Hi, I have a 19 week old chocolate lab who constantly eats everything! He is fed 3 times a day and he is on hills science plan which the vet said is a high quality food but when we are out walking or in the garden he is constantly eating everything and anything. His favourite is cat or fox poo. I try and get everything out of his mouth (including the poo ) but sometimes he just swallows it too quickly. It’s becoming an issue as he has been vomiting on occasions and had runny poo. He has been to the vets and been on antibiotics already which seem to have sorted the runny poo but I just don’t know how to stop him scavenging. Walks can be quite stressful and I spend the majority looking at the floor trying to spot things before he does. Any ideas on how I can stop or discourage him? We have taught him leave and if he doesn’t really want what’s in his mouth he will drop it but he seems to think poo is a delicacy! Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
No discouragement but this is a total lab thing and it can last a long time - my 10month old still picks up everything she can. The poo is difficult and may never fully stop, depending on the dog. Work on a strong drop cue and trade for high value treats. It’s very hard when you think they are just sniffing but really they are picking something gross up for a leave it to work, so a strong drop is needed too. Don’t pull everything from the puppy’s mouth, save that for “emergencies” so he doesn’t start to gulp or run so you can’t take it. A trainer told me to let some things that can’t make them sick go (leaves, small piece of tissue or paper, etc) while working training drop.
Thanks QuinnM15 for the reply. Glad to hear it’s not just my pup. You’re right he sniffs and then all of a sudden is gulping it down something disgusting! I don’t want to stop him sniffing because I want him to enjoy his walks. Thanks for your advice I’ll try with the high value treats when it’s poop and maybe let the least harmful things go. It’s not fun for both of us having to put my hand in his mouth multiple times on a walk! Thanks so much for your advice. Let’s hope it’s a phase lol!
Buster is 6 months old and I have had the same issue since I got him at 8 weeks. I have to be on the lookout constantly on walks to try and spot things before he does. He responds well to leave it, but not so we'll to drop it which is still a work in progress. On the plus side, it is slowly getting better as he gets older and he will now ignore lots of things that he would used to go for. So hoping it will continue to improve.
They are a a nightmare aren’t they. Glad to hear it’s been improving with age. With any luck Cooper will too! Thanks
Gamma is 5 1/2 month and exactly the same. Seriously considering renting her out as a litter picker because of it’s there it’s in her mouth. Thankfully she hasn’t discovered fox poo but she considers sheep pop a delicacy. To the extent I’ve sort of given up telling her to leave it alone as it just becomes a game and detracts from the leave command. Leave is her worst command she’s pretty good on the rest but when poo is about it other such edible treats leave has become confused with swallow thankfully it doesn’t upset her stomach and sheep poo is even according to the vet the lesser of all poo evils Good luck with Cooper
My Sophie is 8 months and still having issues with this too. You are not alone. I will tell you that I reached her “leave it” from the day I got here and it took a lot for that to work outdoors when distracted but slowly month by month she gets better. She also was slow to learn drop it with anything other then a toy but she’s finally getting that outside too. A month ago when I took her in a walk I literally had to say “leave it” most of the trip! And 6 times I had to pull stuff out of her mouth. With repetition, she’s a LOT better in fact on our walk yesterday she only sniffed and barely tried to eat anything. She also dropped a stock in command. At daycare I have big problems because their outdoor yard has sticks and tree bark that she eats she gets sick from. I got her a soft mesh muzzle for outdoor play at daycare and it’s been a god send. I trained her on using it in walks so maybe try that I’m but I would caution on doing ut too early because I think long term trying to teach “leave it” and “drop it” are more important since they will be used all through your dogs life. Hang in there, it will get better but I hear with labs it takes longer than other breeds to totally go away.
