My Golden is 9 weeks old. I want to take him on a walk around the neighboorhood, I can't take him too far because Parvo is everywhere but I need to give him some exercise. However, he eats dirt and grass everywhere. I don't think it's a dietary concern, even after a homecooked meal he went right outside and grabbed some mulch. I pretty much get it all out of his mouth before he can eat it, but this means I can't really take him outside. I can't let him play for 5 seconds. I want to be able to take him to the park once he's vaccinated, and I don't know if I'm going to be able to. I read the post on dogs eating dirt, and there was never a solution.

Any one have any suggestions?

Parvo is everywhere? NOT.

We need to be careful, and aware, but we can also exercise our dogs. Without normal exercise your puppy will NOT behave well and the bones, joints, will NOT grow normally. (Click here for why we must exercise our pups) And if you hide in your house and aren't able to socialize your pup at all, them normal mental growth our pups need from the stimulation of new sights/sounds/smells/etc. will also stunt your puppies normal development. (Click here for why me must Socialize)

So we need to be aware, but also use our common sense in bringing our pups out when they are young. Do you have any friends with healthy veted dogs that are good with puppies? So you can make a playdate at their house?

Or do you have friends who like dogs but have NO dogs? So you can go visit their house/yard? How about going to an area that has few if any dogs? Some natural area like a park or field? It's always interesting how if I really think about a problem, and how I can do my best to solve it, I can do so.

All puppies put things in their mouths...they're puppies...thats what they do. But don't let it stop or prevent you from taking him outside!!!
Sounds to me like he needs something to do outside to divert his attention from the unwanted behaviour. Make him think that playing with you is way way way more fun than the mulch, grass or dirt.
Even though he is young, you can still do some obedience work with him, nothing too complex but some sitting, come & down exercises would be good to start with. If he's a golden, he will more than likely love to play fetch. Since he is only 9 weeks, make it just a bit of fetch and don't throw it too far. Play 2 ball with him. Bring out 2 balls or toys, throw one for him..if he won't bring that toy back, show him the other toy you have and throw that in the opposite way for him to get. Then go pick up the other toy and start again. Just make sure to keep it light. But if you don't exercise this pup, things will just get worse down the road.
So get out there with him, if he starts eathing something, remove it and him from that area and give him something to do with you! Bond with him, groom him..anything.
The key is to get him more interested in you and playing with you.

Jenn K:
Did you read the whole post?

Parvo, in my town, IS everywhere. If you take your pet to a park before it is fully vaccinated, your dog will probably die. The majority of dogs in my city are not vaccinated, and Parvo is rampant. The soil is so ripe with it that it doesn't even have the CHANCE to die.

I didn't say I wasn't going to socialize or exercise my pup. He goes to obedience classes twice a week, meets with friends and dogs whom I know are vaccinated, and gets plenty of time with socialization. My post was about eating dirt, but thank you for trying. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Amber,
I think the name of your post is what led us to believe you did not think you could take your dog out for excercise....I live in South Dakota near three Reservations, dogs pretty much run rampant, loose and are at times pretty troublesome here and Parvo, Distemper and Mange are highly prominent here also. I have two dogs now and had our gun dogs here. My teammates bring their pups and dogs in and some of the pups are on the "vaccination" schedule. I have really had no issues with any of these diseases. I do have packs of loose dogs run through from time to time and when my female comes into season I am sure I will be taking care of some males that carry or have one of these diseases. I think that if you take good care of the dog and keep it healthy and fit then I would not worry too much about it. We had a seminar a year ago and a pup was brought to it and just did not seem right (after being around the other dogs) and the owner took him to my vet, diagnosis was Parvo contracted before arrival in my area since the owner said he had been "lazy" for the two days before arriving and the dog was kept for a week by my vet and the owner came 500 miles back to get him. The dog is now doing wonderfully at SAR. My vet also charged her a decent price to care for her dog since she was willing to drive 1000 extra miles to make sure the dog got what it needed and she also did not want to further stress him by travelling. So IMHO, Yes these diseases deserve our attention and proper care of our animals is highly important, but it should not really inhibit you from taking your dog out for walks, training and what not.
The eating dirt thing, my labs did that when they were young too, but as previously posted here, I gave them something more fun to do and they just kind of forgot to eat dirt, weeds, or whatever.
Hope this helps. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Thank you!

Amber Butler, yes I did read your entire post. And the subject that said 'can't exercise my dog'.

I did not say take your dog to the local dog park, or where everyone else brings their dog in a concentrated area. I'm saying take your dog out to some HUGE PARK (State or National), and take the trails where people/dogs do NOT concentrate. And this is where I would run and play with my dogs.

If you had put as your subject line 'my puppy eats dirt' then my answer would have been different. Because that is an incredibly easy thing to fix. And others posted well on it. All you have to do is pay attention to your dog, control their head, have a good 'leave it' command, and MAKE YOURSELF more fun than dirt! So with treats, or toys, or you running away from the puppy............

So you think taking him to a state park would be safe? I would LOVE to do that, I figured that would be a very dangerous place to go. (In Texas, everyone and their dogs go to state parks...it is quite rare to see a family without a dog...)

And sorry about my comment. I was posting some questions on another forum and every answer I got back was rude; I was in defense mode, I apologize. I didn't think the headline "puppy eats dirt" would attract much attention.

it really depends on the state park, doesn't it? if it is a place where dogs are running rampant off leash, it is no better than a dog park, and i would avoid it.

but if it is a place few people and dogs are going, then that should be fine.

a young puppy doesn't need a lot of exercise, anyway. why not just walk him around the block until he's had all his shots? he can burn off energy the rest of the time from playing in your house or yard.

 Quote:

.......but if it is a place few people and dogs are going, then that should be fine......a young puppy doesn't need a lot of exercise, anyway. why not just walk him around the block until he's had all his shots? he can burn off energy the rest of the time from playing in your house or yard.

Sounds good to me. Socializing (apart from the exercise part), which I've done (and am doing) with rescues who might've missed out on the important socializing period and/or on mother-and-sibling times, can be so many things. Mike Schoonbrood posted once about a zillion things to do with a pup to safely socialize before the shot protocol is finished. Maybe I can fish out that post.

I don't have puppy experience. It does seem that the exercise for a couple more weeks can be safe and kind of home-based, and that the socializing (maybe even more important right at this age?) can be all kinds of things that won't expose the pup unnecessarily to disease.