My almost 2 year old mix maltese named Holly has a really, really bad
habit. She literally puts everything in her mouth. Today I had to pull a
closed safety pin from her mouth. I don't know how a safety pin was on
the floor since I never use them.

I had to take out of her mouth bag ties, rubber from her toys - threw
the rubber toys out, cotton, ribbon, my mothers nylons etc. When walking
her I have to pull her from twigs since she puts those in her mouth, gum
and any tiny object.

I dry mop the floor now about twice a day since I have no idea what she
may find when she sniffs the floor.

I swear one day she will have to have her stomach pumped.

Any good ways to cure this bad habit?

She eats well - two meals a day of Cesars and dry food mixture, she has
toys to play with - cloth and rope toys, eats snacks of dog biscuits,
and has plenty of water.

Am I underfeeding her that she must put everything in her mouth?

Is this typical for maltese? I am 40 and had a dog as a child and he
would only put edible foods in his mouth. Holly puts in inedible things.
I hope she outgrows this.

On Mar 5, 9:53 pm, wrote:
My almost 2 year old mix maltese named Holly has a really, really bad
habit. She literally puts everything in her mouth. Today I had to pull a
closed safety pin from her mouth. I don't know how a safety pin was on
the floor since I never use them.

I had to take out of her mouth bag ties, rubber from her toys - threw
the rubber toys out, cotton, ribbon, my mothers nylons etc. When walking
her I have to pull her from twigs since she puts those in her mouth, gum
and any tiny object.

I dry mop the floor now about twice a day since I have no idea what she
may find when she sniffs the floor.

I swear one day she will have to have her stomach pumped.

Any good ways to cure this bad habit?

She eats well - two meals a day of Cesars and dry food mixture, she has
toys to play with - cloth and rope toys, eats snacks of dog biscuits,
and has plenty of water.

Am I underfeeding her that she must put everything in her mouth?

Is this typical for maltese? I am 40 and had a dog as a child and he
would only put edible foods in his mouth. Holly puts in inedible things.
I hope she outgrows this.


Dog all mouth things, some more than others.(shrug) I doubt you're not
feeding her enough- one trick with which I've had some success is
putting bitter spray or hot pepper spray on items she steals (not HER
toys). 'Baiting' something that is inappropriate with something she
really DOESN'T like in her mouth might help. Better she get a mouthful
of something nasty but inocuous than a pin or peice of metal to teach
her. A hollow bone with a spoonful of peanut butter juuust out of
reach in the middle will keep them occupied for quite awhile, too.

in thread :
whittled the following words:

My almost 2 year old mix maltese named Holly has a really, really bad
habit. She literally puts everything in her mouth. Today I had to pull a
closed safety pin from her mouth. I don't know how a safety pin was on
the floor since I never use them.

I have a dog that likes needles, pins, exacto blades, and itty bitty teeny
tiny things.
He opens doors, drawers, cabinets, and cupboards to get them.
I keep all house room doors closed, and when I hear him open one, I pay
attention.

When I am not watching him, he is crated. If I am in the house but want him
not crated, he's muzzled depending on the amount of watch level I'm willing
to dedicate. The rest of the time he's in the house, I keep him tired,
and/or busy, and he's less likely to get into trouble.

He does these search missions when I'm not keeping him busy or tired or
entertained enough. A Tired puppy is a good puppy. So I train him. And
train him, and he loves being trained!

What he accomplishes is amazing. I just try to direct his energies to doing
what I want him to, instead of entertaining himself.

I had to take out of her mouth bag ties, rubber from her toys - threw
the rubber toys out, cotton, ribbon, my mothers nylons etc. When walking
her I have to pull her from twigs since she puts those in her mouth, gum
and any tiny object.

I dry mop the floor now about twice a day since I have no idea what she
may find when she sniffs the floor.

I swear one day she will have to have her stomach pumped.

Any good ways to cure this bad habit?

She eats well - two meals a day of Cesars and dry food mixture, she has
toys to play with - cloth and rope toys, eats snacks of dog biscuits,
and has plenty of water.

Am I underfeeding her that she must put everything in her mouth?

Is this typical for maltese? I am 40 and had a dog as a child and he
would only put edible foods in his mouth. Holly puts in inedible things.
I hope she outgrows this.