My puppy eats weeds and grass outdoors. Is it harmful? How to stop?

Question

My 6 month old puppy loves to play in the backyard but she keeps eating weeds and grass. I try to keep it clean but she still finds weeds, leaves etc. Is it really bad for her to eat stuff and how can I get her to stop? I try saying. "leave it", but hasn't helped. She is very disciplined indoors but outdoors is a different story :( She eats well and drinks enough water. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | spayed | 5 months and 29 days old | 9 lbs

Debi Matlack · Accepted Answer

Try keeping a toy or something that makes noise with you (you can put some pennies or pebbles into an empty soda or tin can and tape it closed to make a shake can that you can rattle or drop next to her to startle her into stopping) when you go outside with her. When she starts to eat weeds, squeak the toy or clap your hands to make noise to distract her from what she is doing and tell her 'drop it' or 'leave it'. As soon as she stops what she's doing give her a treat or the toy to play with. Over time this should give her the idea that she gets a nice treat when she listens to you when you ask her to stop. If she does not stop you may need to take her outside only on a leash so you can control her trying to eat weeds until you can break her of the habit. Some species of plants can be highly toxic to dogs (lilies, sago palm are two common toxic landscape plants) so teaching her to stop is a good thing.

My puppy eats weeds and grass outdoors. Is it harmful? How to stop?

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