Some dogs are picky eaters who will graze over a bowl of food all day and turn away most fruits and vegetables you offer up. And other dogs are major scavengers who will eat any food or food-like substance that crosses their path.<\/p>\n
When your dog is walking ahead of you and finds some unknown substance to quickly sniff and swallow before you can reach them, should you be worried? Might the food have been spoiled or unsafe for dogs? These are possibilities, but so are the alternatives. They likely found a harmless little mid-walk snack. But for the dog parents who do worry (as many of us do), here are some thoughts from vet professionals to guide you and hopefully put your mind at ease.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/GettyImages-916141108.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPhoto: TriggerPhoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Be prepared for your dog to find snacks\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
If you know your dog is among the garbage disposal, will-eat-anything category, try to be prepared on walks. Keep your dog close to you. If they\u2019re too far ahead it\u2019s easier for them to find a little treat and scarf it down before you can even catch up and see what it was. If they\u2019re closer you also have a chance of grabbing the food before it\u2019s swallowed. Whenever possible, try to pry open their mouth and scoop out the mystery item, gross as it may be. If you are able to get it out, you might be able to identify if it was anything harmful.<\/p>\n
Related: Yes, Your Dog Can Get Too Many Walks<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Alternatively, knowing your dog is food-motivated, bring some favorite treats on walks. If they grab something, immediately get a tasty treat from your pocket and see if you can make a trade. Reward them for dropping the mystery item. You can also train a \u201cdrop it\u201d command ahead of time.<\/p>\n How concerning your dog\u2019s constant walk snacking is depends entirely on what they grab. If they happen to come across an animal carcass and take a bite, you likely have no reason to be worried. They may have some gastrointestinal discomfort for a day or so, but there shouldn\u2019t be any long-term issues. However, if they do snack on carcasses, get a deworming pill if they aren\u2019t already on one.<\/p>\n There are a few key items you really don\u2019t want your dog to eat, especially without your knowledge. These are:<\/p>\n All of these can be harmful or fatal to dogs. If you aren\u2019t sure what your dog ate and it might be one of these items, stay calm, but pay attention for several hours. If you notice any vomiting, diarrhea, abnormal lethargy, neurologic symptoms, or excessive drooling, call your vet right away. If you\u2019re still on the walk and know they ate something harmful or they have immediate symptoms, get to the car and to the vet right away.<\/p>\n Usually, your dog\u2019s sporadic street snacking won\u2019t lead to anything besides a happy pup and perhaps some GI troubles. But even so, it\u2019s better to be safe than sorry, so being prepared and keeping an eye on your dog after they sneak outside food is always the way to go.<\/p>\n Read Next: <\/b>How to Take a Safe Trip to the Dog Park<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Top photograph: Chalabala<\/a>\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post Does Your Dog Find ‘Snacks’ on Walks? Here\u2019s What You Should Do<\/a> by Annie Burdick<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post Does Your Dog Find ‘Snacks’ on Walks? Here\u2019s What You Should Do<\/a> by Annie Burdick<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n Some dogs are picky eaters who will graze over a bowl of food all day and turn away most fruits and vegetables you offer up. And other dogs are major scavengers who will eat any food or food-like substance that crosses their path.<\/p>\n When your dog is walking ahead of you and finds some unknown substance to quickly sniff and swallow before you can reach them, should you be worried? Might the food have been spoiled or unsafe for dogs? These are possibilities, but so are the alternatives. They likely found a harmless little mid-walk snack. But for the dog parents who do worry (as many of us do), here are some thoughts from vet professionals to guide you and hopefully put your mind at ease.<\/p>\n Photo: TriggerPhoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you know your dog is among the garbage disposal, will-eat-anything category, try to be prepared on walks. Keep your dog close to you. If they\u2019re too far ahead it\u2019s easier for them to find a little treat and scarf it down before you can even catch up and see what it was. If they\u2019re closer you also have a chance of grabbing the food before it\u2019s swallowed. Whenever possible, try to pry open their mouth and scoop out the mystery item, gross as it may be. If you are able to get it out, you might be able to identify if it was anything harmful.<\/p>\n Related: Yes, Your Dog Can Get Too Many Walks<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Alternatively, knowing your dog is food-motivated, bring some favorite treats on walks. If they grab something, immediately get a tasty treat from your pocket and see if you can make a trade. Reward them for dropping the mystery item. You can also train a \u201cdrop it\u201d command ahead of time.<\/p>\n How concerning your dog\u2019s constant walk snacking is depends entirely on what they grab. If they happen to come across an animal carcass and take a bite, you likely have no reason to be worried. They may have some gastrointestinal discomfort for a day or so, but there shouldn\u2019t be any long-term issues. However, if they do snack on carcasses, get a deworming pill if they aren\u2019t already on one.<\/p>\n There are a few key items you really don\u2019t want your dog to eat, especially without your knowledge. These are:<\/p>\n All of these can be harmful or fatal to dogs. If you aren\u2019t sure what your dog ate and it might be one of these items, stay calm, but pay attention for several hours. If you notice any vomiting, diarrhea, abnormal lethargy, neurologic symptoms, or excessive drooling, call your vet right away. If you\u2019re still on the walk and know they ate something harmful or they have immediate symptoms, get to the car and to the vet right away.<\/p>\n Usually, your dog\u2019s sporadic street snacking won\u2019t lead to anything besides a happy pup and perhaps some GI troubles. But even so, it\u2019s better to be safe than sorry, so being prepared and keeping an eye on your dog after they sneak outside food is always the way to go.<\/p>\n Read Next: <\/b>How to Take a Safe Trip to the Dog Park<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Top photograph: Chalabala<\/a>\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post Does Your Dog Find ‘Snacks’ on Walks? Here\u2019s What You Should Do<\/a> by Annie Burdick<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHere\u2019s when you should worry about the snacks your dog finds<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nBe prepared for your dog to find snacks\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
Here\u2019s when you should worry about the snacks your dog finds<\/b><\/h2>\n
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