tasting everything while on walks

[L_W]

Hey guys,
I understand that he's a puppy and likes to put things in his mouth, however I was wondering if anyone had any advice on preventing the tasting of everything while out on a walk. Like kleenex,cigarette butts, rocks, a plastic wrapper, etc.
I just dont want him to ultimately eat something that will cause him problems.

[dweck]

a) Make sure puppy is old enough to be walking around like that. Are our vac's up to date?
b) Train LEAVE IT!

[L_W]

oh yeah he's good for walks, and his vacs are up to date.
But i kinda figured the "drop it / leave it command " would work a wee bit. He's ultra-smart like i said in my OP i just dont want him to snuffle up something bad.

[FLMike]

Our 8 month old Ellie often does the same thing! One of the first commands we worked on when we got her last month was "leave it." She is getting it down, but occassionally she still picks up things she shouldn't have. I often come back from walks with dirty hands from removing things from her mouth! Most of the things I remove I prefer not to know what they are...

[kassabella]

As Dan say teach leave. I didn't realise with Kassa how important this word was. I soon learned with Erns it is needed in so many situations. Labs love food so will drag you into the bushes if the smell and will is strong enough.
Erns is 9 and still grabs things he shouldn't. I am always on the look out when we walk and as soon as his head goes in a different direction, or his attention changes I get ready to hold on and walk faster or distract him.

[Bookwormbiker]

Duke was the same way and his favorite was roadkill. I've fished out a good many yucky tidbits. He's a lot better now that he's learned "leave it" but will still try to "sneak" trash on the road and he's good, doesn't miss a step. I have to watch him like a hawk. The worst spot for roadside trash is the bridge nearby. A lot of people fish there and in spite of trash cans still leave their garbage. This place also has "no fishing, private property" signs posted but the lakeowners stock the lake with bass so it's a favorite fishing spot.

[SharonaZamboni]

I bet he will learn "leave it" pretty quickly. It's one of the most useful things to teach your dog!

[steveandginger]

I agree with all about "leave it" being so important. I will only add that, of course, LEAVE IT -- at first -- will most likely have to be done in conjunction with physically digging out the whatever-it-is that is in the pup's mouth. Giving a command, without following through and "requiring" the action will of course only confuse the dog. Eventually, with consistency, the pup will learn to associate the command with the action (the action that YOU initiated in conjunction with the command, but will eventually be initiated by the dog itself when hearing the words.) This is probably obvious and not necessary for me to have said, but just in case...

Steve

[BigBrownDog]

You mention in your other thread that this is an 11 week old puppy. That's not really old enough to be going on walks where other dogs have been. You should give it another few weeks to be sure that he is fully immune to the things he is being vaccinated against (particularly Parvo). It does live on surfaces, so he does not even have to come in direct contact with other dogs to be affected.

I'd work with him in your yard and train leave it. By the time he is old enough to be out and about he may have that command down.

[steveandginger]

Hey Sharon -- any idea how long the Parvo virus can live on surfaces? Our vet reminded us of our puppy needing all the Parvo shots (which, I think she said the last one would be about 16 weeks) before letting her out and about anywhere where puppies are -- or have been. However, on the other hand, you can't really keep them totally inside -- and given that we live where there are both coyotes and strays, the thought that Parvo can live on a surface for any substantial length of time is a cause for concern...

Steve