Should I muzzle my dog?

[HollyBollyBooBoo]

I have a beautiful 2 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He's perfect apart from the fact that he is constantly on the lookout to eat anything and everything - and I truly mean anything.

He's fine at home as we've trained ourselves to pick up everything and shut DDs bedroom door but out on walks he is lightening quick and eats crisp packets, tissues, poo bag even a bit of fabric.

So far he's managed to pass all of this naturally but it is resulting in very frequent horrible bouts of diarrhoea. I also worry that he'll eat something he can't pass and he will be seriously ill and require surgery.

I'm thinking about muzzling him whilst we're out. Is that a sensible option or can I d something else?

Lots of people muzzle dogs with pica.

It's not cruel to muzzle a dog either (people will tell you this!) I think personally it's crueler to have them potentially ill and needing major surgery. My dog was muzzled for years and didn't care a bit!

Look up muzzle training and eventually your dog will accept it as second nature

I see a cocker spaniel out and about often who has a similar problem. As we live on the coast, sometimes there is palm oil washed up on the beach which can be fatal to dogs. It's a really sensible thing to do if you train your dog properly.

I completely misread your post originally OP as asking if you could leave your dog muzzled unattended while you go out (definitely don't ever do that!) but having re-read you're asking about walks yes? My greyhound needs a muzzle when on walks if off lead and at home given his size very few places are out of reach for him so he's eaten all manner of things- on lead (unmuzzled) walks his typical specialities are cat poop, tissues and mouldy food that's been thrown away by numpties who don't understand what a bin is(!) I think your best bets are to really develop a strong "leave" command, offer your dog something of higher value to distract them (I.e chicken/their favourite treat) but the real trick is spotting a potential edible goodie before they do. Failing that muzzling is an option but this would be a shame to use as a first response. I also find people tend to assume my dog is aggressive when they see the muzzle, which is sad as he's a soppy sausage really! Best of luck OP x

Thanks for the responses. I've never heard of pica, googling it is a bit scary, it says you should get it checked out by a vet as it can be a physical thing. I'm slightly annoyed that my vet has never mentioned pica, we've been to them numerous times with these symptoms.

Definitely muzzle - I'm a vet nurse and have seen many surgeries to retrieve all manner of foreign bodies. Sadly, many do a lot of damage as they pass through and peritonisis occurs and proves fatal.

IF you always muzzle on walks your dog will see the muzzle like his lead and be happy to wear it after a while.

A muzzle will only give you an extra few seconds though, mine is muzzled for the prevention of biting other dogs and he can pick things up still, he's slower, but he still can.

I don't see the point to be honest

The only way a muzzle will stop him picking things up completely is if it's tight enough to stop him from opening his mouth or getting his tongue out.

But of course that's cruel and you'd be stopping him from breathing so (I hope) you're not gunna do that.

You'd be surprised at what he'll pick up still even with a muzzle on.

Speak to your vet. And work on 'leave it!' command. Every time he 'leaves it' throw him a treat.

Yes I would muzzle under these circumstances.

My dog wears a muzzle (a Baskerville Ultra) on walks as he's dog aggressive. I can give him treats through it and he can pick up ones dropped on the floor too, so I'm not sure what good one would be to prevent scavenging. A properly fitted, comfortable basket muzzle does not restrict their ability to eat, drink and pant. Nylon muzzles which clamp their mouth shut would prevent eating, but obviously you cannot put one of those on a dog when exercising.

I'd keep him on a short lead so that you can stop him before he eats, until you've got a reliable 'leave it' command.

My GSD eats anything and everything she finds on walks, from poop to paper bags and worse. We now have to muzzle her for her own safety.

She has the Baskerville classic basket muzzle www.dfordog.co.uk/baskerville-dog-muzzle-classic.html and doesn't mind wearing it at all. In fact I am not sure she even really notices that she has it on until she goes to eat something on a walk and realises she can't, then she gets all confused and nose buts it for a bit before moving on, lol. I would not be without it. Nice and light and roomy, so they can still pant and bark and even drink. Love them. Great invention.

The Baskerville Ultra mentioned by Eifla above is better for aggression/biting. For scavenging go for the classic Baskerville I mentioned instead. It even has an extra little removable plastic grill in the front to really stop them getting even the smallest stolen morsel

Thanks all, I've ordered the muzzle you recommended. It looks a bit Silence of the Lambs which upset me a bit but needs must.

Hahaha, try walking a three-legged German Shepherd around in one