Our dog grazes on grass, mud, sticks, and on occasion his own feces. After doing this he becomes sick to his stomach in the house, or even worse...he has explosive diarrhea. What course of action do you believe is best?

I was hoping you might be kind enough to give me your opinion on a situation I'm having with my rottweiler.

He is a kind and gentle boy who just turned three years old. The problem we have is that when he is in the yard he grazes on grass, mud, sticks, and on occasion his own feces. After doing this he becomes sick to his stomach in the house, or even worse...he has explosive diarrhea. Believe me it's a mess! This has happened on multiple occasions. If I call him, it becomes a game and he runs away eating whatever he's got a hold of.

I try to keep the yard picked up, I supervise when he's out, but he still eats what he can. He's been to the vet and there are no health or parasite issues involved. He is fed Innova adult formula.

In an attempt to control this I keep him on a lease when he is out in the yard and crate him more often in the home. His quality of life I believe is suffering...but I don't want hours of vomit and diarrhea to deal with.

I've thought about a basket muzzle or a shock collar to help modify his behavior. At least with a basket muzzle he could have more fun running and enjoying life without being able to ingest anything.

What course of action do you believe is best?

This has been very frustrating for me, as I want my dog to have an active, happy life.

Well thank you for your time and your professional opinion.

Sincerely,
Troy