Chewing stones - help

[MyBoyChe]

How can I stop them? My 2 springers, Chloe who is 1 and Alfie, 10 weeks both pick up and chew the gravel from my garden. I have an area immediately outside the back door which is laid with gravel and the minute they go outside they love to dig in it and then select a pebble to play with, they will lick and chew it for ages if left alone. Obviously when I catch them I remove the stone but I do like to leave the door open so that they can come and go whilst Im at home in the mornings and I simply cant watch them all the time. The gravel is there so that I or they would hear if anyone came close to the house at the back, I suppose if all else fails I could use bark or slabs instead but would prefer not too. Is there anything that I could spray the whole area with that is harmless but tastes foul enough to stop a springer (so nothing dead rabbit or mouse flavoured!!). Do you think they are lacking something in their diet, the bigger IWS has never done this tough and they eat the same food, age apart. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[smiffyimp]

my friends dog does this when he wants attention!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

My two springers have nearly stopped this. I know limestone is the most commonly missing element in grazing so maybe they need a supplement of some sort? Mine are nearly 8 months and have replaced their stone obsession (big decorative stones outside and gravel, they brought me a massive lump of pumice one day, God knows where that came from!) with other hard chews/toys.

They like nylabones, the teeth cleaning type toys with rubber spikes and the antlers I got them (pics in my thread from earlier) It seems to satisfy their chewing urge.

As your youngster will be teething, is he getting enough stuff to chew? I've heard frozen chicken wings are good for teething.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Slab it
Ours didn't eat the gravel, but they did turn it into a mire so we slabbed it, but did not lay cement in the event that we could lift them again if we needed to.

Also offer an alternative, bones, a kong etc.

 

[littlemisslauren]

Luckily B has grown out of this / my countless 'ah ahhhhs' worked!
We had to watch B like a hawk for the first 6 months because she would eat any stone she found, we took them off her (lots of fishing around in her gob) and gave her a kong / bone / nylabone for her to chew instead.