Why is my dog suddenly obsessed with sticks?
Gerardo Christiansen
2025-07-18 04:32:07
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I have a 6 month old lab and whenever I take him to the park and he finds a stick it’s game over. He will just run around all proud with the stick. He will not care about toys or treats when he has a stick. When he has the stick he forgets all training and will just run away from me when I come close. It’s like when he gets a stick his mind goes blank.
Minnie Jacobson
2025-07-10 17:22:18
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: 11
The truth is the dog is just being a dog and doing what biology is telling it to do. Wasn’t it in fact us humans that first started encouraging them to chase the ball, stick, frisbee (aka a ‘prey’ like object) mindlessly for hours on end for no other purpose than to exercise the dog? The dog is just being a dog and doing what biology is telling it to do (ie: chase prey to survive!). And, when a dog is in this prey drive it is actually experiencing a drug-like induced high as their body releases endorphins that make them feel good, which as we all know can be addictive and therefore explains why they keep wanting to do it despite us trying to ignore them, hide the ball or stick, shouting at them to stop and so on. We of course think it is the dog that has gone crazy with its obsession when, from their point of view, we’re the ones that have become totally unreasonable.
Doug Dietrich
2025-07-09 10:42:25
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Dogs have been carrying things like sticks and bones around for as long as they've been domesticated. Dogs with the retriever instinct to retrieve objects are bred to carry things in their mouths. They need to retrieve an object and bring it back to a human, so they get excited when they find something that fits the bill. This explains why a dog might carry home an item of clothing or a toy as well as sticks — he's just looking for something that can be brought back to you. It's Something To Do And Have Fun With. Dogs love to play. They also like having something to do; dogs are very active beings and need something to occupy their minds. A stick can be that thing! Your dog wants you to throw the stick so they can bring it back and continue their game of fetch. Dogs carry sticks home because they are trying to communicate with you. Dogs carry sticks home most commonly because they're happy to see you. When a dog sees you approaching them, they may drop what they're doing and run toward you with a stick in their mouth.
Brant McLaughlin
2025-06-26 06:58:20
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: 23
Your dog may need to be assessed and treated by an animal behaviorist, or you may be able to manage these issues by making some simple adjustments to your dog's lifestyle. For example, by providing adequate exercise and mental stimulation for your pup, you'll reduce the likelihood of them eating sticks out of boredom. If they chew sticks due to stress, discovering the cause of their anxiety and removing it will help prevent the problem. The health problems that cause dogs to eat sticks or that occur as a result of this behavior can be expensive to treat. Finally, if behavioral issues are behind your dog eating sticks, it's important to get to the bottom of the cause of those issues.
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