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Do all dogs eat Legos?


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We have been considering for some time getting a dog. Our youngest turns 4 next week. We plan more children.

 

Now, before I had children, as much as I thought I was an expert...turns out I was not and I had a lot to learn. I am sure it will be the same with dogs. So here comes the seriously dumb sounding problem...

 

My brother, who has no children but 2 dogs, keeps calling me to tell me all about having dogs and basically why I cannot have one. The main reason is dogs eat legos, the dog could choke and die on legos. We have legos. He says unless we are willing to rid of the legos (you know legos, no matter how hard you try, they will never stay cleaned up, there will always be at least some sneaking out and landing where a dog could no doubt find them).

 

Please don't say anything making me feel dumber than I already feel asking this question. But, I am sure many families have had Legos without resulting in the demise of their dogs. But maybe I am wrong or maybe those families have somehow been able to keep all Legos picked up and away from the dog at all times..which is something I am not sure I can do.

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My dog will put anything in his mouth if he thinks it will get a rise out of us -- he loves being chased around for contraband. Bottle caps from water bottles have been a particular favorite of his lately. He does not do this unless someone is around to participate in his game.

 

As a result, we kept the toys with small parts in a room in which we do not allow the dog, but there were times the toys got out or the dog got in. We used a baby gate to block the doorway.

 

I don't think my dog would actually eat a small, hard, plastic item, but he's never had the chance since we cooperate with the chase game to prevent it. He does love to mangle dolls, though he does not eat them.

 

Lots of families have kids, dogs, and toys and they all manage to co-exist and stay alive despite the presence of killer Legos.

 

RC

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Our lab does not eat legos or any of my one son's vast collection of action figures etc. that adorn his floor. He does chew shoes, either. When he was still a wee, teething pup he did do a number on the wooden arms of a rocking chair!!! Provide plenty of safe doggie chew toys and keep th pup out of kids' rooms, keep shoes on your feet or in a hall closet, and all should be well.

 

Sounds like your kidless brother just doesn't like legos!

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One of my dogs is a HUGE toy eater, but she leaves the legos alone. She's very particular about what kind of plastic she'll eat, and I can't figure out the pattern. She isn't interested in Fisher Price Little People stuff, but is always sneaking off with the Imaginext things. The kids used some Christmas money to buy the Imaginext castle, and all the knights that came with it have found their way into Lucy's intestines. She's been eating toys (and other non-food things) for years now without any sort of health repercussions, though--she turned 9 in October and is still going strong. And then I had a foster dog once who constantly ate socks....

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Guest sebastian

I had to chime in, too. Our dog (a doberman) eats legos (and everything) but they pass right through! When one of my sons turned 6 (he was in ps then) we let him open a few birthday presents before school one day. We had gotten him one of the very large Medieval sets with an extra set or two of Medieval people (knights). The dog was already a few years old but had never eaten legos before, but probably because my kids were very careful about them. We rushed off to school and left them on the kitchen table. When I got home, the entire extra set of people (12 of them, I think) was gone. The box and plastic wrap was on the floor. Next day, we knew what had happened to them. We joked with my son that he could retrieve them from outside - but he passed on that!

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We have five dogs. And, thousands of legos and infinite # of other things dogs could eat. So far, no lego related injuries in my house. :)

 

There are several types of chewing dogs:

 

1) Some dogs eat some stuff some of the time. This is mainly a problem for you, in that you spend $ replacing stuff. Usually doesn't bother the dogs.

 

2) Some dogs just aren't chewers at all and will never bother your stuff (not even legos).

 

3) Some dogs chew anything anytime forever.

 

Most dogs fall in between, chewing mainly in puppy hood and are fairly easy to redirect to "appropriate chew objects". Most chewers soon learn not to chew when you are home and so only chew naughty stuff when you are gone from the house -- so problems are easily averted by locking them up in a safe room or dog crate when you are gone.

 

Right now, we have two naughty chewers out of our 5 dogs, so those 2 (the babies of the pack -- under 2 years old) are locked into our bathroom when we leave the house. If we forget, they will likely chew up one or two hard plastic objects while we are out (none of our dogs have ever chewed up legos, FWIW.) Even locked up they still cause trouble sometimes. They chewed up the lysol toilet wand thing hanging off the toilet a couple weeks ago. EWWWW.:tongue_smilie:

 

My dh is a vet and from time to time he will have to surgically remove some object from a dog (or cat) who has eaten something he/she shouldn't have and it won't pass. This is indeed a common and expensive problem. It IS avoidable with proper training and supervision!

 

Objects can be anything, but most often is is larger objects that cause the problem (one dog kept eating ROCKS -- big ones -- out of his yard. After the THIRD obstruction, the owners finally agreed to relandscape and remove the decorative rocks that were costing them $1200-$1500 surgeries every few months). Another identifiable one was a part of a Kong chew toy (they're great and safe but must be taken away when/if the dog can actually chew them into pieces). Strings are common. Hairbands. Blankets. Leashes. Collars. Underwear. Socks. ;) You get the idea. ALmost anything COULD cause a problem.

 

There are plenty of things you can do to prevent inappropriate chewing, starting in puppy hood. Any good puppy training book will have plenty of good tips, as would a good vet. Providing lots of safe chew objects, supervising/stopping inappropriate chewing, crating as needed, providing exercise, etc. Etc.

