Puppy eating sticks

Question
I have a 4 month old lab/boxer puppy who we rescued when he was 6 weeks. He has a great disposition and is an amazing dog. When he is outside (we have a fenced in yard and another dog he plays with) all he does is eat sticks. If there are none to be found he will tear apart a bush. We only realized he was doing this after this weekend when he threw up small pieces of wood and then had 3 rather large poops in a 10 minute period. We know now we can't leave him unattended outside but would like to stop this behavior (or is this something he will grow out of)so he eventually does not need to be crated all day (we have a doggie door and the other dog is not crated so it would be nice for them to be able to play all day).

Answer
Hi Kate, Chewing sticks is not uncommon in a young dog. But it can cause him to get one lodged in this throat or worse intestines. You can spray some bitter apple, vinegar, or any other dog repellent onto the sticks that you leave as bait to discourage him. Sometimes I will even use soap. It can become an obsession, which will require you to retrain him to avoid the bad behavior. If you can enlist the help of a local dog behaviorist, it will help. You can put sticks in front of him and when he goes for them, correct him until he no longer wants them. Don't forget to reward him for not touching the sticks. It will take time and repetition. But it is worth it to educate him that sticks are bad. Leave me some follow-up and feedback, and keep me informed on how your training is progressing. Read some of my other posts to people with similar problems. Thank you for writing. Regards, Susan