Forgot to mention that a potassium deficit might be involved.
You can check by feeding banana or cucumber, both high on potassium.
Cucumber is better, because less sugar and calories.
Binti loves it.
Eating toilet paper and napkins
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Chance got into a habit of unrolling and eating toilet paper in the house, which we are able to somewhat control by closing the bathroom door. On the street though, he darts towards any kind of white paper napkins on the street and swallows them immediately. I have to pull them out of his mouth at least twice every time we go for a walk. Unfortunately for us and fortunately for Chance, people just throw their used paper napkins on the street instead of the garbage bin. I started taking treats with me on the walks and rewarding him, when he avoids the napkin, so far with subpar results.
Any ideas on how to stop that behavior?
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I think you would need to train with set ups rather than trust you will encounter random garbage. If you can condition him to avoid the paper in favour of treats , " it's yer choice training" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc , you should progress to the point where the sight of garbage brings him to you to be rewarded for ignoring it. Patience, it will take awhile! It is important that you be vigilant and not allow him to "self reward" while you are teaching him impulse control.
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@eeeefarm good point. Will try the setup training.
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It really does work well. They learn to "ask" you first before self-rewarding.
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Oh Alex, good luck with that. I don't think I've ever owned a Chow or Basenji that would turn down paper products. They probably would choose it over steak. (Edit: but the video is superb, and if his love of paper can be balanced with a great treat, I'd say worth a try. My problem with mine are they get them usually when I am not watching, or with Merlin the Samoyed, he's so freaking fast at grab/swallow... But I'm going to have my daughter start working on it with him.)
So, now even more true with my daughter's Samoyed. He swallowed a baby wipe before we could even yell NO!!!! I had to pour a tablespoon of salt down his throat and make him throw it back up because at 27 pounds (and my luck) I didn't want to risk impaction. Short of really strong aversion training (ie shock collar), or a basket muzzle on walks (not that big of deal.. can drink, breathe, just cannot eat stuff)... I am out of ideas.
There are, though, toilet paper holders designed to stop the dog or cat from unrolling them.
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Shirley, excellent video. I love Susan Garret and have used her stuff before.
In fact, I have known trainers with dogs who used that for cat chasing or reactiveness to other dogs when walking. For many dogs who didn't have incredible prey drive (especially in a home situation) .. it really worked.
