How to stop my dog eating sticks?

[crispian22]

Sam,my 18 month old chocolate lab has a habit of eating sticks,I don't mean chewing them,I mean biting sizeable chunks off and eating it.Obviously my concern is it can't be doing him any good,sometimes he'll throw a load of wood pieces up,and yes I do feed him!
I try to divert his attention with treats but he just go's straight back to whatever stick he had and starts munching again.
any advice with what to do with him?

[crispian22]

Its only when he's off the lead,he seems quite noticeably to go into 'hunting' mode,he'll grab hold of any size stick/small tree and seems like a dog possessed as he destroys them.
I've only had him for 3 months,I re homed him,he's an absolutely cracking dog,very obedient and very well natured,I just wonder if previous keeper gave him a bad time with a stick?

[crispian22]

He's got more toy's/chew's/rope's and ball's than our local pet shop!He get's an hour walk with me in the morning,then his sitter take's him out at lunch,then i have an hour with him in the evening.He's good as gold at home,hasn't chewed or eaten anything he shouldn't have,it's almost like his personality change's when im out with him off the lead.He'll retrieve and drop ball's and other stuff just not these blasted stick's/tree's he grab's,i think he see's them as some sort of tasty prize!

[crispian22]

therealpigdog said:

Does anyone throw sticks for him? Check that the sitter isn't encouraging this behaviour.

If he drops toys etc to your hand but not sticks, then you need to work at rewarding him for giving them to you. It could be that he has (in his eyes) been told off for giving you a stick, so prefers to keep his distance when he has one.

The time for telling off is just before or as he picks it up. Once it is in his mouth you need to be encouraging and rewarding the release.


Of course we can't really offer any advise without pictures

The offending beastie!

[crispian22]

Karyn said:

So the issue is that he eats them once he has them?

Or he doesn't drop them when he has them?

Or he obsessively hunts them out and is deaf while he does it? (And then he eats them.)

Confused!

All of the above! lol
Usually he's very good at bringing/dropping his toy's,but with stick's i've got no chance,he just give's me the "you'll have to rip it from my dead,lifeless body" look,not in anyway nasty,he just bugger's off up the field with them!
He's got into a habit on our usuall walk of diving into the stream in the same place and dragging out whatever wood made stuff he can get his chop's around,i'll try a different route in the morning and see what happens.