Puppy eating EVERYTHING!!!

[RyanL]

It seems that my little one is developing quite the problem with eating EVERYTHING in the house... we try and be very diligent with keeping things out of her reach, but sometimes we slip accidentally, or she will find something new while we aren't looking. Her most recent treasure was a roll of paper towels that she got ahold of, and it looks like she ate a nice sized piece before I realized what she was up to. She's also taken to chewing a corner of the couch. And our worst yet, she was being a little too quiet the other day and when we checked on her she tried to escape, and when we caught her, we pulled a SEWING NEEDLE out of her mouth.

Our normal practice is that we try to scoop whatever she has out of her mouth before she swallows it, but shes clever and sometimes tries to swallow whatever she has before we can get to her if she is trying to escape.

It's definitely starting to become a serious concern, I have major worries that she is going to swallow the wrong thing one day and we won't know about it.

Do the PV'ers have any advice they could offer to help out?

[Rosiepug]

that's what puppies do!!
They mouth everything including you

Try to puppy proof your home for peace of mind so that nothing is destroyed and puppy says safe.

[jstpugginalong]

I agree with Jaqueline 101%! You have to think of them as a little toddler that will put any and everything into their mouth, and I really mean ANY and EVERYTHING!!!! Besides puppy proofing, which is an absolute MUST, you might try limiting the space she has to roam and wander off and get herself into trouble~

[Three D's]

I'd say the same as the above posts! When Daphne was a little pup I quickly realized that she really couldn't be out of my sight for just the reasons you mentioned, even though I did my best to pug proof the house. Even after she passed the chewing EVERYTHING stage, I still had to be concerned about leaving her by herself for very long (unless she was in her crate) and if she was too quiet, I knew I needed to check on her. It is only recently (she's 2 1/2 now) that a couple times that I've decided she's too quiet and went in the next room to check on her and found her . . . laying down and resting!

I'd also suggest working on the "drop it" and "leave it" commands, or "trade" (ie. drop it and I'll give you a yummy treat instead).

[shaynapug]

You've been given good advice!

Keep a close eye on her....inside and outside!

[Charlie Baby]

I feel your pain! My puppy is the same way, and now he dashes away when he knows I'm coming to stick my fingers in his mouth and snake out whatever he's happily chomping on...

[miss_emily]

One thing that really has really gone a long way with both my dogs is the "leave it" command and "drop it". Victoria Stillwell (however you spell it ) on It's me or the dog, does this with a lot of the pooches on the show and that was one of the first things I taught Frank when he came into my life. A few months down the line after he caught on, he had a big ol piece of chocolate cake that a little girl dropped at my sister's birthday and when I saw it in his mouth he dropped it the second I told him (Thank god). I think if you are able to catch some of her shows on animal planet (usually in the mornings), or maybe on hulu or youtube, she has tons of great pointers and will show you correctly how to go about teaching it.

[juliab]

I feel you, my 4 month old Pugsley is the same exact way. He'll chew on anything he can find. Everyday there's always a mess of toilet paper or paper towels to clean up. He knows when he's in trouble to he runs away every time I catch him. You just have to be persistent and make sure he learns that it's not okay. Good luck !

[mozzymoo]

Sounds like you've got a puppy alright!

When mine were pups I would take whatever they had in their mouth and 'trade' it for a toy, or something that is acceptable to chew on (pressed rawhide worked well for sharp little puppy teeth), or make it fun and take the paper towel/couch out of her mouth and distract her by rolling a ball and having her bring it back.

Diversion tactics worked best for me, plus puppies have ADHD, so they forget what they were doing 4 seconds ago, LOL.

Enjoy, they aren't puppies forever!

[Spinicki82]

We are going through the same thing with our 12 wk old pug. She is constantly putting things in her mouth and then running from us. The other day it freaked me out she threw up one of the kids plastic balls. I was like thank god she threw it up. After that I went through all of the kids toys too. I got rid of everything with small pieces, or put it in boxes.