Does Your Cavalier Eat Just About Anything?

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Permalink Reply by Laura Green Kuterbach on June 8, 2011 at 9:53am

I have two cavaliers.  One is a picky eater who would never think about eating anything out of the ordinary.  The other had two surgeries at different times for eating non-nutritious things (a quarter and a leash), officially diagnosed as "Pica".  He also eats his or others' feces anytime he gets the chance (which I try endlessly to prevent).  This is diagnosed as corprophagia. When we go for a walk he'll try to eat rocks, sticks, paper, garbage...absolutely anything.  He is six and I don't believe that he will ever grow out of it.  I've tried pills and sprays, but I believe that he is "hard wired" to eat anything in site.  I keep his weight at 19 pounds and it's hard work, but I am vigilant (measuring his food and watching the treats). I truly believe he would weight 100lbs or eat himself to death if I let him.  He needs constant supervision and a "baby proof" environment.  

 

Good luck with your pup!  It's worth the time and energy, but it probably won't ever change.    

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Permalink Reply by Ann Boyle on June 10, 2011 at 1:53pm

My tri who is now 11yrs old, loves leaves, sticks & pinestraw & I too, have to be diligent about what she brings in to "snack" on & she knows when I see her - don't even have to say drop it or leave it, she automatically will take it out of her mouth w/guilty look!  She get's "rock gut"/diarrhea if she eats it w/out me knowing...she's done this since she was a puppy & she has plenty of chew toy's, etc  She just loves the earthiness, I guess...  When she was a puppy, she would head dive into the gutter on side of street as the rain water would be rushing by w/all these goodies & pull out a big leaf or whatever - you would think she was fishing!  Needless to say, she loves to swim - she's my lil mermaid  Good luck on breaking this habit - he's still young & I'm sure there's a training method that should work  I think I've posted a pic of her w/a huge stick she ran in the house & promptly up on the sofa!  She was so proud...

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Permalink Reply by Mary Jones on December 25, 2011 at 12:51am

My Cavalier eats anything except for fruits. I tried to feed her fruits but she seems to ignore it. 

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Permalink Reply by Anne Gardner on February 2, 2012 at 3:38am

My Cavalier, age six, eats any kind of paper -  receipts, tags, kleenex, cardboard boxes, toilet paper, any paper found in the trash cans, which he searches through daily, covers of magazines, covers and pages of books, papers I am working on, money, and anything he can pull out of my purse if left unattended.  He eats bark that falls off of trees or bark mulch from flower beds or flower pots,  He loves Impatiens and Hibiscus flowers.  We stopped that with "Bitter Yuck" spray, but the flowers have to be re-sprayed after a rain.  My previous Cavalier chewed on cardboard boxes and ate paper as well as bark..  Unfortunately, my Labrador taught my current Cav to eat cat poop (or maybe it is varmint poop because they only want to do it at night).  One other thing - this Cavalier is addicted to Nicorette Gum!  He is obsessed with it, knows that I keep it in my purse, and watches and waits to figure out a way to get to it. If I forget and walk away from a table with my purse on it and leave the chair pulled out, he will be on the table in a flash, grab the gum and go to his hiding place, where he will separate each piece (of a blisterpack), hide some under his chest, one under each paw, and the rest in his cheeks, and then proceed to work on trying to chew and get one piece open to eat.  It is at this point that I always realize he is missing and run find him.  He will even try to lure me away from the table, scratch at the door as if wanting to go outside, watch me get up and go open the door, and then try to run back and climb on the chair and grab the gum. So far, he has not eaten enough to require having his stomach pumped,  He did eat two Advil from a blisterpack that did require a vet to empty his stomach, where he fortunately found the Advil before it dissolved.  Dogs cannot eat Advil as the active ingredient is a poison to them. For weight control, in addition to green beans as a filler with his diet food, I give him baby carrots or pieces of fresh apple as treats, which he loves.  He is a voracious eater, never satisfied, and the veggies and fruits have helped him to stay at an acceptable weight, which would otherwise be out of control because who can turn down a precious Cavalier wanting a bite or two or three of a cookie?

