Question:
I picked up my dog from the shelter when he was a month old. Told he was a pit bull mix, and weeks later he was all spotty and looks more & more like a dalmatian. Wonderful dog, except he has to eat everything he finds. He doesnt chew things up, just eats crap he finds on the floor, on the ground, etc... Like a little kid, everything has to go in his mouth.
Milo is about 8 months old, was 46lbs at last Vet check up, and is very active.
Couple weeks after getting him home.

Recently taken


Every 2~3 weeks he gets a case of mud butt & is sometimes accompanied with light vomitting. No blood in either, food is always chewed up, liquid stool & vomit is always normal colored, and he is usually back to normal within a couple hours or so. He hacks pretty often, like a cat does when coughing up a hair ball, he looks like he is going to puke and nothing comes out. By often I mean every few days he will hack once or twice, & I dont really think much of it. (Fiancee has long hair, he sheds a lot, and he eats everything he finds, including hair)
We have taken him to the Vet many times (fiancee worries a LOT more than I ) and they have no ideas or find anything, except maybe the bottom of my wallet. He always gets the same dry food, and we have a small variety of treats so he doesn't get bored.
Food was highly recommended at Petsmart (I forget brand), and his food dish is always full. He eats 1 bowl full of food a day, sometimes 2 if he is REALLY active (after a trip to the dog park).

What kind of symptoms would an internal blockage have? That is my biggest worrry everytime he is not well, I figure he might have swallowed somethign too big. This is the first dog I've had that has ever had any problems at all, and I dont know what I should do.

Anybody have some recommendations on diets I should try? Or ideas on how to curb his desire to eat everything? I gather there has to be atleast ONE person on these boards who has had a similar situation. I am just looking for some ideas.

Thanks in advance.

Answer:
Hi there! First, welcome to the forums! I can't give you any advice on the vomiting. I know my puppy did it for a while off and on. But she has a really sensitive tummy. Our other pup who is 8 months old now does that. He eats everything he finds on the floor, on the ground etc.. He could care less. I think it's a puppy thing. As he is getting older he swallows crap less and less. I think he's finally discerning what is food and what isn't.

Anyway, I think it's probably a puppy thing and he'll outgrow it. Some dogs are far more oral than others. He is adorable and we will definetly need to see mroe pictures. A word of advice though. When using photobucket, if you look under the picture there are three links. If you click on the IMG one and then just paste it here in a message it will show your pictures automatically. So welcome! Hope to see more of your cutie!

Answer:
i feel your pain, i have a pup who eats everything he sees.
important to teach him the "leave it" command, so he stays away from things, my dog used to eat gum, cigarette butts, and many other things. it can be a puppy issue, but leave it is an awesome command, it will benefit your dogs health greatly. and keep him away from things you dont want him to eat or touch.
also a brand recommended by petsmart isnt nec, a good food, the employees there are not really educated in pets or nutrition however ,they are the same as any retail worker really. they tried to get me to feed science diet

Answer:
I'm familiar with photobucket. I dont know why it wouldn't show the pics, just the link. Works on all the other forums I use.
I have a couple pics of him Maybe another try will do the trick.

Busted watching TV


Just trying to hang out


I'm hoping his desire to taste everything will pass, & soon. Its hard to keep an eye on him 100% of the time, especially when he is out playing in the yard. "Leave it" command only works if I can catch him before he eats anything, he is a really clever little guy.

Yup, Photobucket "IMG" tag still not working, oh well.

Answer:
Gosh is he adorable!!!!
A good all stages food is Canidae, it may be pricier than what you are currently feeding but check out the feeding guidelines you may find you have to feed a lot less. there s a store locator in the link
http://canidae.com/

Petsmart does not carry the higher end quality foods you need to find the smaller pets store that carry speciality and holistic foods if you want a good quality food

If cost is an issue than I would recommend Kirkland Premium food from Costco, it contains more grain but the ingredients are good quality a very good value for roughly $23 for a 40 lb and I recommend it over Nutro and others like what is sold through Petsmart which cost more.

