My 8wk GSD is into EVERYTHING outside... and eating it all: rocks, flowers, shreaded bark, fir cone pieces, dry grass, dirt, green grass, turkey poop.. you name it! Figure this is normal behavior and I curtail as much as I can by providing diversions etc. I am able to keep this to a mimimum, but I have to watch him like a hawk every second. The question to those of you with experience: At what age can I expect the sweet pooch to lose interest in such stuff? or... am I going to have to start doing some training?? Hoping the baby will outgrow some of it!!

My pup is a little over 6 months and she is still interested in flowers, dirt, rocks, cat poo etc. She's not as into it as she used to be though.

LOLOLOL, What makes a dog want to eat the poo of ANYTHING? There's a large open field near my house where I take Bruno to train and geese are always there like their dropping off mail! Bruno's like the mailman on pick-up day trying to get each piece. The last dog I had did the same thing at 10 years old! I live near DC and we had the 17 year cicada's come out in 2004. He ate so many cicada's his own poop turned into a tar like mess. He would also eat the cat poop from the litter box. The cat stayed in our daughters room and we had to cut a hole in her door so the cat could go through but Pivo could not. Once Pivo died and we got Bruno, Bruno could get through but only for a short while. One thing I was told about the yard is to keep sticks etc. picked up as they could block the dogs digestive system if swallowed. Don't know how valid this is but I'm sure it would affect me if I were out there eating sticks? <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Dennis,
Hang in there, my 17 week old pup is also pretty much into everything as well. I keep my eyes on him like a hawk and keep him out of trouble so to speak. My last GSD at about 1 year old pretty much settled down this behavior but it takes some time, my pup will now pick up rocks and if I leave him alone he will drop them on his own, he always perferrs I chase him for them...lol. So it does get better, now if I can just stop him from eating dirt.. LOL I think I am one of the lucky ones, he is not much into poo which is wonderful. I have not seen him eat that so far at least. ALWAYS have him on a lead when you are out side and I keep mine on and off lead in the house as well. Not sure if you have gotten Ed's 8 week to 8 months DVD but it is well worth it ( I got mine two months before I got Maxwell). I have many of Ed's DVD and all of them are great to me. This board is also a great resource, hang in there and watch that little one like he was a baby after all he is still a baby. My little Max gets better by the day, now if I can just keep those little puppy teeth off of my wife, she is allergic to dogs and her bites get infected each and every time. My hands look like they have been through a meat grinder but that is okay with me, I am planning on SCH training the little guy so he better be bitting hard :-). Your next several weeks are not going to be easy ones if your pup has a lot of drive like mine does, but then again I did get a true German import who parents were both SCH 3 so I knew what I was in for when the breeder told me my Max scored mostly 2 and some 3 on his temperment test. They are way to smart at this age and it takes all you have to keep up with them that much I do know. Hang in there it will get better with time and of course you watching the little one. The reward will be later when the little guy is doing all the things that you wanted him to do, but man that seems like forever away when they are this young.

Jay
GSD Black and Tan Maxwell Hunter

Dennis,

One other thing, when I was little I remember my shepherd mutt dog used to run out into wooded areas on walks and when we found her she was usually rolling around on a dead animal. I think that was the worse thing I ever had a dog do. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />