So Jetty just [emoji3590] rocks. Any danger to her other than trying to swallow one that gets caught?
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So Jetty just [emoji3590] rocks. Any danger to her other than trying to swallow one that gets caught?
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...42b356acd4.jpg
Henry is always picking up rocks also. I'm always opening his mouth to let them fall out. Our first lab, Chase, hoovered up some small landscaping gravel when he was about 3 months old. No one claimed to have allowed him to do it but a black dog at night can be hard to see, even on the end of a leash. I could tell he wasn't feeling well because he was never an especially snuggly dog and all he wanted to do was sit on my lap. His behavior prompted a trip to the emergency vet where they did an abdominal x-ray and found his colon full of these little gravelly rocks. It looked like a barium enema. He got some subcutaneous fluids and the vet said to just let them pass naturally, which they did. But, this was some pretty small gravel. Even if your pup swallows one, there's no guarantee it will come out as easily as it went in. I'd try to avoid letting him put them in his mouth if you can. For Chase, that turned out to be a pretty expensive snack.
A friend's lab did this into adulthood and wore his teeth down badly. He carried them around in his mouth. Broken teeth are also a possibility.
Trade rocks for cookies. He might start picking them up and bringing them to you, but will grow out of it. If you start opening their mouth physically, many dogs will begin to take their contraband and run and hide with it or become sneaky. If you play the game, you are less likely to have that.
You can also try trading/redirecting for an appropriate item, like a ball. So, dog has rock, show him ball, have a party when he drops rock and picks up ball. You can also offer a treat for the ball.
You definitely want to discourage this. My friend's male German Shepherd did this...resulting in surgery and their having to screen and fence in an area of their backyard for Kaiser to be able to run in.
Seems like lab pups just love to carry rocks around. Kanzi unfortunately swallowed a river rock (at least it was smooth & oval) when she was ~20 mos old, ending in a $1600 surgery. Her daughter Honey is 8 mos old now, and still occasionally picks up rocks... I bit the bullet w/ her and put her on pet insurance, lol. I'm guessing that'll guarantee she will be healthy, so that's fine by me!
A friend of mine recently adopted a senior-ish dog (8 years old) who is obsessed with finding and carrying around rocks. Her teeth are pretty much shot and most have had to be removed. :(
Lido was obsessed with small rocks that he chewed up and tried to swallow when he was younger. I was constantly chasing him around the yard, prying them out of his mouth. I was so afraid that he'd get a blockage from them collecting in his stomach or worse, his intestines. Fortunately, he seems to have outgrown that now. He's moved on to ripping my rose bush stems off the bushes and shredding them - thorns and all... :rolleyes: There's always something...
Cooper also loved stones when he was pup, and although we were diligent in ensuring he didn't play with them, one night on a potty break he ended up swallowing one (it was dark and I had no idea he had one in his mouth)....obstruction surgery followed the next day as I woke to him vomiting and not eating. A good friends Golden Retriever loved to chew on rocks...wore his teeth down to almost nothing :( Thankfully Dozer has no interest in them!!