with little kids, there's no way I can keep everything away from her. Anyone else dealing with this and did it subside? I'd love to break her of this habit but I think I'm stuck.
It may be worth your time to make a vet appointment and have them checked out. Then, find toys that they would be more interested in than kids toys, etc. The noisy toys seem to keep my dogs away from my nephews toys...the Cuz, Fat Cat toys, and Canine Genius toys along with Sterilized stuffed bones (they love peanut butter) keep them occupied enough that they leave stuff alone. I have had one dog destuff one of my nephews stuffed animals once. So, we put all the dog toys in a bin low enough for the dogs to explore it and they end up behaving because they love pulling everything out of their bin. Not fun for cleaning up (still working on teaching them to pick up their toys and put them back - more difficult than I thought it would be) but it keeps them away from stuff they shouldn't chew.
Good Luck! They sure have a knack at getting into stuff the shouldn't at the worst times!
Health-wise I know they are ok at least for now! I've decided to give them at least 1 chewie daily, which may redirect the focus away from the toys. I think they did well today. Hopefully I won't find any more chewed up brightly colored plastic in the yard this week!
I'd love to break her of this habit but I think I'm stuck.
Puppies lick the inside of their mother's mouth to let her know they are hungry. I wonder if your beagle gets enough food?
My beagle-cocker spaniel mix loves to chew on (and will eat) plastic parts. I am not sure what the fascination is, but am thrilled that he stopped eating poop and cigarette butts, and figure one has to pick one's battles. (No, we don't smoke, and yes, we do scoop -- if only we could say that for everyone!)
I try to take away any contraband I find him chewing, and immediately replace it with a chew toy, or some other preferred item.
You could try making a game with your kids, rewarding them to find the stuff before their furry sister does.
My dog likes to get the full of food, which do not understand why it wants to
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
