Hi all

My 10 week old puppy insists on chewing wood outdoors, he will find any bits he can including the bottom branches of a magnolia tree.
He also has a liking for stones & coal, unfortunately he sometimes swallows them before I can get them off him. Any advice on stopping this please as I fear he will swallow a stone & harm his 'insides'

Puppies will sometimes swallow things when owners rush to take them off of them and/or tell them off for picking them up.  It is more common in labs and retrievers because that is what they are bred to do.  Every time one of my dogs picks up anything, regardless of what it is I praise them.  This encourages them to give me whatever they have so then I can decide whether to give it back to them or not.  If they pick up my best shoe I will react in exactly the same way as when they pick up one of their toys.  They have all been taught to retrieve using rewards so they will often bring me things and try to sell them to me.  If I am not paying attention then they will often sell me the same thing twice. ;)  Far better than having them run off with something or chew it up or worse still swallow it.
Sally

Yep, you've guessed it...he's a lab!!
I will try praising him as you suggested, I have been telling him "No".

Thanks

Best to teach him first with things that won't harm him such as his toys and other bits and bobs.  Encourage him to pick up, bring to you and exchange for a treat and then 99% of the time give it back to him.  It is very likely that sometimes he will not give up what he has in his mouth because he will consider it to be of a higher value than what you are offering in exchange or because he doesn't know that you  intend to give it back.  It is best to just sit on the floor and praise him and stroke him if he comes near enough but not try to take the item from his mouth.  If he drops it encourage him to pick it up again.  Then when he realises you are not going to steal it from him he will willingly give it to you.
Sally
I didn't guess by the way I looked up on your old posts ;)  but if I had had to guess I would have gone for lab.:)

Typical lab!!!

My lab has always done this.  I have to say that going to obedience lessons has helped no end because he will now bring back and object to me if I say he is a clever boy and call him to me.  He just places it in my hand.  I have also been doing working trials with him and I often put "naughty" objects out for him to retrieve.  You know the type of things like a 3"x3" piece of scouring pad or a pine cone or a cork, something that a lab would love to swallow!!! but through training he has learnt to hold them and give them to me.

When he was a puppy, we used to do swaps...i.e he picks up a stone, clothes peg etc and I swap him for a treat.  You could try that for a quick response?