I have a 4 year old bitch. Healthy, enough food, water exercise. Problem she swallows rocks, I'm not talking pebbles, little stones, I'm talking rocks that are 1 1/2 inches in length by 1/4 inch thick, all rounded at the edges. Is she missing something in her diet? She vomited up two, and passed one in her bowel movement. Any suggestions.

I have a 1 year old that does it to and then give them back just yours does can't wait to see the replys?

Sounds like an intestinal obstruction waiting to happen. I'd pick up all the small rocks in the area the dogs are in. Very expensive if they need to be surgically removed. I have no idea why they would eat them.

There's something about rocks that is irrestible to some dogs. The sheer joy of the rattle and roll against the occlusal surface of molars. The chatter and scraping on the pre-molars, Ahhh heaven!

2 of my boys are captivated by rocks and have had the occasion of swallowing them. I was lucky the first time, one boy vomited it back up after the peroxide treatment. You can try this a few times, but don't do it to excess or the peroxide burns their throat, another problem. The other boy swallowed a rock and this time I wasn't so lucky. I made the mistake of trying to get it out of his mouth and gulp-down the hatch. I was able to find it later 'you know where'.

Whenever I see them even looking at a rock I distract them with a toy, pick it up and toss the rock out of the area. One boy responds to the "leave it" command. When he leaves it he gets lots of verbal praise and a treat if I have one on hand. If I'm too late and they're savoring the chewing on or rolling the rock around in their mouths etc., I keep calm and offer them a treat-Yum-tastier than rocks. They drop the rock and take the treat. And it's funny/not so funny, once they eat the treat, they'll find the same rock!!ERGH!! Toss it once the rock hits the ground.

If they swallow a rock and it has not passed, be mindful of their behavior and their eating/not eating habits, vomiting, diarrhea. This may indicate that the rock is still in their stomach or there may be an obstruction. You don't want either of these situations.

One of our pups we adopted to this lady last winter swallowed a huge rock and ended up in intensive care in Seattle. This girl ate the rock this xmas just as she was going to turn 1 yr old. They almost lost her on the operating table, not because of the rock stuck in her intestine but because this girl had aspirated in her lungs just prior to the surgery, when they stuck the tube down into her throat.
The owner of this young dog doesn't know where she got that big of a rock at but she is thinking her dog swallowed it when she had her at the dog park where they go often.
This dog's auntie eats pea gravel but none of our other dogs have ever eaten rocks so I don't know why this particular youngster decided it was good to eat that big of a rock. She was able to leave the hospital in time to celebrate New Years Day. This is why it's good for pet owners who only own 1 or 2 dogs to buy pet insurance. Labradors seem to eat anything that isn't nailed down.

Been there also. My girl never started her rock obsession until after she had her first heat. And we also went through a 1k surgery to have a huge triangular shaped flat stone removed. 2 years later(and 3 more heat cycles), we ended up having her spayed and the rock eating stopped immediately. I'm almost wondering if it might be a hormonal thing.