 

In sum, I think it is odd to fixate on Legos. By all means, get a dog. ;)

 

Prove your brother wrong and start it off with reading several good puppy training books with your dc and laying in a supply of safe objects and a safe room (or crate if you will crate train) BEFORE you bring home the puppy. If you are adopting an adult dog, just buy a small variety of chew objects to start with as some dogs are NOT chewers, so you don't need to spend a fortune on chew toys if the dog isn't a chewer. (And you'll want to buy more of whatever textures/types he prefers if he is a chewer.) All puppies need to chew, so getting a variety of 10-12 types of toys to start with is a definite good idea for any puppy. Buy more as needed to keep a good supply of 10-100 chew toys around at all times.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We have 2 dogs - our hound mix is 8 and even now will chew a lego if the mood strikes her - she doesn't usually swallow them - just chews them to scrap plastic, the few she's eaten completely haven't been a problem at all.

Our 7 month old lab puppy doesn't seem interested in legos, but routinely swallows rocks from the yard and resulted in an enormous vet bill for surgery.

 

Dogs are all different - just like kids. Get the dog - love it and have fun - ignore your brother. :D

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I had to chime in, too. Our dog (a doberman) eats legos (and everything) but they pass right through! When one of my sons turned 6 (he was in ps then) we let him open a few birthday presents before school one day. We had gotten him one of the very large Medieval sets with an extra set or two of Medieval people (knights). The dog was already a few years old but had never eaten legos before, but probably because my kids were very careful about them. We rushed off to school and left them on the kitchen table. When I got home, the entire extra set of people (12 of them, I think) was gone. The box and plastic wrap was on the floor. Next day, we knew what had happened to them. We joked with my son that he could retrieve them from outside - but he passed on that!

yes things do pass through. . . . our dog chews Barbie dolls apart. DH showed me a doggie pile with a severd Barbie doll hand reaching up & out. :lol:

 

I wish I'd thought to take a picture. :D

 

W

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We have a 12-week old yellow Lab who eats ANYTHING! She has put Legos in her mouth, but hasn't swallowed any (that I know of!). She has chewed on clothes, shoe insoles, Tinker Toys, stuffed animals, kitchen cabinets, kid scissors, my purse, anything paper, plastic handcuffs, a metal chair, .... oh, and any kind of cord she can find! She chewed right through our computer speakers cord! (sigh) It might be because she's a Lab, also. If you get a smaller dog, they might not be as apt to chew so much. I just don't know. But I would NOT let having Legos in the house keep me from getting a dog! :)

 

Jacquelyn

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We have a 12-week old yellow Lab who eats ANYTHING! She has put Legos in her mouth, but hasn't swallowed any (that I know of!). She has chewed on clothes, shoe insoles, Tinker Toys, stuffed animals, kitchen cabinets, kid scissors, my purse, anything paper, plastic handcuffs, a metal chair, .... oh, and any kind of cord she can find! She chewed right through our computer speakers cord! (sigh) It might be because she's a Lab, also. If you get a smaller dog, they might not be as apt to chew so much. I just don't know. But I would NOT let having Legos in the house keep me from getting a dog! :)

 

Jacquelyn

 

 

That sounds like a Lab puppy to me! *Ü* One of the best baby sitters we ever invested in for our yellow lab as a pup was a kong... I put peanut butter inside and then threw it in the freezer.... they try to lick that PB out for ever!

 

If you get one, dont place to much to far down... try to keep it where the tongue can reach it.... *Ü* Whenever I was too busy to "watch" puppy I got that out and she loved it... or if you just want to place a dog treat inside (if she is old enough) and watch them try to get it... its entertaining. *Ü*

 

I also have larger ones... you buy them as they grow... My lab is 3 now and she still loves hers.

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Our Golden will ocassionally pick up a lego. But his preference is for stuffed animals. He doesn't tear them stem to stern or anything. He just "claims" them and carries them around the house and loves on them. It's *almost* cute... but then everyone's stuffy is in danger of becoming a favorite of Bruce's.

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My brother, who has no children but 2 dogs, keeps calling me to tell me all about having dogs and basically why I cannot have one.

 

Tell him to stop being a party pooper, and get his dogs chew toy trained.

 

My seven-year-old Aussie ate everything the first few months of her life. Puppies do that for the same reason babies do it. With the right combination of training and patience, that dog trait goes away.

 

Our dog does occasionally get confused about stuffed animals. I trained her to only grab with her teeth something we wave in her nose. The kids wave things in her nose once, and after that, she knows it's hers. Not so good if they were only trying to have their Build-A-Bears give Starry Night a kiss.

 

She's never eaten a Lego, though.

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Oh gosh - that's all our dog did chew on when she was young (she's 10 now). I still remember the wailing of my boys! But, she never ate them, just chewed them up until they were unusable. We'd find mangled pieces in corners and under tables, wherever she'd gone off to hide while chewing them. It never seemed to hurt the dog and the chewing slowed down alot as she got older. One great side benefit - it was a great motivator to get the kids to pick up! They'd say, "Do I have to pick up these Legos tonight?" and I'd say, "No, as long as you're ok with them being chewed in the night!"

 

Sandy

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