This is Jack, my 6 year old German Shepherd. He has an odd obsession with rocks. This one he is particularly fond of; he carried it over 3/4 of a mile from the creek at the dog park back to my car and brought it home. He even cuddles with it on the couch, and if the cats get too close when it’s on the floor, he barks and chases them off!
Tonia (@IttyBittyImpact)
OMG! My friend’s German Shepherd does this too! He is OBSESSED with rocks!!!!! So funny! He brings them to you like a ball and lays the rock at your feet and barks until you kick or throw it for him.
Humaniam
Surprised he has any teeth left!
Kathy
haha That’s funny!! What a cutie!
Kirsten
This is actually a very horrible obsession and in no way funny at all, especially in a large and powerful breed it can cause many problems aside from broken teeth. Playing with rocks is sometimes okay as long as when told to leave it they listen, and taking it away causes no problems, however in this case him barking to defend it could lead to biting, even if he’s been doing this for years and hasn’t yet, he still could get more aggressive. You should be the one to claim the rock, rather than just trying to pull it away, as that can cause them to try and pull or bark back to defend it as theirs. This reminds me of Cesar Millan S2E16 with a dog named Punkin, watching that might be a good idea.
jim
Cesar millan, is a complete moron. Kristin don’t open your mouth if you have no clue what you are talking about. Just because a dog is tries to protect and keep animals away does not mean it will leaf to biting.
Napole
Agree with Kristen. Our 7 lbs MaltePoo mutt is obsessed with socks, dirty, clean, whatever condition. She acts very possessive of the socks she “claims” as if they are her “babies”. She even gets aggressive if those socks are touched, moved, etc. At first we thought it was cute. Well, as time goes on her sock aggression is not at all funny nor cute. We are loving de-programming her gradually. Short bust of timeout tells her her behavior is unacceptable.
Sereva
My shepherd had a rock obsession too. He liked the weight of them and treated them like heavy tennis balls. Be careful, we were not aware he had swallowed a midsized one until it caused a blockage in his stomach. A very expensive surgery later….
Rae R
That is so funny! My beloved cocker spaniel use to do the same thing and I dare not get rid of any rock he brought around to play with. He was so cute and I still smile to this day when I think about him.
Luci Maldonado
I agree to some degree about the concerns regarding fixation as well as physical damage. First of all the damage to the teeth may over time become uncomfortable for your shepherd and you will have to watch for very subtle signs because their may not be visible damage but the teeth could be come very sensitive. When it comes to the possession issue the points made are valid regarding the behavior but you know your pet and the same could be said about a tennis ball. Where it is not the same as a tennis ball what if a toddler walks over and tries to pick up the rock or even goes near it. Most people won’t know the affection your dog has for a particular rock and won’t use the same common sense that they would if they passed in front of a dog near a bone or a toy. I still think the post is adorable and no one knows Jack like you do. God bless.
Linda
We were godparents of a Shepherd with same obsession! As big a rocks as he could find! He’d even dive 4 feet under water in the ocean to find rocks to bring up! Everywhere he went he’d keep an eye out for ‘good’ ones! And yes he did chip a couple teeth! He never got aggressive or possessive about them just liked to collect them!
Michelle Godkin List
He knows that the friendly “pod people” from outer space are gestating in certain rocks and he is looking for them.
ba
My puppy thinks that everything is his toy. He took a car batery out of the back in of the truck to play with. took the EZ-Up tent out of the container, unfolded it and tried to set it up. Opened the floor jack package and we are still looking for all the parts. he can’t help it everything is his toy, he’s just a min-pin. a 110 lb min-pin. His nick name is perina-gattor.
Anna
I am so glad my dog isn’t the only one that does this! Mine has a rock collection that lives under the radiator. He brings them home from walks, puts them under there, and when he’s upset about the vacuum or anything else, pulls them out and licks each one. Yup, he’s a weirdo.
jennine gosse
Haha that’s so funny! And my Shepard/lab cross Does the same only puts them under the coffee table or in piles by the water bodies where he swims!
Danielle Blais
My friend’s German Shepard Ginger, loves rocks! That’s what she’s going to get for Christmas this year. I’m going to paint it bright colors and put her name on it. They can keep it in their fenced-in backyard.
