DDog eats rubbish - any alternative to a muzzle?

[OliveButler]

My lovely dog is greyhound / whippet cross. When he was about 4 months old, he had to be admitted to hospital with gastroenteritis because he had eaten so much crap (sticks, plastic bags, bones) which he found on the pavement or in the park. Fortunately he did not need surgery but the vet bill was £3k (we have insurance luckily) and we all resolved to be more vigilent.

Unfortunately ddog is at the vet again for something similar or maybe pancreatitis (from scavenging most likely) . He is 10 months old so we are dreading that this is a pattern and he will eventually die from a blockage. When we walk him we are really careful but sometimes he is too quick and will gulp down something (he loves chewing gum) or if he is on a walk and off the lead, I am sure he eats things he finds.
We have taught leave and we can get him to drop things if we see he has something in his mouth without too much difficulty. Left to his own devices however, he has no control.
I am very heavy hearted about a muzzle because he loves to run and play with other dogs and I don't want people thinking he is aggressive. It looks uncomfortable and I know that fitted incorrectly, they can cause injury.
Has anyone else been through this and resolved it through trainng? What did you do and what was useful? I will use a muzzle if there is no alternative because I hate how sick he gets.
TIA

How about a long line, so he is always relatively close to you, and a water pistol. My lurcher would be pretty upset if I squirted him with one. You could say a sharp 'ah,ah', or whatever, just before you squirt him and hopefully pretty soon that will be enough.

Also, I would just give a muzzle a try, if you haven't. Mine wears one off the lead all the time and v quickly got used to it.

Thanks @Sprig1 - did you get your dog's muzzle fitted by someone. Ddog is a weird shape!

Try here www.themuzzleshop.com/
Fiona is very helpful & can advise on best one for your dog, mention the issue of rubbish eating as some would still allow dog to push small items through the gaps although its much harder work.

I think people are becoming more aware that dogs wear muzzles for varying reasons and presumably you meet same people regularly if letting dogs play together so can explain.

Please don't use a water pistol on your dog. It's classed as an aversive and although water alone won't harm your dog, it's an unpleasant experience, and you risk them linking the unpleasant experience to something totally random - like cars, a child, a bike etc.

Say you squirt your dog for eating off the floor, but at the same time, a child or baby is screaming. The dog may associate the unpleasant experience with the child, not the scavenging.

Your best bet is to use a muzzle, or to keep your dog on a short lead if they're walking somewhere like pavements (where they're likely to scavenge).

Also, please be careful with things like chewing gum - many contain xylitol which can cause liver failure and death.

No, it just bought a few lurcher/greyhound style muzzles and kept the one that fit best. They area fairly standard shape. I would have thought with your dog's breeding something similar should fit his shape. Mine can drink in his as well so no worries in the summer.

Our dog needed surgery when he was 13 months as he had ingested a corn cob husk when he was out with us on a long lead. Indoors he is good with 'drop' and 'leave' but outside is another matter. Where I live in the US, you have the end of someone's garden, then the path and then a 3ft grass strip before the road and he would spend all of our path walks with his head down looking for the next thing to snaffle from the grass verge. I was on high alert whenever we were out and it took the joy out of walking him. I ended up getting him a gentle leader harness and it has completely changed how he walks. Focused on me and the treats in my pocket and his head isn't always down. I hope you find something that works for you as I know how stressful it can be.

This is a huge worry with our pup also, he is only 4.5 months but eats everything of the floor. He had to have probiotics the 1st week of walking outside as he had a dodgy tummy, we have also had a vets visit as he ate a poisonous caterpillar. Also a snail!!

Pavement walking is the worst, I think its boring so he only concentrates on eating leaves, moss, stones and once chewing gum. When walking in the park he seems to be more distracted with other things going on so is much better (then the battle is him pulling to try to get to people/other dogs but at least he's safe!). If he liked the car more I would drive him for every walk to somewhere more interesting.

It's so common to see greys/whippets/lurchers with muzzles nobody is going to judge. If anything i would assume it was due to high prey drive rather than aggression.

Thanks all - it's good to get different perspectives.

Ddog has to stay overnight at the vet so we need to sort this urgently and not just hope training will sort it. Hopefully he will grow out of it. Thanks for the recommendation for the muzzle shop @PurpleM. I will measure him when he gets home.

The house is so empty without him. I have been out in the garden clearing anything he can snack on. There were an awful lot of half eaten clothes pegs.

muzzleupproject.com/muzzle-training/
gives lots of advice on how to positively train dogs to wear muzzles, and other useful info.
I hope OlivePup is on the mend soon.