My Dog Won't Stop Eating Sticks

[Supermoon]

Did a fairly thorough search and didn't find anything about this, but point me to something I may have missed

I have a 7 month old lab/hound mix, and the last couple of weeks she has been eating sticks constantly. Not just chewing them, but fully ingesting them. Her poop is full of the things.

My wife and I have been doing our best to clear all of the sticks out of the yard, and monitor her when she's outside, but now she's just switched to eating grass if she can't find a stick. Otherwise she's her normal, pain in the ass self she always is

My question for all of you pet mags/Hutash, et al. is whether this is something we should be worried about, if she's missing something from her diet, or if it's just a phase she'll grow out of. Any good suggestions for getting her to stop?

Thanks.

[flatlander#2]

Have you tried them? They kick ass.

Two labs, one retrieve OCD, number two will steal stick from number one and ingest.

We had a lab that consumed lattice from around a 1200sq ft deck as high as he could reach. We had planned on tearing off and replacing, this was easier.

[sidewall]

Love your dog, that's a good mix.

[MotherFucker]

My lab eats sticks pretty much everyday we take our dogs out to shit. I just try to catch her before she completely chews them up and swallows them but every once in a while she'll eat a few.

She's turning four this week and she's never had an issue other than occasionally barfing them up a little while later.

[iceman]

We had a lab that consumed lattice from around a 1200sq ft deck as high as he could reach. We had planned on tearing off and replacing, this was easier.

That's funny.

You're lab is eating sticks because there's nothing else to eat and labs live to eat. It's their job. That's why it eats grass when you take the sticks away too.

[G]

Can dogs get pica?

[Supermoon]

Thanks guys. Good to hear it's fairly normal.

I've heard stories about punctured intestines, etc, so I was a little concerned.

[SB]

Our rescue went to the vet upon arrival, she had the remnants of a stick lodged in her throat, super bad breath, the vet was able to remove it and said the throat had started to grow around the stick. This was going to kill the dog very shortly if we had not taken her in as she was emaciated.

Sticks = bad.

[Supermoon]

sweet fucking jesus. it's a dog. dogs eat things. dogs chew things. its what dogs do.

maybe to protect your little angel you should buy it a helmet and ducktape some pillows to it.

Hey man, I agree. I'm not trying to make a well dog sick, but I'm also not looking to let something keep going that could be harmful if we can avoid it.

I've had dogs my whole life (no labs, though) and have never seen one so fixated on something like this, so I was just looking for a little outside perspective.

[Wes Mantooth]

My dog fully eats sticks and I've never had any issues with it. It keeps their teeth healthier too

[BraddA]

When my 10 year-old pit isn't maiming the elderly she bides her time by eating sticks. Never been an issue, and goddamn does she seem to enjoy it.

[iceman]

Our rescue went to the vet upon arrival, she had the remnants of a stick lodged in her throat, super bad breath, the vet was able to remove it and said the throat had started to grow around the stick.

Whoa, usually they chew them up first.

Sticks = bad.

Umm...yeah. Kind of a leap there, kemosabe.

[adam]

1) that dog is cute
2) my dog (chesapeake bay retriever) has always eaten sticks. always been fine

[userA]

my dog eats sticks and chews shit
in a normal day
labrador retrievers treat chewing like a job
bobby

[shroom]

i was told dogs eat grass to aid in digestion

[hutash]

No, dogs should not eat sticks, even though some do. Dogs can and do die from eating sticks. Do all, or even most? No, but if it's your dog that died, or needs a couple grand of surgery and treatment it sucks.

Try to discourage this bad habit. Some dogs do grow out of it, but dogs love to chew. Try to redirect to safer chew toys.

[Nic.A]

cute pup.

what about drag line on the pup when in setting that it can eat sticks? My two lab/golden mixes took to eating the cat food. I caught them in the act and give them a correction. two corrections later they decided they don't like the cat food anymore. And lots of praise when they'd walk by the cat food and leave it alone.

but, like others have said...sticks and few small stones won't break their bones...or bowels. I'd only put an end to it if was a major distraction for the dog, or it was an excessive amount of sticks [but im not sure how much/many that would be].

[Grange]

My lab will chew on sticks when she is bored.

[2turntables]

Glad to see this thread. It makes me feel better to see that other dogs are eating sticks and doing fine. My dog eats sticks too. I am always worried, but he seems fine. I'm sure he eats way more sticks than I see, also.
I once found a pile of puke on my kitchen floor with 2 halves of a tennis ball. I'm glad it came out the front and didn't stay or go inside further.

[Sublime]

I've always been amazed at what dogs can shit out unfazed. I once chewed up and swallowed a bunch of sunflower seeds. The next day I swear I was shitting out razor blades by the ass full.

Pirate(RIP buddy) ate almost 10 feet of the butcher twine used to tie up a roast. Caught him just as the last bit went down like spaghetti he even had a HA HA look on his face. Couple days later a mound of twine in a big pile of shit. Not to mention all the tampons the size of your fist that he ate and managed to crap out.

[fiddler]

My black lab Kai is getting close to four years now and she eats sticks. As a matter of fact she loves to fetch sticks when I throw them but returning them is not on her agenda. She runs off out of reach and starts chewing and eating them. To get her to stop I either throw a second stick or just leave and say,"this way." She'll abandon it and come running. I've always been a little worried about it but it seems to be common behavior.

[Kai]

2) my dog (chesapeake bay retriever) has always eaten sticks. always been fine

We had a Chessy. Best dog ever.

[jon gaper]

Very cute puppy in the car.wonder how long it will take to eat the seat?

[Supermoon]

My black lab Kai is getting close to four years now and she eats sticks.

You have to admire the commitment there.

Very cute puppy in the car.wonder how long it will take to eat the seat?

Ha! We've been lucky that she doesn't chew anything inside the car or the house anymore.

[thin cover]

my dog is a full on mulch maker, I have him shit strategically around the yard. Never had an issue with it, save for some late night wood chips coming up at the foot of our bed.