How to stop a puppy from eating everything on walks
Puppies constantly pick up sticks, leaves, rocks, and debris on walks, and treats often fail to distract them. This makes walks stressful and dangerous because owners struggle to stop them from swallowing harmful items or biting when physical intervention is attempted.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Bringing a toy on walks for the puppy to carry so its mouth is full
- 2Giving frozen carrots or a wet rope toy from the freezer before walks to tire out the jaw
- 3Teaching the leave it or drop it command with high-value treats
- 4Using a soft muzzle for walks
- 5Checking for worms or consulting a vet
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“When out for a walk he'll often start eating piles of leaves or cat poo, whatever is on the ground.”source ↗
“When we do manage to try and stop him, he bites us.”source ↗
“Ours does that, or tries to. Yet he’s really fussy over food and treats.”source ↗