Sam the stone muncher has just had his stitches out after having an operation for a blockage. We talked to the vet about a muzzle but he wasn't really keen and thinks Sam would benefit from training with a device that would react when he picked up stones, obviously we would have to catch him in the act to train him. Does anyone know anything about these devices or is it like a clicker?

We've just recently bought a wonderful booklet that Tohme recommended 'Walk with me' by Kay Laurence so I wondered if any of you know of any literature about this subject. He is 10 months old and I'm having to watch him like a hawk, I don't even trust anyone else to let him out at the moment. I would be grateful for any advice.
Ange

I'm just guessing, but it sounds like he was talking about some kind of aversion training. Most probably the masterplus citronella collar, which is activated by remote control by you, and emits a short burst of air, which usually contains citronella, for added value. You could also use training discs as a similar thing, although the dog would need to be tuned into them to teach them that a chink on the discs means don't do that. It might be an idea to consult a trainer about these techniwues as if not done properly they can do more harm than good. In the mean time i don't see what is wrong with a basket muzzle when he is around stones.
I don't really know of any books that specifically talk about this sort of thing, but someone else might.

Hi Lucy
Thanks for your reply.This might sound a bit dense but I notice from doing a search that you use a clicker. Now I'm not sure what  people generally use  clickers for. Is it  possible to train a dog with a clicker so that he wouldn't eat stones? You'll probably think I'm mad but I thought that I'd ask anyway.
Ange

It would be very difficult to train this.  You'd either have to train for dropping stones once picked up or not picking up the stone at all.  Timing would be EXTREMELY important and I'm not sure you could do this without a full understanding of how clicker training works which would take lots of reading and practice and teaching him about the clicker in other situations before using it in this one - which would take a long time.  I would imagine that you want this behaviour stopped immediately.

I have had success with the anti-bark and the remote citronella collars for different behaviours.  Some people may find them a bit extreme - they were a last resort for us - but this is your dog's life we're talking about.  He may not be so lucky with the next blockage :-(

Wendy

Thanks for your advice Wendy. Funnily enough he hasn't touched any stones since his operation but we are watching him very closely, it would indeed be difficult to train him as you would have to catch him with the stone in his mouth as you can't stop him sniffing along the ground as he would end up being a nervous wreck if we kept on at him all of the time.
Ange