You can train not to put things in mouth

Dear Cathy: I have a sevenmonth-old “Shihpoo” who eats everything he smells. I have tried a spray water bottle to get him to drop the garbage. He eats things so fast; I don’t have the time to stop him. He also loves to roll in any kind of animal poop. How do stop this behavior? — Lori, Parkland, Florida

Dear Lori, Your little “Shihpoo” is still a puppy and puppies love to put things in their mouth. The good news is, you can use positive training to teach him to “leave it” and, over time, he should become less interested.

To begin, get some treats and ask your puppy to sit. If you hold the treat a few inches above his nose and then move the treat slowly over his head, he will tilt his head up and his body back into a sit position to see the treat.

When he sits, say his reward word, like “bingo” (for example), and give him a treat. As he progresses, he should look at you after the “sit” command, which is what you need him to do to get him to the next level of training.

For “leave it,” drop a treat to the floor and tell him to “leave it.” He should look at you - and not the treat. After a second or two of him “leaving it,” say his reward word and give him a treat from your hand. Then pick up the treat off the floor.

When you feel he understands this concept, you can say “leave it” when he goes to eat anything else you don’t want him to eat. Always reward this good behavior with a treat during these early stages of training.

As for rolling around in poop, the best remedy is to pick up the poop in his yard so it’s not accessible to him. Keep him leashed when anywhere else to prevent him from rolling around in another animal’s poop. When he finally understands “leave it,” you should say “leave it” when you see him sniffing poop.

Training, combined with growing maturity, will help him learn that not everything needs to go into his mouth.