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Permalink Reply by Marjorie on February 4, 2012 at 1:08pm

Dogs especially pups are like young toddlers, everything goes in the mouth for a taste. The leave it command is your best bet and make sure you have a high value tasty treat to re-direct. It would also be helpful to teach a trade command where he will give up what he has for a treat or toy. I have learned to be vigilent and quick on my feet with my two as they love to sample just about everything. Do be extra careful around mulch as some brands are toxic.

 

As for barking that is what dogs do, it's normal and is to be expected. Dogs bark for different reasons and have different barks depending on what it is they are signaling. You job is to determine why your dog is baking and to try and recognize what type of bark it is so you can respond appropiately. Barking is a normal form of communication and not all barking is bad. WHen you put your pup out does he park in excitement and joy at being out side? Is it barking in fear, stress at something or someone in particular? Is he barking at something moving? Is he barking to alert you to something? Is he barking in frustration at being left outside on his own or wanting to get back in? Does he hear another dog barking and he's communicating a response. Yes, there is sometimes senseless barking for barking sake with some dogs (this is usually not the case for most dogs). You need to spend some time really observing your pup to determine what he is reacting to. I would highly recommend Turid Rugaas's book "Barking the sound of a language" and I would ask that you never use such things as spray bottles, pet correctors, shock or citronella collars as a response as these are abusive methods and will psychologially damaging and can distroy the bond with your dog.

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Permalink Reply by Marjorie on February 4, 2012 at 1:13pm

I'm not sure if you realize that there is an ingredient in chewing gum/mints etc.(the sugar free kind which is just about all gum these days) that is very dangerous and and easily kill a a dog.

Anne Gardner said:

My Cavalier, age six, eats any kind of paper -  receipts, tags, kleenex, cardboard boxes, toilet paper, any paper found in the trash cans, which he searches through daily, covers of magazines, covers and pages of books, papers I am working on, money, and anything he can pull out of my purse if left unattended.  He eats bark that falls off of trees or bark mulch from flower beds or flower pots,  He loves Impatiens and Hibiscus flowers.  We stopped that with "Bitter Yuck" spray, but the flowers have to be re-sprayed after a rain.  My previous Cavalier chewed on cardboard boxes and ate paper as well as bark..  Unfortunately, my Labrador taught my current Cav to eat cat poop (or maybe it is varmint poop because they only want to do it at night).  One other thing - this Cavalier is addicted to Nicorette Gum!  He is obsessed with it, knows that I keep it in my purse, and watches and waits to figure out a way to get to it. If I forget and walk away from a table with my purse on it and leave the chair pulled out, he will be on the table in a flash, grab the gum and go to his hiding place, where he will separate each piece (of a blisterpack), hide some under his chest, one under each paw, and the rest in his cheeks, and then proceed to work on trying to chew and get one piece open to eat.  It is at this point that I always realize he is missing and run find him.  He will even try to lure me away from the table, scratch at the door as if wanting to go outside, watch me get up and go open the door, and then try to run back and climb on the chair and grab the gum. So far, he has not eaten enough to require having his stomach pumped,  He did eat two Advil from a blisterpack that did require a vet to empty his stomach, where he fortunately found the Advil before it dissolved.  Dogs cannot eat Advil as the active ingredient is a poison to them. For weight control, in addition to green beans as a filler with his diet food, I give him baby carrots or pieces of fresh apple as treats, which he loves.  He is a voracious eater, never satisfied, and the veggies and fruits have helped him to stay at an acceptable weight, which would otherwise be out of control because who can turn down a precious Cavalier wanting a bite or two or three of a cookie?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Gardner on February 6, 2012 at 4:17am

