Hi I have a 10 year old lab who seems to be getting increasingly naughty with older age! over the last year he is making letting him go into our garden very tough! His bad habits include heading towards my daughters trampolene and eating the play bark and then promptly being sick in the house, finding any long strands of grass he can and being sick in the house, he makes a beeline for this on walks as well and also has now starting going to any mud patches he can find and eats the mud and digs. i know labradors are always hungry but he has a good helping of food but not to much to make him overweight and plenty of treats and leftovers from dinners, despite this he is always looking for crumbs under table, and basically trying to eat whenever possible. He doesnt have worms, was fit and healthy in a recent pet visit. I worry about him being sick and its not fun cleaning it up either… can anyone offer any advice please, thought about pet deterrent spray, but would get through lots of bottles, plus rain wash it away etc, thought about fencing off the lawn from patio but he loves running around, rolling etc and in bad weather it isnt always practical to walk him. Currently we have to have him on an extendable lead but would prefer to let him go outside and trust him without having to do this. We are planning on moving soon so dont want to make any costly changes to the garden.
Hi Edo Ok from having old dogs myself. Behaviour does change. As long as the grass back is free from chemicals or slugs and snails it will do it no harm. It could be a fibre thing? it could be boredom? As long as it doesn't happen several times an hour heath wise it's fine. The preventative products are a bit of a scam. Your better off changing your behaviour than its. As cleaning up is a pain can you keep them out slightly longer? Personally I don't like extendable leads. Use to use a thirty foot one. A lot of dogs like rolling in mud . Again it could easily be bored. Can you go out with it? When it does happen, let the mud dry and brush it out. Too many baths often encourage that behaviour. Chris
I'd start with a vet check to check that there is nothing going on medically that can explain this need to eat more grass, bark and mud. If all is ok, maybe have a look at what you are feeding him.
