2 Questions: Puppy eats everything! And an over-friendly Pom

Question
Hi Alan,
Thank you for helping out fellow canine lovers!!

I hope you may be able to help my 2 little bundles of trouble. I have 2 dogs - a 2 year old Pomeranian male named Mocha, and an 8 months old Japanese Spitz female named Sushi, both neutered. My 1st question is, Sushi always goes out to the garden and eats literally everything - bark, leaves, twigs, plants, etc. We tried to say "no" and take the things away from her mouth, but she just keeps at it while my family aren't watching! She also eats her own faeces (she gets fed twice a day) and our Pom's faeces. She's also vomitted a number of times (we don't use chemicals in the garden at all, nothing should be toxic).. so hopefully you may be able to advise what we should do to change this behaviour. And one other thing, I tried feeding her lettuce once to see if she just likes the taste of veges, and she does, with very.. sloppy aftermath (diarrhoea), so I'm not too sure if her behaviour is connected to liking veges.

2nd Q: Mocha's a very obedient dog at home, but outside, he's out of control! The problem is he is always over-excited when he hears or sees people and other dogs. He barks and tries to run to absolutely anyone he sees or hears. It is quite a nuisance to tug him back everytime he tries to outrun his leash to get to someone or another dog. We always let Sushi out to run in the park off the leash because she'll come back when we call her. With Mocha, we're just too afraid to let him run, because he won't come back after we call his name or even if we shake treats around to get his attention. We have tried once, and it ended up with my boyfriend chasing after him so that he wouldn't run onto the street. Is there anyway we can change this behaviour, and make Mocha come back to us? And also is there a way to stop his over-friendliness to strangers and other dogs?

Thanks for your help in advance!

Answer
Dear Gretel,
Thanks for the question and you are welcome!

1)The term for dogs that eat non-food items is pica. A form of pica when the dog eats stools is called coprophagia or coprophagy. The causes are varied as are the solutions. Perform a web search on "pica and dogs" and/or "coprophagia" for suggestions. Look for articles on web sites that are professionally authored.

Here are two accurate articles I found:
http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/picabeh.html

http://www.vetinfo.com/deatpoop.html

2) Mocha's excitement about people and other dogs is normal for some dogs. These exuberant canines need more training in very controlled environments. We must practice in increasingly distracting environments and "take them through the grades" to teach them how to maintain when they are near others.

For example, 1st grade might be Mocha complying with your sit request and sitting quietly in your house when there are no distractions.

2nd grade might be Mocha complying with your sit request and sitting quietly when your boyfriend is sitting in the room.

3rd grade might be Mocha complying with your sit request and sitting quietly when your boyfriend stands up and sits down, stands up and sits down, etc.

12th grade might be Mocha complying with your sit request and sitting quietly when you are outside in the yard, near other people and dogs - but not so close that Mocha cannot succeed.

Each grade adds just one more bit of a distraction. If Mocha fails a grade, you've added too many distractions. Back up and practice at the last successful grade and add fewer distractions.

Recall or 'come' should be taught in the same manner. Practice in quiet areas with few distractions and work up to practicing in areas with more distractions. Use a long line when working outside so Mocha cannot run away and practice that ever-so-fun- game of catch-me!

TO learn about king methods to communicate what you want form your dogs and to motivate them to want the same things, buy Click Here: For a Well-Trained Dog by Deb Jones or Beginning Family Dog Training by Patricia McConnell.

Happy Training!
AT