Eating chewing gum

Hi everyone.
I took dougal out this morning for a walk, and he picks up anything he can, he's like a hoover !
There is alot of chewing gum on the pavements and roads, and he always seems to grab it and eat it before i have the chance to get it off him . He picks up other stuff like wood, bark, plastic, stones and concrete, but i think chewing gum is the worst. I take a toy out with us, and treats to discourage him and to get his attention, but it only works for a split second and as soon as we wlk on again, he's picking things up. If we carry on like this, we will end up going out but not actually going anywhere !
Im afraid that it might 'ball' up inside him - will it or will he be fine
Look forward to your replies.

I'm not sure about the chewing gum (hopefully someone who knows more than me will come along soon and answer that one for you) however, you need to get this problem sorted a.s.a.p. Have you consulted a behaviourist about it?

I only say this cos my little boy ate two stones when he was 6 months old and had to have them removed from his stomach which was huge surgery for him and it took a long time for him to get over it, plus incredibly expensive. We were lucky, the dog who had a foreign body removed the day before him got peritonitis and ended up very very ill. Foreign body removal is a nightmare for the vets and the dog and really needs to be avoided.

Also, I think you said your dog eats twigs etc and those could perforate his tummy or intestines which is not good.

I'm not trying to scare you but I think you need to get a grip on this behaviour before it escalates to the stage where s/he gets an obstruction. Whilst you are consulting the vet/a behaviourist and working on the problem I would walk your dog with a basket muzzle on. This should, hopefully, stop him/her picking things up and allow you time to find out the reason for the behaviour and how to stop it.

Hope that helps, and I really don't mean to sound harsh or preachy, but having been through foreign body problems with Oscar (and he is still having digestive issues due to it 2 years on) I'd hate to see anyone else go there.

Take care

Ali

Fresh sugarless chewing gum can be high dangerous to dogs if it contains Xylitol. Once chewed, most of the Xylitol would be gone, but it only takes a little.

You really need to work on the heel. Use treats to keep his focus on you. Then give him an ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and a light leash pop every time he picks something up.

Do you walk him with a halti on so you can control where his head goes? It might be worth doing this until this behaviour is sorted