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Originally Posted by kjc  Wanted to add: Don't run to her to remove an item from her mouth... offer an alternative ...toy or treat ... maybe she will stop what she's doing and come to you without ingesting the item. |
EXCELLENT suggestions! When he was a little puppy he ate every single thing he could find. We used to say no and run after him to retrieve it. Problem was that this became his favorite game. We quickly discovered that when he was running he could easily choke on whatever he had. "Drop it" is the best. It took a long time to teach. I found that if I didn't let on that I was upset and acted like I didn't care he became less interested in the item. So basically what I do now is 1. Breathe. 2. Turn my back and walk two steps away so he thinks I don't care. 3. In a very cheery voice I say, "drop it" and the second he does I yell good boy and walk over to get him a couple kibble. When he was really bad about eating things off the floor--even though we vacuumed every day--I sprayed bitter apple all over the carpet. Didn't ruin our carpet. This helped a great deal. Good luck to you. It's so scary.