Thread: Eating Gravel!

Anyone any advise please...

I also am one of the band with a Street dog, he is about 3 1/2 yrs old, and has a passion for eating gravel, he will pick up a small piece and keep chewing it, until he gets your attention, and then swallows it.

As he treats it like a game I thought that by ignoring him he might spit it out, but no, once he is fed up again he swallows it.

I do have one little problem in that I have a big area, covered in five tons of pea gravel, so he has got a good supply.

So far, he appears to have passed all the stones, and it has not become a problem, but I would like to stop it before it does.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Did a quick search and found these two dont know if t will work but you can always try.

i had the same problem with my 2 dogs,he will grow out of it at about 14 months old,what i did i bought of bags of salt and put it all over the stones i also used salt mixed with water to stop them chewing all my walls and doors it does work as they don't like the taste.



its not a mineral dificiancy, this is called instincts. In the wild dogs eat stones to assist there digestive system with the break down of non meat foods they eat. They have been doing it for thousands of years and its just instinctual. It can cause problems though and the best way to get him to stop is to buy a spray at the dog store that deters dogs and spray the area's where he is getting the stones from. Also, like any other behavior you want to change it takes absolute consistancy and patience. Supervise him everytime he is outside and when you see him eating stones, shout "NO" in a stern voice and remove him from the area. Like stated consistancy is the absolute key, if you don't correct his behavior EVERY time he does it, he will learn that sometimes its ok to disobey you when he wants to. Good luck

Thanks for that Tonto... I would be bankrupt if I had to buy salt to cover the gravel area, and would need a tanker of the spray you refer to, I may just have to resort to my catapult if he doesn't start listening...

Answer is simple remove gravel plant grass ? or concrete with doggy paws and messages all over it nice talking point.

Other than can only think ask vet if he/she has any ideas ?

Thanks for that Val, very helpful I must say.... As for asking the Vet I dread his answer, he is a big animal vet and Pets are not his strongpoint!

Oh well I did try

Guess he's a Stones fan so play him aftermath to get his mind off his habit