sheryl Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Dear Lord! Our 11 yo female, yellow lab will consume anything in her path. Her interest rages like that of a tornado. Cat litter - gross ANY FOOD. ANY WHERE!!!!! Including "counter-surfing" to trash browsing. :) Her latest conquest was this. I had 2 boxes of tea I needed to exchange at the store so I put them in the plastic bag and, yes, it was hanging from our bannister. They called to her, I guess. REALLY!?!?!? She got in to the bag and opened the box by destroying it. She consumed the green tea bags and some of the green tea. The silver lining to this is that she had decaf! She's fixated on the animal kingdom found in our backyard, from rabbits and stray cat to deer. These animals frequent our backyard and OH the delight that she finds in smelling their scent and who knows what else. This irks me as we can not leave anything unattended. And this IS superbowl day! To not have snacks around today? There have been so many foods she's gotten in to. We appropriately admonish her by lowering our voice and saying no, but she continues to rebel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Our lab once threw up a stomach-full of rocks in our family room--the rocks were from her little yard. We feel like we got off lucky because her half brother, owned by my boss at the time, had to have surgery because the rocks he ate were NOT thrown up. Oh, and the cat box was like a tray of delicacies--but not the litter, more the "treats" the cat left behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Our Chi Pin will eat anything too; brussels sprouts, raw or steamed spinach, grapefruit, red cabbage! She also loves cat box "nuggets..." :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewber Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Oh no! Mine just turned 2 and I was hoping this phase would end soon! :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 lewber, it's true each breed is unique but so too is each dog. our first lab wasn't nearly this challenging. this one is ornery, but she is very smart. I guess she'd have to be! HA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 :lol: I adore labs & really want one at some point but man I'm terrified of the 'eat all the things' characteristics! FYI, for anyone wanting to work on trying to overcome this, Kikopup's is a good place to start (check out the first 35 s for what we should all aspire to). Though honestly, with a dog with a long history of practicing this self reinforcing bhvr, it is not simple & requires constant vigilance. (kikopup also has an older shorter video ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isaac_megan Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 We call the treats left by the cat Jagger's tootsie rolls. He has recently taken to following the chickens around "cleaning up" after them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I have a Chesapeake bay retriever that is 3 1/2 and not outgrowing this phase any time soon. The last disgusting thing she ate was a dead rabbit(road kill, fur and all). She got seriously ill for a week after eating that. I'm sure though she would not hesitate to do it again. This is why I am such a huge fan of pet insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicMom Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I have two golden retrievers that are obsessed with dirty diapers. We have all the garbage locked down. They have no interest in actual dog treats though. It's so gross. I want to throw up just thinking about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Thanks for sharing your stories. Ali in Or and others: yep, my dh calls them cat "treats" as well. Gross! TrulyCrabby - nuggets....funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albeto. Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 We had a boxer who would eat anything left out. Toys, food, the cactus. She survived eating a bag of m&m's and a pound of butter, but it wasn't pretty, and guess who got to clean it up. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vernal Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 We had a doxie that would eat anything. Good thing he wasn't tall enough to counter surf. Trash cans had to be on the counter when we went to bed or left the house, bath room doors had to be closed at all times. He would eat underwear and socks. Bleck! Luckily he would throw them up and never had to have surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 My friend's lab has eaten things that don't come out the other end well and they have had to "help." I was grossed out just listening to her. She has eaten an entire roll of paper towels that apparently absorbed too much liquid on the way out. She has eaten T-shirts, pencils, pretty much anything. They had to crate her from then on. I have two lab mixes and they don't do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Our lab is a chewer and scavenger. He`s 12 months old and hasn`t really showed signs of leaving these behaviours behind. We have to supervise him inside and out as he`s not trustworthy. When we can`t supervise, he`s in his crate. It is very helpful when he has had a lot of physical or mental stimulation. There is so much I love about labs, but their chewing ability and size and power to be really damaging is not as endearing. The `leave it` command is wonderful when I am nearby, but it doesn`t really cover those items you are not expecting puppy to decide to sample. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 We had a chocolate lab that ate whole loaves of bread off the counter - including the plastic bag! When she graduated to eating a box of floppy disks around age 5, we decided we needed to put an end to the counter surfing before she killed herself. She only engaged in this behavior when we weren't around to catch her. We had been taught that punishment after the fact didn't work because the dog doesn't know what she's being punished for. She was really smart. She decided this meant any rule we taught only mattered if we were home to catch her. We bought a shock pad, put it on the counter a few inches from the edge and put some people food behind it. We left the house. We didn't even get off the front walk before she went for it. She got shocked and got the food. She never went for anything off the counter again. I'm sure this saved her life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 When I worked as a vet tech, most of the dogs who were brought in because they ate something or got into something (like fishing wire, fire ants) were Labs. