Every time now that we take our new puppy outside she likes to run
over to the flower bed and start chewing on a piece of mulch. Why
does she do this?

8 week old Golden retreiver. Had her for only 2 days now.

One other question...Does everyone else here just ignore"the puppy
wizard" after reading through a few threads for the last 20 minutes
it seems like I should add him to my kill file.

Thanks,
remove 333 to email reply.
Thanks,
Randy

Randy wrote:
Every time now that we take our new puppy outside she likes to run
over to the flower bed and start chewing on a piece of mulch. Why
does she do this?

Because that's what baby buppies do. :} They put everything in their mouths.
She needs kongs and nylabones for chewing. But that doesn't mean she won't
also choose rugs and furniture. :}

One other question...Does everyone else here just ignore"the puppy
wizard" after reading through a few threads for the last 20 minutes
it seems like I should add him to my kill file.

Pretty much. I'd say 90% of the regulars have him killfiled.

---
Canine Action Dog Trainer
http://www.canineaction.com
It's A Dog's Life
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html
Get Healthy, Build Your Immune System, Lose Weight
http://www.re-vita.net/dfrntdrums

Randy wrote:
Every time now that we take our new puppy outside she likes to run
over to the flower bed and start chewing on a piece of mulch. Why
does she do this?

What kind of mulch is this--? If it's cocoa hulls, she's eating it
because it smells good. But it's TOXIC for dogs, so do keep her
away from it (i.e. use a leash until you can replace the mulch).

There's also a disorder called pica that causes dogs to eat inedible
things. I've had two friends who've had dogs who had insatiable
cravings for rocks, and it was a very very difficult problem to
deal with. Don't know if mulch can trigger this disorder, though.
If she seems unduly obsessed with getting to it, I would check
with your vet.

However, it's most likely that Leah is correct: puppies do pick
up everything in their mouths, and it just may feel good in her
mouth and/or be fun to play with. If you make yourself more fun
to play with than the mulch is, the problem should go away.

Dianne

"Randy" wrote in message
news
Every time now that we take our new puppy outside she likes to run
over to the flower bed and start chewing on a piece of mulch. Why
does she do this?

8 week old Golden retreiver. Had her for only 2 days now.

in addition to the other comments...

what kind of fertilizer (if any) do you use under the mulch? if the mulch
or fertilizer contains things like "bone meal" or "blood meal", your dog is
probably attracted to the scent. my dogs have ripped open and devoured
boxes of organic fertilizer. :-)

-kelly

It's just regular wood mulch. NO fertilizer at all. I'll have to get
her some more chew toys and see if I can replace the mulch with
something better to chew on.


On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 18:56:34 -0800, "culprit"
wrote:


"Randy" wrote in message
news
Every time now that we take our new puppy outside she likes to run
over to the flower bed and start chewing on a piece of mulch. Why
does she do this?

8 week old Golden retreiver. Had her for only 2 days now.

in addition to the other comments...

what kind of fertilizer (if any) do you use under the mulch? if the mulch
or fertilizer contains things like "bone meal" or "blood meal", your dog is
probably attracted to the scent. my dogs have ripped open and devoured
boxes of organic fertilizer. :-)

-kelly


remove 333 to email reply.
Thanks,
Randy

Randy wrote in
:

It's just regular wood mulch. NO fertilizer at all. I'll have to get
her some more chew toys and see if I can replace the mulch with
something better to chew on.

Just to give you another data point to compare your puppy to. I have a
computer desk from Office Depot (or one of those stores). There is one part
that Moogli likes to chew on. Ever since he was a puppy. He will be
sleeping in the office, and then get up and start chewing on the desk. He
will chew for 5 minutes or so and then go to sleep.

--
Marcel and Moogli