Muzzle Recommendations

[Deleted User]

Hi, I have a 15 week old puppy who, true to form, is "mouthing/eating" anything that he can when we are outside in the park.

He has been poorly the past couple of days and is on antibiotics. I also think that this is partly to do with his breed - he is a hpr breed and their noses are always on the ground, my last dog was exactly the same and we evantually had to muzzle him too.

So, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a muzzle as walks are becoming very stressful, as we are constantly removing things from his mouth.

It is particularly bad in our park at the moment as it is "picnic" season and the general public that visit seem to think nothing of dropping their leftovers and litter on the ground. :mad:

Any ideas would be appreciated, he is growing fast, so not sure if there are any "adjustable" ones that would grow with him for the next few months until he is full grown?

Thanks for reading.

Raksha

why not work on a 'leave' command instead of muzzling him, leaving him open to lack of social opportunities because other's perceive him as a risk, and at risk himself because if attacked by another dog, he'd have no defence

elsien

Mutt is into everything as well, but a muzzle didn't really help. I have a baskerville muzzle which are good as the dog can still pant, drink etc. However it doesn't stop them picking up food etc, as they just squash the muzzle till whatever they're after squeezes through the gaps. Mutt can think of nothing better than snacking on a nice lump of dog or fox pooh - muzzling her doesn't stop her shoving her nose in a nice steaming heap, it just means your clothes and soft furnishings get covered when you're trying to safely remove a pooh encrusted muzzle on your return home. I would seriously recommend sharp eyes and the leave command over a muzzle any day.

I'd recommend a halti or easy leader type set-up instead - if you see the pup aiming for something you don't want it to have, you can say no and pull the head away before pup gets there. And as Raksha says, muzzles can make dogs scared around other dogs as they know they can't defend themselves. Mutt with a muzzle was a complete nervous wreck around other dogs.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your replies, we are of course working on the "leave" command, and he does "drop" whatever it is around 50% of the time. I am not a fan of muzzles either, for the reasons you state, but do not want to go through what we did with our other dog - 3 operations to remove items he had swallowed. We keep a close eye but it is constant at the moment, I seem to have my hand permanently in his mouth pulling something out.

elsien

I can see why you're concerned, but I'm not sure you'll get something that'll "grow" with the dog though - have you tried a halti? As long as you spot them aiming for whatever it is, you can get the head away before they manage to get hold. Although I have to say, mutt can smell a tennis ball from 20 paces, and is generally too quick for me on that front!