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Incredible stories! Hornblower, don't let this dissuade you from getting a lab. Each lab is different. In fact, the vet for our first lab called this breed "lap" dogs. Our first lab was so social and she would love to sit on our laps and snuggle with us. This lab was probably born alpha female. While our cat was rescued from a high kill shelter in CA., our labs were bought from the same reputable breeder. Both are full blooded labs and the first one came from a championship pedigree. She was the runt of the litter and had the sweetest disposition. We love our current lab too, but, while she is very smart, she is very "spirited". She's our little entertainer! :tongue_smilie: Sandra, your lab entertains you too. Lady Florida, that is interesting that labs had many issues. No other large breed dog? I can see our lab now doing that, but not our first one. Jordan (our lab now as our first one passed away before Jordan arrived) has been eating the potting soil I spilled on the patio after recently repotting a plant! :banghead: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Incredible stories! Hornblower, don't let this dissuade you from getting a lab. Each lab is different. In fact, the vet for our first lab called this breed "lap" dogs. Oh, I know & I personally know several labs who are not eating the house so I know they exist :D My girlie is a malamute cross & they actually ARE known for eating houses - I've seen people with eaten drywall & doors & chairs.. and these are not dogs with sep anxiety or underexercised. They're just apparently not very good at distinguishing between chew toy & not chew toy LOL. My girl never goes for anything but food. When she was young she ate a box of danishes & a huge heavy load of german rye bread & a dozen hamburger buns. That was all during our kitchen reno when we had things in all sorts of weird places. I just learned to dog proof better LOL. Eating food items doesn't really faze me. It's the socks & underwear munchers that scare me! So many dogs to have & so little time. English setters are my heart dog so I always want at least one of those. Then I'm really fond of beagles. And labs. And my northern mix mutts. And mastiffs. And woflhounds. And I grew up with a wire fox terrier & would love to have a terrierist again. Being limited to only 3 dogs by the municipal bylaws is really complicating things for me LOL... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 yes, hornblower, I remember you are the animal lover! having a lab should be, for you, a piece of cake, a sock, a slice of bread! LOL! Like you, I'd like more than 1 dog. I like large breeds - labs, mastiffs, English mountain dog, Alaskan malamute, husky and I think there's one more! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Lady Florida, that is interesting that labs had many issues. No other large breed dog? Labs were the ones that came in the most often. We'd usually bet when someone called and wanted to bring in a dog we'd never seen who ate or got into something. No one wanted to bet against it being a lab, because they'd usually lose. Labs are curious, intelligent dogs. Of course they're going to check stuff out. "Ooh, what's this? Can I eat it?" :) ETA: Unfortunately, I've never owned a dog who didn't like cat litter, regardless of breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Our schnauzer likes acorns. The buried ones. She digs them up and eats them and has taught our Yorkie to do the same. It's bad enough that our yard is a squirrel haven -- each year you can tell exactly when they start digging up the buried acorns because suddenly there are divots *everywhere* in the grass, but then she started eating acorns. At one point she had to have intestinal surgery to remove an acorn that was stuck. The next time, we'll put her down instead since she's 15, and we're DONE with dog surgeries. (Omgoodness, I'm at 3 surgeries for the Yorkie--patella and two torn ACLs, and 2 for the schnauzer--acorn and bladder stones.) After these two, no more pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 There is a reason dogs often like *ahem* cat treats. Cat food is so loaded with protein that their *treats* have more protein than dog food. I've never had a dog and a cat, but when I had cats they were often in the same house as my parent's dog. I just learned to go "la la la, I'm not seeing anything. Here have this strong smelling dog treat to help me forget why your breath is bad." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Our labradoodle is the same way. I always have to scan the area when we are out on walks because he will snag food garbage or frozen dog poop (or any scat). Then he gets a tummy ache. We have a milk crate that we keep on top of the garbage to keep him from snooping. Entertaining is difficult because I just don't trust him. I usually gate off the food whenever we are entertaining. It can't go on coffee tables or any other low table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Oh, halftime, I know what you mean. We love our pets, but it is hard to watch them in anguish and age, etc. I've been thinking recently we may not adopt another lab/dog. Our cat is 8 and she'll live longer than Jordan, probably. Ethel, that is funny......frozen dog poop. Frozen *anything* poop, I tell ya. :001_tt2: shawthorne, thanks for that. I didn't realize the protein factor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Our husky eats everything,too. She chews on the fireplace brick. I almost couldn't believe it. Brick. You have my empathy and sympathy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I am feeling very lucky! Our lab mix chews on socks, but doesn't swallow or tear them. She counter surfed and jumped up at the table until I sprayed her with a squirt bottle of water. Now she just minds her own business. If the garbage is full she will sometimes pull things like paper towels off the top, but overall she has good self control (until I come home, at which point she loses her MIND and goes bananas jumping up on me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 BTW, the most wacked pet ever was our Dalmatian, our first "child." She ate a pound of thawing butter off the counter--the back of the kitchen counter--when she was about a year old (big, but not grown out of her puppy ways). At about the same time, she picked all the glass balls off the bottom half of the newly decorated Christmas tree, crunched them, and left them in neat little piles of glass shards. For a few days, I lived in fear that she would hemorrhage internally, but she apparently spit them all out. :cursing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 I read all of your responses to dh and dd last night after dinner. :) Halftime Hope, glad to hear your pet did not ingest the glass ornaments! Whew! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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