Teaching Your Dog to Not Eat Rocks
First and foremost you must make sure there is no medical component to this behavior. Ingesting rocks can be the result of a dietary deficiency or digestive disturbance.
I recommend a full medical exam including blood work, urinalysis, fecal & physical and, of course, anything else your vet suggests.
Talk to your vet and tell her if your dog has been vomiting, even randomly, eating other unusual items, been lethargic or suddenly aggressive.
Discuss your dog’s nutrition with your vet to make sure there is no deficiency.
You also need to rule out any source of pain or discomfort, e.g. hips/joints.
If your dog has been eating rocks for a long time your vet might want to x-ray.
Having established your dog is in good health start here:
- Throw lots of treats around in the area where the rocks are. This way the dog gets lots of rewards for being close to rocks but not eating or chewing on them – she gets food when she pushes rocks aside and builds muscle memory for choosing not to pick up the rocks.
- Take her on a leash to an area where there are rocks. Stand at a safe distance so she can’t get the rocks. If she’s really obsessed – which I have had to deal with – and she’s just fixated on the rocks, wait until she finally stops staring at the rocks and looks away then pay her a jackpot or have a party with tennis balls or Frisbees or WHATEVER SHE WANTS AS MUCH OR MORE THAN THE ROCKS! A bit of kibble isn’t going to cut it! Repeat many, many times. Get closer & closer to the rocks, gradually, until you can walk around them and over them without her taking any notice of them.
- This behavior is usually the result of a combination of boredom (to start with) and owner reaction. The more you react to the dog playing with rocks/stones, the more attention producing the behavior is and it is, therefore, being “rewarded” so it will be repeated.
- Avoid putting the dog in a situation where she is in proximity to the rocks and is bored. Give her all meals in a treat dispensing device (my favorites are the Tricky Treat Ball by Omega Paw and the Kong Wobbler) outside or inside. If meal time is outside, you must supervise her the entire time.
- Distract the dog from playing with rocks. If you see her heading towards the rocks say “let’s go” in an enthusiastic tone and run in the opposite direction and then ask her to engage with you in another activity (read my Distract, Redirect & Reward handout). Ask her to do anything she knows (sit, touch, find it, etc.) so she can be rewarded for choosing to leave the rocks and go play with you.
- Address the boredom issue – hide treats and stuffed Kong toys under buckets and old plant pots, make a sand pit (use the Walmart kid pool and fill it with sand) and hide stuff in there). Place treats all around the yard in places it’s safe (no fire ants, snakes or flower beds you don’t want the dog to go back and dig in) e.g. window sills, cross struts on fences (I’m thinking of board on board wood fences that have cross struts to stop dogs climbing up them), cardboard boxes with stuffed toys/chewable things inside, etc. Get creative!
- Never reprimand and don’t nag the dog for playing with rocks – that attention will lead to the behavior of ingesting them next time.
- If possible, on a temporary basis, use temporary fencing to fence off the rocky area while you work on the behavior so there’s no chance for intermittent reinforcement, i.e. owner non compliance.
These are just some quick tips. There are other aspects to this behavior and I recommend a full consult to get the whole picture and address each element. For example, the dog might get really stressed when vehicles or people pass by the house and relieve that frustration by chewing on rocks. All triggers should be addressed.
