So, my sisters dog is obsessed with rocks. It is by far his favorite toy. Only a bone beats the rock! I took a video of his typical behavior today. It's quite funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDAOiB2qoak Let me know what you think of this. It can become quite obnoxious, the bark at the end is what he does if no one pays attention to him when he has it. Any idea how to break him of the behavior? As funny as it is, he tears up the grass, and hes wearing his teeth down!
Blaze--Cute dog! I take it that your sister has tried distracting him with balls or a toy, giving him lots of attention for retreiving a ball, throwing it to him, etc? I would try to stop rewarding him with attention for the rock. I know it can wear down their teeth. Very cute dog!
Give him plenty of rocks, but spray them all with a chew deterrent and see if that helps break him of the habit.
Terriers were bred to dig and get prey (rabbits, moles, etc) so the digging part is purely natural. I agree with Carolyn--get something nasty tasting and put it on the rocks and when he drops it, immediately give him an acceptable toy. Or, bury tennis balls all over the lawn!
It could be a dietary deficiency and I suggest you take him to your veterinary surgeon so that he can check him over and give your advice on any supplements/special diet that he may need if necessary. If there is nothing physically wrong, it could be a bad habit that he has developed to amuse himself and use up his energy. Try encouraging him to play games with you frequently throughout the day to use up his mental and physical energy. They don't need to be very long, 3 minutes sessions will do, but they need to be frequent. Teach him things, hide toys for him to find, and try to make life more interesting for him. When you cannot play with him, give him chews and deep-fried marrow bones, or sterilized bones to keep him occupied. You could also buy a strong rubber toy, such as a Kong, and smear cream cheese or peanut butter inside for him to lick and chew out. You may need to deny him access to stones for a while until he develops new habits, but, if this is a behavioural problem, he should soon desist once he finds something more interesting to do. One other, and rather drastic, but effective, solution may be to introduce a basket muzzle (this should be done slowly to de-sensitize him to wearing it) and don't allow him into the garden unattended or off lead until the muzzle is able to be worn without any problems. Management, obviously, is much better than him eating the stones. Good luck. Do let us know how you get on won't you?
This is so cute. Reminds me of my puppy. She likes only one rock and when I hide it on her and even after a month I through it back out she finds that particular rock. All those lil guys are so so cute. Barb in Pa.
Ceasar Milan has an episode of his show Dog Whisperer with a dog with this exact same problem! Its been awhile since Ive seen it, but if you can find it online (or on tv), you should watch it
There is one funny thing about my puppy and her rocks.She never goes outside and lives with her rocks 24/7. pellet stove in livingroom ( photo / image / picture from waretrop's Garden ) They are the decorative rock around my pellet stove in my living room which is where our 2 puppies live. She has one special rock in there and I take it and hide it and she won't touch any other rock and in a month I sneak it back with the others and she will find that one rock to chew on.