Diet could be causing the vommitting, soft stool also treats

Do any food change gradually, eliminate all treats during the change over, if the food change over is sucessful, introduce only one type treat a week to see if there is a reaction to the treat, this will hjelp you identify what agrees with hi and what doesn't

One of the things I would suggest is taking a fecal sample in to your vet for anaylsis to check for worms and "Giardia and coccidia" these are important to check as well, if you have not already which could also explain vomitting and soft stool. costs about $23 you don't have to make and appointment for the dog to do this, just need to drop the sample off at the vet and ask for it to be check out, but the vet may want him in for a weigh in after if they do find something inorder to prescribe the correct dose of meds to treat.

Answer:
He certainly is a cutie
I walk a Cocker every day(not mine)and she is like a vaccumcleaner,anything that fits in her mouth she'll eat,luckily she lets me take it out with no problem and she is not a puppy,she's 7 yrs old she always has her nose to the ground,looking for something tasty

Answer:
Originally Posted by OntarioGreys
One of the things I would suggest is taking a fecal sample in to your vet for anaylsis to check for worms and "Giardia and coccidia" these are important to check as well, if you have not already which could also explain vomitting and soft stool. costs about $23 you don't have to make and appointment for the dog to do this, just need to drop the sample off at the vet and ask for it to be check out, but the vet may want him in for a weigh in after if they do find something inorder to prescribe the correct dose of meds to treat.

All of which has been done, vet thought the food was fine (eukanuba?) but it could be the treats. I dont give him a bunch of them, 1 or two a day, and they are quite small to begin with. I'll look into the other foods, price is nothing if it keeps the mutt feeling good. And I will cease with the treats for a while, see what happens.

Answer:
Originally Posted by audiophyle
Food was highly recommended at Petsmart (I forget brand), and his food dish is always full. He eats 1 bowl full of food a day, sometimes 2 if he is REALLY active (after a trip to the dog park).

First of all, Eukanuba is not a very good food. How many cups per day does it recommend to feed him? How many cups does his bowl hold? You say he eats one full bowl a day and sometimes two. If you are over feeding him it will cause diarrhea.

I would switch him to a better quality food gradually over the period of 7-10 days. Also, stop or at least minimize the number of treats you give him.

BTW.....he is very cute and welcome to the forum.

Answer:
Bowl is maybe 1.5 cups. I fill it in the morning & he pretty much snacks on it all day. He wont eat a bunch at one time unless we just got back from the park. Food is almost gone, maybe a weeks worth left, sounds like I need to try something new.

Answer:
Ditto on the Eukanuba - crap. Whoever recommended it I wouldn't listen to again.

Very, very cute puppy! Love the one with him under/in the table.

Keep in mind that most dogs do overcome this need to chew/eat everything. I never had it really bad with my dog (thankfully) but he did get in to things. He outgrew it and never does it anymore. Whew...

The puppy stage is a tough one, for sure!

Answer:
My older dog has been on Euk Fish and Potatoes for about a year now and doing extremely well...no digestive problems, no runny poops or vomitting. My puppy (age 8 months) has been on Euk for approx 5 months and is also doing very well. Both are healthy, happy and growing!

I really think the whole food issue does become a personal choice.

I hope you find out what is causing your pup to have problems, I know my puppy is like a min-hoover also! He devoured most of our Christmas tree! and he is only a small dog!!!

Good luck!

Answer:
Glad everyone thinks he is adorable too, sometimes you wonder if its just a "parents love" kinda thing

Its strange, because he does not chew up things (one shoe & one sandle, thats pretty much it), but he destroys toys within minutes. He is always on a mission to kill the squeeker as fast as he can, then pull out the stuffing. Always in that order, and never takes more than a day. I have 3 empty "stuffed" animals left over from Xmas that didn't make it over 10 minutes each. Once they get openned, the stuffing goes in the trash before Milo can eat any (but he does get a little down sometimes). Carboard pop boxes are the only non-toy he HAS to rip apart (if he finds one), but that he doesn't try to swallow.

