7 month old puppy eating soil, garden plants and licking concrete

alias*alibi

Arrggh any ideas? 7 month old shihtzu digging the gravel in our garden to eat soil; taking huge mouthfuls from my Guinea plants and other summer flowers and licking a clay/concrete manhole cover. It's seriously doing my head in and I'm getting cross. She's tried digging up the lawn too. She is fed adult Arden Grange so shouldn't be lacking any vitamins or minerals. I'm starting to think she's just naughty.

Anybody had similar issues? My mum has 5 shihtzu's and each has a different personality but none do this.

krlyr

Dogs aren't just "naughty" - neither are kids really, their actions have some kind of motivation. It may just be, like with many kids, for attention - even a telling off is attention.

The most likely reason is probably that she's bored - is she left alone in the garden? Or are you out there, but busy doing your own thing? If she hasn't got any entertainment, she'll make her own, and she's limited in how she can do that. Dogs use their paws and mouths to explore their environment, so this often involves chewing or eating things, or scratching and digging.

Redirect her attention onto more appropriate toys, so find some toys she only gets access to in the garden (so they're as novel as the gravel and plants - not just her same old 'indoor toys'). Interactive toys like treat balls and other food dispensers may keep her focus best if you can't join it at all, but otherwise play games with her - hide her toys around the garden, give her a sandpit of her own to bury toys in, play fetch, etc.

You could also provide a challenging Kong to keep her occupied - work up the difficulty, so she doesn't get bored or frustrated with it being too difficult too quickly, but a really tough Kong like one frozen overnight should occupy her for a while, and satisfy her need to lick at things too. You could start just by putting her dry food in it - then make it a bit tougher by adding a bit of wet food (wet dog food, tinned fish, cream cheese, peanut butter, etc.) so that the biscuits stick together/to the Kong. Pack it loosely, then more tightly. Remember that the more food you put in it, the more you'll need to adjust her breakfast/dinner - but bear in mind that you don't have to feed these meals from a bowl, mine rarely get a meal in an actual bowl, it's usually through Kongs, through scatter-feeding (another way you can keep her occupied in the garden) or other interactive feeding methods. Once you've worked up to a tightly packed Kong, you can then half-fill it, freeze that, fill with unfrozen and she'll have to figure out how to get the frozen stuff out once she's eaten the unfrozen stuff. Work all the way up to a Kong that's frozen overnight, and it will provide a real mental and physical challenge, to keep her occupied and tired out.

At 7 months old, she's still very much a puppy. You wouldn't expect a 7 year old to sit nicely in a relative's nicely decorated house with nothing to amuse themselves - they might run around and break things, doodle on the wallpaper, etc., and a puppy can't be expected to resist all the temptations in a garden without being redirected onto more appropriate objects.

My dogs are coming up for 7 years old and I still occasionally find they've dug a hole in the lawn if I've left the back door open while I've been tidying in the house. And that's with toys outside, and each other to interact with. They're not doing it to be naughty, they just interact with their environment in the way their instincts tell them to, it's up to us to give them more suitable alternatives.

alias*alibi

Thanks, that was helpful. I was sat in the garden having a cuppa and my DD was out there playing ball with Tilly. It was when the ball got stuck next to the plants she take an almighty chomp out of them. She's done it on a few occasions. She has a kong and treat ball but she faffs about with her food so loses interest in these. Ill see what else I can find in the shop that can be out in them. She's a very happy dog, but has these little issues which perplex me as I wouldn't say she was bored as such.

With regards to the eating soil; is it a dog thing or could she be lacking in nutrients? I chose Arden Grange as I thought it was a good food but she really doesn't wolf it up; in fact a bowl can take her all day. She's never been a brilliant eater to be fair, unless fresh chicken then its gone in seconds.

neneromanova

My Dave Dave is an as hoc eater. Gets a big scoop in the morning and lots are still left by dinnertime. It could just be she's an as hoc dog. He eats wainwrights from P@H which he loves. At 7 months though, shouldn't she still be on the puppy food? I personally don't know Arden grange so don't know. Also do you just give her a Kong or do you put things in it?

zee_2

you cannot beat a KONG hours of fun with dog

paulwellerfan

my seven month old terriers eat all my bamboo bushes.
dig holes and catch fly and eat them.
Now thats impressive.
( btw does any one know if bamboo is harmful to a dog?)
i know its ok if your a panda.

pawsies

I would try a change of diet, Arden Grange is an ok food but it may be that she is not absorbing all of the nutrients.

Would you consider putting her on something like Naturediet or raw food? You would need to research raw food thoroughly but it sounds like she likes chicken and it would take her a bit longer to eat her food and would be better for her teeth.
You could consider adding veg if she likes plant material too

pawsies

paulwellerfan wrote: »

my seven month old terriers eat all my bamboo bushes.
dig holes and catch fly and eat them.
Now thats impressive.
( btw does any one know if bamboo is harmful to a dog?)
i know its ok if your a panda.

I don't know about harmful but I don't think your dog will be digesting them well (if at all). Try increasing his fibre intake instead of letting him eat the bamboo (take him out on lead if necessary or put a boundary up).