# 8 month old eating everything outside



## QueenTilly (Jul 7, 2020)

Hi everyone!
I used this forum when Tilly (our now 8 month old vizsla girl) was a puppy and it helped me so much! I now have a new problem that I’d love to get some advise on.
Tilly loves putting things in her mouth - especially on walks outside. She has developed a fixation for white objects and will pick them up constantly - tissues, chewing gums, dog hair, plastic, paper etc. She will drop it most of the time when we tell her to but some walks are just so horrific she will just try and eat everything that she crosses paths with.
We worked with a trainer who taught us that if we spot something we should say ‘look’ our command for her making eye contact with us so that she trots past the object. This works sometimes but of course I cannot see every little thing on the floor at all times. Also constantly having to stop her and get her to spit things out frustrates her and me as well. 
Im worried she will never ‘grow out’ of it and will always go on walks with her nose glued to the ground. Of course Some walks she is more attentive than others but I’d just love to hear from someone who had similar issues and what helped them and if it ever stopped?
Thank you in advance 🥰
Carlotta


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

sounds like a bored puppy, have gone thru that... remember they learn the world with their mouth, so you will need to find a higher motivator during your walks than those objects on the ground. it will require your animation and constant vigilance for a while. I have learned that it can happen even during off leash walks if there is no higher motivator around so started to take some throw toys (soft canvas bumper was one of our favorites) to our walks. i let the puppy run, sniff, pee, poop and then started playing with him. throwing the toy, bring it back, running towards the other direction, let him follow me etc. a long lead or a safe place to run off leash will be essential for this. i kept our leash walking very short, as again that is one which can lead to boredom with a puppy and does not provide the mental and physical stimulation they need at that age.
once we started hunting, the game has changed, i have not seen any object being picked up on the hunting field, again the birds smell is such a high motivator, that no one could care about what else is on the ground.
This one is 10 month old Bende watching birds during our long lead walk. His outdoor favorite on top of white flying paper was duck poop at this age!


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## QueenTilly (Jul 7, 2020)

Gabica said:


> sounds like a bored puppy, have gone thru that... remember they learn the world with their mouth, so you will need to find a higher motivator during your walks than those objects on the ground. it will require your animation and constant vigilance for a while. I have learned that it can happen even during off leash walks if there is no higher motivator around so started to take some throw toys (soft canvas bumper was one of our favorites) to our walks. i let the puppy run, sniff, pee, poop and then started playing with him. throwing the toy, bring it back, running towards the other direction, let him follow me etc. a long lead or a safe place to run off leash will be essential for this. i kept our leash walking very short, as again that is one which can lead to boredom with a puppy and does not provide the mental and physical stimulation they need at that age.
> once we started hunting, the game has changed, i have not seen any object being picked up on the hunting field, again the birds smell is such a high motivator, that no one could care about what else is on the ground.
> This one is 10 month old Bende watching birds during our long lead walk. His outdoor favorite on top of white flying paper was duck poop at this age!
> View attachment 103084


Thank your for the tip! Although I’m not sure it’s boredom for her. She has such a fine line between becoming overexcited and jumping all over the place. So if we animate her too much and get too excited she starts jumping up all the time and getting a bit bitey.. so we always try and bring a lot of calmness into our walks. It almost seems like she is so intensely overstimulated that her ‚escape‘ is to chew something or have something in her mouth :/


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## rchik43 (Apr 12, 2020)

QueenTilly said:


> Hi everyone!
> I used this forum when Tilly (our now 8 month old vizsla girl) was a puppy and it helped me so much! I now have a new problem that I’d love to get some advise on.
> Tilly loves putting things in her mouth - especially on walks outside. She has developed a fixation for white objects and will pick them up constantly - tissues, chewing gums, dog hair, plastic, paper etc. She will drop it most of the time when we tell her to but some walks are just so horrific she will just try and eat everything that she crosses paths with.
> We worked with a trainer who taught us that if we spot something we should say ‘look’ our command for her making eye contact with us so that she trots past the object. This works sometimes but of course I cannot see every little thing on the floor at all times. Also constantly having to stop her and get her to spit things out frustrates her and me as well.
> ...


Lol...this is a post that could have come from me. I have an 8 month old pup who does all the same things...he knows his 'out', he will listen sometimes may be 50-60% but sometimes he is stubborn and won't out. Funny , Gabica mentions white flying paper, his favorite too, also dried leaves. I take mine for regular walks, some free running etc..I didn't think about boredom that may be causing that, but I think that may be true. He usually starts grabbing things when he seems like he wants to run free and I'm walking him, also just like Gabica says...when off leash in a new interesting area like the woods, he does not seem to be grabbing as much , but then again...off leash in my backyard, sometimes he will do it. Just today, he was off leash and he picked up a piece of plastic pipe with some metal in it...just would not drop it, even with high value treats...but he did eventually drop it with a new toy that I brought out.. 

I've been wondering if anyone has taught their dog to do a very reliable 'out'/drop it' ? Would be so handy! How do you do that?


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## rchik43 (Apr 12, 2020)

Also obsession for picking up white objects tissues, chewing gums., plastic paper...exactly what mine does!!!


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## MoSigns (10 mo ago)

Isn't it a classic one for vizslas? i have a friend with a weimar: does the same.

Mine is 8 months now, he's still doing this and i'm training him since the begining....I 'm always watching around and i say "nope, ignore this" when i see a target : )
but sometimes he already got something in mouth and if I say "leave it", he usually does now.

it's boring and can be dangerous but he is stille a puppy
I just hope he'll just ignore things laying on sidewalks when he'll get older.


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