He loved our tree skirt & was always trying to run off with it to lay on. We sprayed it with Hartz "stay off training aide" and as soon as he smelt it he began RUBBING himself all over the skirt. HE LOVED IT!! Luckily once it was covered with gifts he left it alone.
He is quite the little Hoover himself.

Answer:
Oh, if you are referring to "toys" I take back what I wrote. Dracko still (he's almost 7) destoys any stuffed toy within minutes. If it has a squeeky thing in it he HAS to get it out right away.

Here is one toy from Xmas that lasted about 3 mins. I knew it would but still fun to watch him.


The only toy that makes he can't destroy is the almighty Kong!

Answer:
He's a super-cutie for sure!

I don't have any real advice for the vacuum cleaner routine, except to say that my 2 lab/rott pups used to eat whatever they found on walks but have grown out of it now (they're just over a year old now.)-with the exception of rocks. Fingal likes to carry little rocks around, and he will try and swallow the darn things if you can't grab it from him on the first try. We're still working on "Give it!".

Answer:
Oh boy, does this ever ring true for me. My little guy would swallow anything he thought I was going to take away.

Different situation, I know, but my little guy had to learn FAST that we just don't do this. Fortunately, he grew up in a holistic pet food store (food, toys, treats, clothes, leashes, accessories, etc), so he didn't really have a choice but to behave because he comes to work with me.

If you really want to put a stop to this, the first thing you need to do is learn WHY he does this. Was he the smallest of a large litter and always had to fight for food? Does he tend to eat things that taste salty? Does he prefer dirt (microflora and/or probiotic bacteria)? Is he bored? Does he need to carry something (retriever trait)? Is he spoiled rotten when it comes to food (large variety, or he does he get whatever food/treat he wants)?

My dog had food obsession (not posession) when he was a pup, so I had to teach him that food wasn't a big deal before teaching the leave it or drop it. HIS hoover-ism was psychological. Or you can always train him to drop whatever he's got for something better (a treat maybe), or he could just grow out of it on his own.

As for a blockage (PHONE A VET TO ASK HIS OPINION), if food is going in and coming out (south end), he should be alright. However, if there is a blockage, and it doesn't pass, he will try to bring it up. When this happens, it's usually a "several times a day" sort of thing. Regardless though, if you suspect there IS reason to be concerned, get his puppy butt to a vet ASAP and get an x-ray done.

Hope that helps some.

Answer:
Hi and welcome, i dont have any suggestions but have to comment on the cuteness!

Answer:
We have to plus size for the Kong because he will destroy the smaller ones.

Originally Posted by Skryker
He's a super-cutie for sure!

I don't have any real advice for the vacuum cleaner routine, except to say that my 2 lab/rott pups used to eat whatever they found on walks but have grown out of it now (they're just over a year old now.)-with the exception of rocks. Fingal likes to carry little rocks around, and he will try and swallow the darn things if you can't grab it from him on the first try. We're still working on "Give it!".

"Give it" usually result in a chase & him trying to swallow it (gotta keep it safe right?)

Best thing I have found is when I want him to drop something I will take his mind off of it.
I'll tell him to sit, shake, and standup. Usually after "sit" he will drop whatever was in his mouth & when he shakes I can reach over & grab what he had. Then when he stands up I pet him & tell him how good he is. No yelling or chasing required and he ends up getting some positive attention.
Works everytime B)

Answer:
Originally Posted by audiophyle
"Give it" usually result in a chase & him trying to swallow it (gotta keep it safe right?)

Best thing I have found is when I want him to drop something I will take his mind off of it.
I'll tell him to sit, shake, and standup. Usually after "sit" he will drop whatever was in his mouth & when he shakes I can reach over & grab what he had. Then when he stands up I pet him & tell him how good he is. No yelling or chasing required and he ends up getting some positive attention.
Works everytime B)

I could be wrong, but this could encourage the chase because he's not giving it to you, or willingly let you take it. Dog sits, shakes, and his "treasure" magically dissapears. Mind you, if his recall is good, this isn't a problem (and if it's not, then call your dog and run like hell and let him chase you. FUN!!). Food for thought, anyway.

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