Also called · dog eating stones · foreign body ingestion · swallowed a sock · pica
What it looks like
- Puts stones, fabric or plastic in their mouth
- Swallows faster when you try to take it
- Picks things up on walks
Why it happens
Trying to take it away is what causes swallowing
Young animals start out of curiosity, but they may deliberately swallow when the owner tries to take it. Beyond that, many learn that putting something in their mouth brings attention when they see the owner rushing over.
Disease can be behind it
There are cases linked to mineral deficiency, zinc toxicity, hepatic encephalopathy and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Eating indigestible non-nutritive material is a clear abnormality, and deficiency of trace nutrients such as phosphorus, or stress, are suspected.
Ongoing anxiety
Besides learned attention-seeking, it can arise from persistent anxiety, and sometimes appears as a stereotypy.
What to do
Teach "drop it" and "leave it"
Getting them to let go is the core, rather than taking it. Build up the experience that letting go brings something better.
Retrieve calmly
Collect inappropriate objects calmly, before they are swallowed. The moment you run, the game starts.
Block it physically
Putting swallowable objects away is the most reliable measure. Tidying the environment comes before behaviour work.
Give them something else to want
Offer another object of interest to reduce stress. Where it presents as a stereotypy, antidepressants are sometimes used as an adjunct.
Use taste aversion
Coating frequently targeted objects with something unpleasant is used in dogs.
Watch out for
Mineral deficiency does cause some cases, but learned behaviour and anxiety account for many. Supplements alone will not solve it.
See a vet if
You know a foreign object was swallowed — go now
Repeated vomiting with no bowel movement
Pain when the abdomen is touched
Common questions
The act of taking it can teach two things at once: that they must swallow fast, and that having something in their mouth earns attention. Rewarding the release instead is what is recommended.
Related behaviors
Was this useful?
General behaviour and nutrition information. It does not replace diagnosis or prescription. Similar behaviour does not always have the same cause, and the cause is not necessarily diet or environment — have a vet rule out illness first, and consult a behaviour specialist where needed.