King Charles Spaniel

　　Dogs are naturally very curious. They usually express their novelty towards new things by pawing, chewing, or swallowing. Therefore, when taking dogs out, special attention must be paid to their behavior to prevent them from easily approaching places like garbage piles, or else it’s easy to cause dogs to eat something harmful by mistake. So how can we improve the behavior of dogs randomly eating things? Certain training is very necessary.

　　Recently, a Belgian Shepherd became famous for swallowing 23 bullets, and before that, it had swallowed many other things. It is reported that this four-year-old Belgian Shepherd named Benno has liked to eat all kinds of things since it was a puppy, such as toys, remote controls, stones, a whole cloth, shirts, tennis shoes, and so on. A few days ago, the owner Larry Brassfield from Arkansas, USA, was organizing several hundred bullets. Because there wasn’t enough space, he put more than 200 bullets in a bag beside the bed. As a result, Benno’s appetite increased again; after chewing some bullets into deformed shapes, he swallowed them. But then Benno kept vomiting bullets, so the owner had to take him to the vet, who performed surgery to remove 18 bullets. After surgery, Benno also passed some bullets on his own. The owner expressed helplessness about his dog’s bad habit and didn’t know what he would eat next.

　　It is clear that such behavior is very harmful to the dog’s health, because as long as we are not careful, dogs may swallow things that are not edible, causing discomfort. Therefore, this behavior must be corrected.

　　First, we need to understand whether the cause of a dog’s behavior is due to habit or pica. If it is caused by pica, it is best to take the dog for treatment. Generally, causes of pica in dogs are due to deficiencies in certain trace elements, such as calcium, iron, manganese, etc., which lead to metabolic disorders inside the dog’s body and result in abnormal eating behaviors. Therefore, appropriately supplementing some trace elements is a method to improve pica.

　　Secondly, the reason that dogs eat random things is also due to habitual problems developed day by day, so it is necessary to cultivate good living habits. First, feed the dog at fixed times and fixed places every day. After each feeding, remove the food bowl. Also, at feeding times, remove the food regardless of whether the dog has eaten or not. Because if the food is not removed, it is easy to develop the habit of the dog not eating properly. When you see the dog chewing or swallowing items that should not be eaten, be sure to criticize and stop it in time, shouting at the dog loudly or gently tapping it. When taking the dog out, make sure to keep it on a leash. If you find the dog walking towards a garbage pile and showing signs of swallowing, immediately pull the leash, take it away, scold it, and after taking it away, give an appropriate reward so that the dog understands these things cannot be eaten.

　　Eating random things is a very bad behavior, as it greatly increases the risk of choking or poisoning. Therefore, we must do a good job in education. If you find your dog swallowing foreign objects, stop and criticize immediately. Also, pay attention to supplementing trace elements daily to prevent pica. (Source: PetsZone)