How Can I Get My Dog to Stop Eating Rocks?
Basic obedience training is the crucial first step to stopping this dangerous behavior. Teaching dogs and puppies two important basic commands, “leave it” and “drop it,” is the foundation of successfully destroying this habit.
“Those [commands] are so highly beneficial,” said Tusko. “It could be life-saving for the dogs.”
Using the “drop it” command teaches dogs to safely release the rocks from their mouths. The “leave it” command reinforces a habit of not eating rocks in the first place.
“Proper training needs to start pretty much immediately from the time you get the puppy,” said Tusko.
When you see your four-legged friend munching away, tell them to “drop it” in a calm but firm tone. The same goes for when you see them interested in getting their snouts near rocks, just use “leave it” instead. If you yell and startle them, it could prompt them to quickly get rid of the rock by swallowing it. Then redirect their attention with a toy or a treat as a reward. You can also use physical or verbal praise to reward dogs in addition to or instead of treats. Hugs, belly rubs, compliments, and pets tell your pet that they made the right choice.
“Your love and affection is a very high reward for a dog,” said Tusko.
When dogs understand these commands, they will have an easier time ignoring or dropping rocks. It’ll also make it easier for you to avoid serious health problems and expensive surgeries.
Rock-eating may also be a plea for attention, so build in some bonding time with a shared activity. As all dogs require both mental and physical stimulation, dog sports like Agility or Herding can give them positive outlets to funnel their energy into. Training together for a program like Canine Good Citizen (CGC) will help them master basic obedience lessons and give them more of the attention from you that they crave. Contact your local AKC club to get started in dog sports or training classes.
If your dogs are spending time with you outdoors, they may chew rocks out of boredom or to draw your attention. Providing them with a chew toy outside can help occupy their time and fight off boredom. Dogs with a tendency to eat rocks set loose in the backyard or dog park also need to be supervised at all times.
Refusing to eat or drink
Turning down food and water is a dead giveaway of a major digestive problem. A healthy dog will chow down an entire bowl of food within minutes. But the stomach pain and constant urge to vomit from an intestinal blockage will significantly reduce a dog’s appetite and will to eat or drink.
To test this, leave their food and water out for a couple of hours. You can also try to hand-feed your dog some treats or kibbles. If they refuse to eat or try but vomit it out instantly, there’s a good chance that the rock is blocking your dog’s intestinal tract.
Most owners can tell when their dog seems less energetic than usual. An intestinal blockage can lead to vomiting and even disrupt blood flow to some organs, which can make your dog lethargic and slightly distressed.
If your dog starts feeling low and becomes lethargic a few hours after eating a rock, the rock is probably obstructing their digestive tract.
The presence of just one of the symptoms mentioned above should be enough to prompt you to take your dog to the vet straight away. If left untreated, intestinal obstruction can stop blood flow to surrounding tissues, and in the worst-case scenario, will kill your dog within 3-4 days.
That’s why it’s important to get your dog to the veterinarian as soon as you start noticing any of the three symptoms. A veterinarian will do a full body examination to consider your dog’s health status and then decide to do an X-ray or an endoscopy.
After analyzing the size of the rock and the exact position where it’s stuck, your veterinarian will decide the next course of action. They will either let the rock naturally pass through or conduct a gastrotomy and manually remove the obstruction. This depends on whether the rock is causing a partial or complete obstruction and if it could get stuck later down in the small intestine.
Surgery is often necessary for these situations but mostly has a favorable outcome if the dog is operated on in time. After the procedure, you will have to take your dog for a few post-surgery checkups, and your vet will assign some antibiotics to prevent infections.
Your dog eating a rock is a situation you probably don’t want. Apart from the immense stress the whole scenario causes, the cost of surgery is also likely to put a big dent in your pocket. So how do you stop your dog from eating rocks again? And why do dogs even eat something as distasteful as a rock?
There are only three reasons for this behavior: nutritional, behavioral, and psychological. Here are all of them explained in detail:
A nutrient deficiency from a poor diet can cause dogs to engage in a behavior known as pica. It encourages dogs to eat non-edible items like rocks, as well as cloth, plastic, wood, and other unconventional objects.
This condition is worrying because it can also lead to other life-threatening situations like choking, poisoning, and serious gastrointestinal issues if a dog gets its paws on stuff like medicines or batteries.
Dogs are curious creatures that explore the world with their gifted sense of smell. But sometimes, their nose can misguide them or even land them into trouble. When they smell food on any object while they’re bored, the dog will try to taste or even eat the object out of curiosity.
This is a very dangerous habit to engage in and will encourage your dog to regularly eat potentially hazardous objects. That’s why most dogs that come into veterinary clinics due to intestinal obstruction have multiple rocks in their body that they have consumed over time.
Dogs crave more attention from their owners compared to other pets. Some breeds have a larger appetite for attention, so constantly being ignored or not getting enough socialization can cause them lots of stress, separation anxiety, and frustration.
If they fail to get noticed for too long, your dog will develop pica and start eating unusual items like rock, dirt, and plastic.
There’s no singular reason as to why dog’s consume rocks. The behavior, called pica, includes consumption of any non-edible object. [pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]Pica is the persistent eating of nonfood items.[/pullquote]Pica is particularly common in small children and animals. There are many medical and behavioral issues can lead to pica in your dog. It’s important to consider your schedule to determine if your dog could be bored, anxious, or frustrated. A trip to your vet can rule out any medical reasons, such as nutritional deficiency.
The best way to prevent your dog from eating rocks is to remove the rocks from your dog’s environment. Replace rocks, pebbles, or pond stones with dirt, sand, or large rocks. If possible, remove them completely from your landscaping. When you are out and about with your pup, keep your dog leashed to prevent any snacking.
I don’t have any rock eaters (as far as I know), but I know this is a far too common problem. Consumption of rocks by your dog is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Check out this x-ray of a Labrador Retriever that swallowed 11 rocks. The $1500 vet bill will certainly be a topic of conversation for years to come.
Dog Swallowed a Stone
When my dogs were about a year old, I noticed one of them was eliminating river stones.
River stones are smooth stones that are flat and 1 to 2 inches in diameter. This freaked me out a bit, but I remained calm and kept a close eye on him to make sure that he didn’t get sick from swallowing a few stones.
Well, he did get sick. When he became lethargic and refused to eat, I took him to the doctor who x-rayed him only to find that he had 2 river stones stuck in his intestines.
Here’s what 13 rocks in a dog’s stomach looks like on an x-ray, and details about the surgery it took to remove them.
After that, I removed all of the decorative river stones from my yard and flowerbeds. Fortunately, these rocks do not occur naturally in my area, and I had put them there, so it was easy to remove them all and dispose of them. My dog is not the first dog to have a few stones for lunch…
This behavior is called pica and it occurs in some children as well as animals.
One sign that your dog has been chewing on rocks for awhile is blunted and shortened teeth.