The woman respecter
did the dog write the sign that says “I like rocks!” ?!??!?!!!!
C McNeely
My wife’s Jack Russell is neurotic about rocks… she grabs them and tosses them in the air and growls as she does it… she continues to play with them as though they are prey… she is NOT at all possessive of them, it’s just that she leaves them on our dirt road & on our lawn (making snow blowing a problem as well as cutting lawn)…
Sheila
My pit bull is obsessed with only one rock!!!! He licks it obsessively and carries it with him. Upon our move he brought it with him. He’s not aggressive in any way with it. I find it adorable. He jumps up and down as if it’s a tennis ball when we pick it up. When he passes we will bury this rock with him!
Brenda
I have been just researching and reading all your responses. I feel very relieved. My lab (we think might be crossed with a pitbull we aren’t sure) loves rocks. She barks, squeals, and plays constantly with it. She used to dig her way out of our yard. Then she discovered rocks and now she doesn’t go anywhere as long as she has a rock. She has her favorite one. It is really hilarious. We sit on our deck and just watch her. We challenge her by giving her various sizes. She doesn’t chew on them. More just bats them around the yard. Picks them up and then moves it to different spots. She no longer eats our trees in the yard. Now the one thing that we have to watch is making sure we don’t let her get one in the house. Somehow one day the kids let her bring one in by accident and wow!!!! Having an 80 lb dog bat her rock around the house is NOT good for the drywall! But she is definitely obsessed but she isn’t possessive about it and no issues if you take it away she just looks at you like she is saying “Really? Now? Why can’t I have it?”.
charlie
My dog build him an igloo with big pieces of rock he dug up in our back yard
charlie
Now he just needs to pick up all the parts that are scattered all over the place and put it together. ( I hate rocks )
Cambium29
Our shepherd is the same way. He loves to dig big stones out of the mucky creek beds; he’ll dive for them on the bottom and come up with some huge ones. He has a collection of them in the yard. He likes to push them around and lick them. It’s weird but he seems to be having fun.
Kat18
My dog and his sister are obsessed with rocks. So is their uncle. Their uncle just carries the rocks around in his mouth, so does my dog, Scooter’s sister. But the three of them chase the rocks when thrown. If you could, I would love it if anybody would like to explain this obsession. And Scooter picks up medium-size rocks in his mouth, lays down with it in between his paws, and chews on it. And he wants people to throw them for him all day… Causing us headaches.
Bob Moriarty
I have a weird related problem. My in-laws live on a lake and when I bring Rocky Raccoon, my Mastiff mix who is just about to turn 6, he loves to go swimming. Unfortunately, after swimming for a few minutes, he starts to dig at the rocks near the shoreline, trying to pull them out of the water with his paws and barks incessantly. It’s very frustrating and starting to scare my nephew (who refers to him as “Uncle Wocky”) He doesn’t normally dig in the yard or pick up rocks anywhere else. Just in the water. Anyone have a similar experience or have any ideas on who to curb this behavior? I’d be grateful!
Eileen Walker
Our Vizsla did this too at the lake. Now she brings us rocks and we throw them into the lake and she swims after them. Of course by the time she nears the entry point they’re sunk. She comes back to shore and does it with another rock. She’ll do this all day long if we let her. Alternatively if we throw a stick or a tennis ball which she could retrieve she’ll just watch it float away. We don’t get it- but she is the happiest dog ever when she has a rock!
Susie O'Bryan
My male Goldendoodle has the same obsession with rocks that are in the lake!! He dives under water to grab the one he wants, brings it back to shore, drops it and then goes back to the water and wades around looking for another perfect rock to grab. He loves it! He won’t swim after tennis balls etc, but, throw a rock in the water and he’ll swim out trying to find it. He started doing this around age 5 and he’s 10 now. I thought I had the only rock diving dog – glad to read there are others!
dakinidoggy
I am glad I finally looked this up. Sadie Lou my BorderCollie Aussie Mix, spends hours each day finding perfect rocks at our creek,. She sticks her head under the water to pick them up when she finds one, and then places it on the shore. She runs back and forth, tail stub wagging faster when she finds a good one. I wonder if she is changing the ecology of the creek with hundreds of rock placements. She will also chase sticks, dive in the water from the shore to get them, but takes them to the other side for stacking.
