sand

[meggit]

i have bought a childs sand box for buddy and intended to fill it this weekend so he can dig and play in it but then some one told me its really bad for dogs teeth and very bad if they eat it, so my question is what can i use instead or is sand ok to use

[Nettle]

Sand is fine if he doesn't eat it. Unless he has a habit of eating soil, he is unlikely to eat sand. Finding the toys and treasures is much more fun

[kaz4t]

OOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhh dear both my puppies eat soil, they pick up great lumps of it, carry it around and then eat it. Is this a real problem??

We have given them a clam shell sand pit which they love and it has stopped them digging holes, boy can they dig a big hole fast, great team work LOL but I have not noticed them eating the sand, we hide dried liver in it and tell them to 'find it'

We are having the yard concreted over soon so the soil will not be a problem much longer, neither will the bark and gravel that they also keep chomping on.

they are good and will drop it when I tell them to 'give' but we don't always manage to stop them.

[meggit]

what kind of treats can i put in the sand for buddy to find. OH half is worried about buddy eating sand along with the treat so any advise on this would be greatly appriciated

[Nettle]

A lot of animals eat soil - even some humans and this is often for nutritional reasons e.g. needing some minerals or else calming the gut especially in the case of clay soil for gut problems (we take it in medicine as kaolin). Bodies can handle a reasonable amount.

Sand in small amounts is okay but in large amounts not so good. So if they are swallowing great piles of it - time to think do they have a painful gut, or could they do with some minerals? Otherwise don't worry.

[josie1918]

Meggit,
I use wood chip small animal bedding in the boys' sandbox, and I hide small rawhide chews, any of their rubber kong toys, and often will throw in their supper (1/2 cup of their kibble) let them forage for dinner (They really feel like tarzan then )
I also recently bought some duck meat sticks that are twisted into sticks about the size of a pencil they like finding and chewing on those too.

[***Melissa***]

Hi Meggit, I think you once said Buddy likes raw carrots...I'm thinking maybe you can put raw carrots in there, if it's not wet I don't think too much sand will stick to it. You could even let one or 2 carrots stick out a bit, so he see them & gets the idea

[emmabeth]

The times when sand can really cause a problem with a dogs teeth.. is sand in conjunction with tennis balls (or any other toy covered in tennis ball 'fur'). You can see in some dogs, typically Border collies obsessed with tennis balls, teeth worn down so badly they look like they have been filed flat, due to the sandpaper like abrasive effect of wet tennis ball coated in sand/grit.

[meggit]

ok have sand box, have sand, have toys in sand box have treats in sand box so can someone now tell me how to get buddy in the sand box

[maximoo]

lure him with a treat thrn bury it

[Nettle]

Get in there yourself, turn your back as if you have something Secret you don't want him to see, then dig with your hands and make squeaky noises.

Either the dog will join in or the neighbours will get you taken away.

[kaz4t]

We just threw in some treats, so they were on the surface to start with and they soon climbed in. We don't let them have it every day so it is a bit of a treat when they get to play in it. I am sure your dog will soon be loving the sand pit.

Today they had a great time digging, they nearly emptied the whole lot out!!! and there were no treats in there, well no new ones, there may be some from last week.

Gut probems - I don't think this is the case, they are on BARF, have been for about 4 weeks now, they get chicken wings or lamb flap or chicken/turkey necks every day and I am still putting a probiotic on one meal a day. thier itching seems to have subsided and I do not see as much dandruff but they are still scratching.

[Cara GSD]

I never even thought twice about getting Cara a sand pit and she loves it, theres nothing cuter than seeing her with a sandy nose lol! she's even taught herself how to hide and bury biscuits in it. She does eat a bit of sand from time to time especially when in a mad digging frenzy but I'm sure it wont harm her! Get in there and dig with your dog its great playtime together! xx