Hi all I am the proud owner of a four month old chocolate labrador called Milo.Unfortunately he has a bad habit in that he roots out and tries to eat snails.At a loss as to how to stop him as obviously he needs access to the garden.Have tried to limit the time he spends there.Going to start him on a treatment to prevent ringworm asap.Anyone else have this problem or can give advice? Thanks.
Re: Eating snails Hello and welcome to the forum Eating snails can cause Lungworm which can be dangerous to dogs so yes, its very important that you try to distract Milo to break the habit . There are one or two medications which act as a preventative to Lungworm , I would ask your Vet about the options as soon as possible
Re: Eating snails Do you mean lungworm ? That's what snails and slugs can carry that isn't always covered by all worming products. My dogs used to be interested in slugs and snails but I don't think they ate any. Maybe gave one a lick then changed their minds. It's very difficult in the garden with things like this my problem this year is rabbit muck. There are loads of rabbits this year and my dogs love their muck !!!! : I think the only realistic answer is to teach a leave it command. You will need to find a treat that Milo loves more than snails ;D.
Re: Eating snails Sorry yes lungworm! He never usually eats all of it as we discover him first.Hard when there are so many bushes they hide in.Tbh finding him much more demanding than our previous dog a cocket spaniel.
Re: Eating snails I think 4 months can be a demanding age , Milo will get better with training , and this is the age to really start some serious stuff with him but making it fun at the same time , let everything be a game and he will soak it up
Re: Eating snails Maybe you and him should go on a snail finding job together so that he can find them, you can gather them up and release them a good few miles from your house!
Re: Eating snails He's fine apart from this bad habit.Doing really well with training.Loves his walks but obviously they are limited due to the danger of over exercising. Just praying for no more rain! Would be great to do a mass snail release though!
Re: Eating snails There are a lot more slugs and snails at the minute unfortunately. I would definitely train 'leave it'. Reward when he does as asked. Welcome to the forum
Re: Eating snails Yes, I agree with the others that teaching a good solid leave command is crucial, plus as you have mentioned getting him on a preventative for lungworm as a matter of urgency!
Re: Eating snails Hi Suze, welcome to the forum. We had a brief problem with slug-munching but it was pretty short-lived. What about using beer-traps to try kill off the slugs and snails. Never really worked out if this made a difference in our garden though
Re: Eating snails from a teeny tiny black 5 1/2 year old Lab known as The DivaDog and her pet human
Re: Eating snails Both the dogs I've had had snail eating habits but they didn't last past a year of age. So fingers crossed that your dog will also decide that snails are off the menu at some point!!! Welcome to the forum
Our 11 week old puppy is going mad for snails and slugs. Any tips on the best distractions? It is worst at night when it's time for her last toilet before bed so I don't really want to turn it in to an exciting playtime by squeaking a toy etc.
How about taking your puppy out on lead, and steer a path around the snails? Otherwise, make sure you are providing lung worm protection, and try to ride it out. My current dog has given up on the snail eating thing, thank goodness. The first Lab I had would trot up to you, looking pleased, and when you said "what ya got, Jups?" would rattle the snail around his mouth so you could clearly hear it clack against his teeth, and when you held your hand out and said "give"....crunch...snail juice dripped onto your hand...Blughhhh....but it never did him any harm. I hope your pup grows out of it!
Welcome! My boy Pongo went through a stage of eating slugs and snails (bleah) from about 13 weeks through to 5 months. Then he just stopped. I tried to not to make too much of a fuss about it (I didn't want to turn it into a fun game) but did try to distract him / move him away if I saw him doing it. He grew out of it with no problem, thank goodness.
distract him with anything he loves it will get better. I did squirt the snails and a round with that bitter apple stuff too. its been a very good year for snails. I tried beer traps my dog Doug loves beer marinated slugs and snails more than the normal ones. Basically he just loves beer whiskey baileys he has to watch constantly and locked away in his office if we have a party We do now have hedgehogs and that has improved the snail problem. now we just have to watch out for fleas and ticks more
I would put slug bait in a part of the garden the pup can't get in, which will attract and kill the snails. My supervisor also told me to take all outdoor toys inside and wash them every day to be sure no slug and snail trails were on them.
Finn is eating snail houses. I try to get him leave the snail house, but as soon as I say the word leave it, he swallows it! In our garden there are a lot of snails too! So thanks for bringing this up. I never heard they could get sick with lungworms from eating snails/snail houses!! Annemarie