workingfortheimpawsibleHOLLY
Thank god it’s not just my wacko! decided today to lookup and see if other dogs do this. we’ve ha dher about a year and a half and she’s done this since the day we took her in. we’ve finally gotten her to let us take them from her (but we always give them back right away but just so we know we can take it if we need to). she headbutts them all around the yard..and not small ones, big 20-25lb ones. when they get stuck in the grass she tears the grass up around it so she can get it to roll again. she has no teeth left as a result of her years long obsession. if she was any other dog in our care we would probably try to get her to stop to save her teeth but she was taken in as a hospice foster, and she has masses in her lungs so her time is limited..so we let her play with all the rocks she wants. every day she brings a new one in from the outside and into her room, it’s filled with them.
Victoria Duran
My german shepard loves bricks and rocks she will try to move them and slober on them, she will wait until my 4 year old to throw the rocks and she will litterly jump in the air and try to catch them. My dogs name is Roxy i guess her name suits her. I hope this is normal with the rocks and bricks.
Anthony
Might wanna see if the rocks have EMF’s. I have a stone I think is a meteorite and dogs go crazy over it.
Brenda
My dog shooter does the same, he plays with rocks chews on them, scoots them around with his nose growls and jumps around, he loves them! He also would not play with any thing else at all, so started taking his rock and playing with him with small tennis balls. Works for about 15 minutes, then I pick up all the tiny pieces of the balls and throw them away! He loves rocks ! He is happiest when he has one and he picks special rocks out of thousands.
Matt L
I have an Australian Shepherd who loves dragging rocks in the water. Throw a stick..he could careless. Toss in a rock( the bigger the better, plus a big splash as it goes in!!) and its on. He will drag it incessantly, barking in glee. A nice big flat one he can stand on occasionally; so proud he is. I find the better mood im in(if time allows) the longer i let him play. He enjoys ut sooo much, but his bark is loud! He doesnt bite them. Just drags them and only in the water. If i let him he would drag them all day I think! I say “Scout, come” and up and outt if the water he comes. Easily the easiest dog I ever trained or owned. Incredibly smart, obedient and loyal he is. AUSSIES RULE! My Scout is an incredible dog.
Martha
My German Shepherd Emma loves to play with rocks! It’s the only thing she’ll play with. She even gets her blanket and hides them in there & then shakes out the rock. (This has led to her rock flying & cracking our glass door) I worry about her teeth but the vet says since she was a rescue sometimes people can train them to fight & make the dogs play with rocks to strengthen their jaws. She’s also extremely aggressive towards other dogs but not humans (she’s terrified of new people coming around) I’m not sure how to get her to kick the habit! We’ve tried everything from throwing them out to plastic rocks. She still finds some big ones!
Ais
My shepherd/ridgeback cross does this, she digs at big stones by shore (sea and river) then very purposefully carries them to high ground and goes back for another. It appears that she is saving them from the water!?!? It’s becoming a bit obsessive of late so am stumped at what to do to discourage her. Glad I’m not alone!!
Matthew Birks-Leigh
My miniature Yorkie does this any rock pebble or house brick she absolutely loves them she’ll lick them constantly she’ll hide them in blankets and pull the blanket till it appears again she’ll even hold rocks bigger than her head. Her teeth are fine as she isn’t rough with them it’s really helping strengthen her neck muscles and keeps her occupied if we need to go out if it makes them happy and their safe with it why take the rocks away
Liz O’Connor
I have a Pekingese mix that I found abandoned on the street. She’s a pretty hyper little girl and will only sleep inside her crate. She plays fetch constantly; it’s her favorite activity. One day I noticed she was actually laying next to me on the sofa and letting me pet her. I look over and she’s holding a rock in her mouth. She doesn’t chew on them but holds them with her front teeth. She does like to play fetch with them and likes to bat them around but, mostly, she just likes to hold them. She’s a completely different dog with a rock; calm and cuddly. I’ve tried purchasing small toys to replace the rock but it’s a no go. Since she seems to know not to chew on it and has other toys to use when that need arises, I’ve chosen to let her have this.