Thank you, Marjorie McKay, for alerting me to a highly toxic ingredient in sugar free gum that could kill a dog!  My husband and I are already on the alert constantly to keep our Cavalier from getting the nicotine gum, but I thought it was just the nicotine that was poison.  After your email, I looked at the box, and it listed only "sorbitol" as an inactive ingredient that could possibly be a sweetner.. I googled sorbitol and found that it is apparently not very harmful to dogs because it is used in dog toothpaste, among other products.  BUT the article distinguished sorbitol from an ingredient called "xylitol" that, it said, is in nicotine gum now and is deadly to dogs.  So.... I googled "xylitol", and found numerous warnings from vets about an increasing number of products containing xylitol, that can be deadly to dogs. The article below from USA Today mentions that manufacturers are not letting buyers know that this sweetener is in their products!  I went to the Nicorette website and, sure enough, it lists xylitol as an ingredient in Nicorette gum there, but not on the box!   So I am going to notify the company and tell them about this issue and their need to disclose that their product contains a highly toxic substance that could kill a dog.  Lot of good that will do but it's a start. And now I will watch out for that ingredient in other products, human or for pets, like cookies, for example.  The article even mentioned that it is in some children's medicines that have been used for pets as well as in fish oil (omega-3 oil) capsules, which we give to both our dogs daily!  I'm sure I am violating some rule by listing the product, the toxic ingredient and the website but I'm sorry.  It is worth it if I can save a dog life, See::  http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/vet-views/story/2011/...

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Permalink Reply by Ann Boyle on February 6, 2012 at 7:24am

Thanks for the info - good to know

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Permalink Reply by Marjorie on February 8, 2012 at 5:17pm

Hello Anne,

 

I'm so glad you found out as it would be such a heart break to lose your adorable Cavalier. I know many people don't realize this and leave their purse lying around with chewing gum in it and if Rover finds it, it can be deadly. THanks for the article this is really good info to pass along.

 

Marjorie

Anne Gardner said:

Thank you, Marjorie McKay, for alerting me to a highly toxic ingredient in sugar free gum that could kill a dog!  My husband and I are already on the alert constantly to keep our Cavalier from getting the nicotine gum, but I thought it was just the nicotine that was poison.  After your email, I looked at the box, and it listed only "sorbitol" as an inactive ingredient that could possibly be a sweetner.. I googled sorbitol and found that it is apparently not very harmful to dogs because it is used in dog toothpaste, among other products.  BUT the article distinguished sorbitol from an ingredient called "xylitol" that, it said, is in nicotine gum now and is deadly to dogs.  So.... I googled "xylitol", and found numerous warnings from vets about an increasing number of products containing xylitol, that can be deadly to dogs. The article below from USA Today mentions that manufacturers are not letting buyers know that this sweetener is in their products!  I went to the Nicorette website and, sure enough, it lists xylitol as an ingredient in Nicorette gum there, but not on the box!   So I am going to notify the company and tell them about this issue and their need to disclose that their product contains a highly toxic substance that could kill a dog.  Lot of good that will do but it's a start. And now I will watch out for that ingredient in other products, human or for pets, like cookies, for example.  The article even mentioned that it is in some children's medicines that have been used for pets as well as in fish oil (omega-3 oil) capsules, which we give to both our dogs daily!  I'm sure I am violating some rule by listing the product, the toxic ingredient and the website but I'm sorry.  It is worth it if I can save a dog life, See::  http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/vet-views/story/2011/...

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Permalink Reply by brandon kotecki on February 27, 2012 at 8:26pm

I have a four y/o who does the same thing. His favorite is mulch and wants to go out 50 times a day just to eat the mulch. He also like the garbages but will take anything he can get in his mouth. Our 5 month old is the same way also. she will eat anything that is on the ground. I have been trying to get him to stop but it seems there is no chance of that happening. Like you we do the leave it but doesnt phase him when there is mulch around. I have been trying for probably a year and a half. I just gave up and dont let him near the mulch.

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