Yorkie Eating Rocks!!
 

Very old post, I know, but instead of starting a new one I will use the one that came up in the search.

Well, my new puppy Jimmy seems to love eating rocks...and not just any rocks...he loves little pieces of concrete.

The previous owner put in a new pool deck but didn't dispose of all the chunks of concrete that was there before and decided to be artsy fartsy with it and put it in various places in the yard. Well, little pieces are also around and I've picked up what I could find but you know how puppies are!

Plus, my patio deck is concrete with a big crack that he loves to try and did out some pieces and inside the house there is bare concrete too where there is some smaller cracks with little pieces coming out.

How the heck do I get him to stop? :confused: I've worked with dogs for many many years and have never had this problem. I was thinking getting a super soaker or a metal can with rocks or maybe a air gun to scare him when he tries but I don't want to traumatize him either....oi. I'm in a jam...a concrete jam!

I guess the only option I have if I don't find a solution is to spend many hours fixing cracks and picking up tiny pieces of concrete! :eek: :mad:

It seems like I saw an episode of the Dog Whisper once where a dog kept eating rocks. I wish I could remember how he helped. I would think concrete would be the same principle.

Hmm, thanks for the tip. I wonder if I can find the episode online :)

I like your idea of using a cue word like No, pausing a few seconds for the doggy to stop, if they stop, fine praise, if they keep knawing on the stones squirt with water. Myself I have found using a can with rocks makes many Yorkies bark.
The dog whisper thing gardengirl77 is talking about, was a large breed dog with OCD.

You should be able to find the episode online. I would be greatly concerned about cracked teeth. That's what the rocks will do.

No doesn't work for my puppy much but I think he will do good with the rocks in a can thing to scare him off. If I can't scare him he swallows them when I try to get the rock from him...well, he swallows them anyway! I've picked up some Nutri Cal for him based on some readings saying they *may* be eating rocks because they aren't getting all their nutrients.

This may be the case because he doesn't eat a whole lot and he's a bit skinny. I am also going to wean him off the brand of food he is on, Euk, because he doesn't seem to like it. Maybe a half and half diet of soft and hard while he is a puppy and has puppy teeth may help.

I just get worried he will end up with a bunch of rocks in his belly since I haven't seen him poop them out yet. He has a vet appt in a week so will see what the vet says too.

Any throwing up or straining to poop = immediate vet visit. Usually it's just a behavioral thing if the pup is on a complete and balanced diet, esp. with good blood work and a clean fecal (has your pup had a fecal recently?).

Basket muzzle or Gentle Leader while you clean up the concrete. You can train at the same time (the leave it command), but it's too serious to rely on that alone.

Yeah that's another thing. He is on his last day of his parasite meds so I'm hoping it's that.
He wasn't really doing it before the medicine which gets me too. He was at the vet last Thursday and the vet said he was really healthy sens the parasites.

I'm definitely keeping an eye on him even more now. He hasn't thrown up and seems to poop good but still don't see the little rocks in his poop but I'm not the only one bringing him to the bathroom so I may have missed it!

Thanks for the advice. Leave it command is next on the list for sure. He is getting a tiny better on the No command as long as I do it in my deepest voice, heh....which makes everyone giggle.

You can use surprize sounds or a visual motion to interupt the behavior. Some people like clapping or a small bike horn, certain words or sounds work too. Try the sound AAAA (like you are saying, the A sound in the word apple). You can toss a balled sock or roll a tennis ball. I would try calling the puppy and treating too. I don't now why you would need a muzzle if the puppy is on a leash and you are with him. But if, he has the freedom to run around then I would muzzle.

I would hate to have to muzzle him, I don't think I would...just seems like a lot of extra trouble for something I really need to teach him not to do. He is 4 months old on the 10th so he is just a baby...hmmm.

Another thing I realized is that he started doing it when I blocked off a major part of the yard to put down some grass seed. So now both dogs are stuck using a certain section of the yard. They look at the rest of the back yard with extra yearning in their eyes. Maybe he's bored with that small section or has more time to check out what's what...However, that doesn't explain the eating the concrete inside the house (Which I finished fixing last night!) *girlie flex*.

Definitely going to get that bandaid box so I can use the scare factor on him with that.
I've used that with all my dogs for other reasons.

I'm always open to more suggestions! :)

Thank you!


But year

I really think you'd change your mind if he ended up needing major surgery for rock obstruction. I know exactly what you're going through. My pup eats anything and everything and we had a major intestinal scare with him recently. He is doing better about just chewing on his bone, and when I can't give him enough attention to make sure he doesn't eat anything he shouldn't, he goes in his crate. If I couldn't trust him outside and was going to let him run without me on the other end of a leash, then he most definitely would be muzzled. Still have to order one, actually. Just not worth the risk. But then, my pup is a very typical block head that doesn't listen, so I'd never trust me telling him NO only for something like that. Hopefully our pup is different.

I don't know what the answer is because ours have 3 toy boxes full of toys and yet when Kayla goes outside she will always bring in a rock or stick we have to chase her down to get. I could build a new patio with all the rocks she has eaten. Before we got her I had a flower bed next to the spa that we put those little pebbles type rocks in and then decided to do something different with it later on. There are still alot of those little rocks out there and that is where she gets hers. The other ones never pay any attention to anything like that. Depend on Kayla.....

Hi there,

One, she's not crazy. She's being a typical dog with PICA or rock-eating behavior. There are many reasons why PICA behavior is adapted by dogs. It's all here: https://goldenretrieverlove.com/why-...i-do-about-it/. One of the most common though is nutrient deficiency. Check whether you are feeding the right amount of food with the right content to your dog.