[lilsnowgal06]

My dog (a rescued dog) is very very good. However he EATS everything. Not chews furniture or things like that, but literally EATS swallows and digests his toys. When he is outside he eats everything in sight. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that his play... area is a safe one, but he digs, and then eats any treasures he finds. I am at a complete loss. He spends the day eating everything and then is sick in his crate every single night. I'm at a complete loss on what to do with him. He absolutely loves to be outside, he loves to sunbathe... but he EATS everything. He actually ate part of his collar one day. Literally ate it... He eats cat poo from stray cats that come in the yard. He eats branches. He digs up long buried things (from before pur time) an old fence... he eats these things. In the house, he eats his tennis balls, his dog toys, he eats his bed, his blanket. And please undersrtand, he literally eats them. Chews off bits of them and swallows it! I cannot supervise his 24/7 as I have to work to support my family. I just don't know what to do anymore. He isn't hungry. He is very well fed. He is very well taken care of. He is a small breed dog (mixed). Will leave a bowl of dog food sit around while he eats other things. He will forgoe a chewy for dirt and roots. I just don't know what to do anymore. He is constantly sick, and I just can't take it anymore. PLEASE HELP!

[Aurora_Bell]

Has he been treated for worms? Sometimes dogs who eat everything in sight are lacking nutrients in their daily diet, what kind of food are you feeding?

This habit is a challenge to break, I have a dog who does the same thing, he recently just ate and entire leather collar. Around the home I use biter x, a solution in house hold cleaners to make them extremely bitter to the taste, don't worry this won't harm him. Try it out on a few things around the house to see if it will work. Just rub the cleaner on and put the item down. If he backs away you know you have something that might work for the house hold items, if he still eats it, don't bother putting it on anything else, I would be worried about him consuming large amounts of it. There are also sprays you can find at pet store that make things unappealing as well.

When you are away continue to crate, while he is at home practice making him drop everything he puts in his mouth, even toys and food. Once he drops what he had in his mouth instantly offer a reward such as piece of kibble or a small treat. If you are consistently using this command he will learn "drop it". One thing that has been working for me is scaring my dog when he picks up something he isn't supposed to have. I use a can with pennies and shake it when I see him picking up something he isn't supposed to.

I know you said you can't constantly supervise him, but in reality supervision is going to be the only way to fix this issue.