# Muzzle to stop eating everything!!!



## GSD23 (Dec 9, 2012)

Hi everyone. I'm sure there are many other pup's that eat almost everything in their way. Rest assured, I'm constantly keeping watch on my pup. My problem is my neighbour uses snail and mice pellets which could obviously be fatal for my pup. I'm always watching closely at all times when she's outside her crate. She does have a tendency to attempt to snatch things and try to swallow them before I can stop her (she's never succeeded though). She's leashed when outside, and we do need to work on our "leave it" command, but that will take time. For an immediate solution would it be alright to get a muzzle to stop her for the time being when outside?

Thanks!


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## ponyfarm (Apr 11, 2010)

YES!. In the meantime, bake your neighbor some cookies and ask him to stop using the posionus pellets.


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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

my dog went through this phase, she is 10 months old now and definately slowed down, when they are puppies they want to explore and they put everything in their mouth.

As far as having access to poison may be the dog won't swallow that since it has chemical taste? I am just thinking of ways to make you feel less paranoid, I am not saying she won't swallow it, not telling you to just wait and see lol I would train train train but I wouldn't wear a muzzle... Once my dog swallowed 16 rocks when she was 4 months old, aftwards I put a muzzle on her every time, as soon as the muzzle is off she would pick up rocks again, instead train her to leave it like you already doing. Also it helps to spray some harmful items with bitter apple spray, dogs hate it and will not put anything in their mouth with that stuff on it.Training is better than restraining! Good luck.


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## GusGus (Oct 24, 2012)

I don't see where the muzzle could hurt. You can still teach the leave it command with the muzzle on. And you know your pup will be a lot safer from dangers. 

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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

Gus, you can't train a dog to leave it when it can't pick anything up in the first place because its wearing a muzzle. 

Also leaving your dog unsupervised while wearing a muzzle is dangerous because some muzzles can choke a pup. For example if for whatever reason your dog needs to throw up and the mouth is shut what do you think will happen? So yes, muzzles CAN hurt. 

Just training and supervision is all this pup needs, oh and bitter apple spray 


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## GusGus (Oct 24, 2012)

julie87 said:


> Gus, you can't train a dog to leave it when it can't pick anything up in the first place because its wearing a muzzle.
> 
> Also leaving your dog unsupervised while wearing a muzzle is dangerous because some muzzles can choke a pup. For example if for whatever reason your dog needs to throw up and the mouth is shut what do you think will happen? So yes, muzzles CAN hurt.
> 
> ...


Maybe its just me, but I use "leave it" to have Gus ignore the item completely, and "drop it" when the item is already in his mouth. I think a muzzle would be a good way to teach the dog to leave something alone completely before its able to be picked up.

I didn't say the pup should be unsupervised with the muzzle on, considering the OP said the pup is always in their sights. Leaving anything on a dog while unsupervised is extremely dangerous. 

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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

I never trained my dog two different ways of leaving something alone weather it's in their mouth or they are just about to get it. I think it only confuses the dog... 

My dog knows "leave it" means don't pick it up and it also means drop it out of your mouth. 



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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

julie87 said:


> Gus, you can't train a dog to leave it when it can't pick anything up in the first place because its wearing a muzzle.
> 
> Also leaving your dog unsupervised while wearing a muzzle is dangerous because some muzzles can choke a pup. For example if for whatever reason your dog needs to throw up and the mouth is shut what do you think will happen? So yes, muzzles CAN hurt.
> 
> ...


You absolutely can train a dog to leave it with a muzzle on. Also, cloth muzzles that keep the mouth closed should not be used for more than 15-20 min at a time. For the type of thing the OP wants to use the muzzle for, they should be using a basket muzzle so the dog can pant.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

GSD23 said:


> Hi everyone. I'm sure there are many other pup's that eat almost everything in their way. Rest assured, I'm constantly keeping watch on my pup. My problem is my neighbour uses snail and mice pellets which could obviously be fatal for my pup. I'm always watching closely at all times when she's outside her crate. She does have a tendency to attempt to snatch things and try to swallow them before I can stop her (she's never succeeded though). She's leashed when outside, and we do need to work on our "leave it" command, but that will take time. For an immediate solution would it be alright to get a muzzle to stop her for the time being when outside?
> 
> Thanks!


Is there a fence between you and the neighbor? If there is, you can begin with politely asking he not spread the poison in your yard, and while you don't want to make an enemy of the neighbor, you may have to increase it to taking legal steps. As a side note: some of the mice and rat poisons are using a new ingredient that is difficult to detect in dogs, making it difficult to save them after ingestion.

If there isn't a fence, still take the steps above, but constantly monitor your pup. Play, train potty - everything on the opposite side of neighbor. Using a _basket_ muzzle will add another layer of safety. Condition your pup to using the muzzle so that is accepted more easily. Meanwhile, strengthen his leave it command; and this can be trained while using the muzzle as well.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

I would worry that the puppy could still lick at the poison, no matter if it was a nice basket muzzle or a horrible cloth one. "Leave it" is a very important command to teach a puppy and they can learn this right away. I'd avoid any areas where you think your pup could get at the poison, and start working on teaching right away. My pup was a notorious poop-eater, so I started this at 8 weeks, and it took a while for it to be reliable when the reward was great, but at least he didn't eat the rocks, leaves, dead mice (my concern there was secondary poisoning, so I know how you feel) and everything else he came across that looked tasty to him.


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

Is the neighbor putting rat poison in YOUR yard?? If so, tell them to knock it off!! If not, then you shouldn't have to worry, because your pup is on a leash and can't get to the neighbors yard... right? As far as things inside your house, you just have to keep everything picked up... just like having a baby that crawls and walks. If you can't have both eyes on the pup, then the pup needs to be in a crate or X-pen. Tether the pup to you when out of the crate if you have to so you know where the pup is every second. I guess I just don't get why a muzzle is needed. I've had several pups and haven't ever used a muzzle to keep a pup from eating things.


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## x11 (Jan 1, 2012)

yeah muzzle seems extreme - what was the status of the fence?? if none build one? as much as the training experts might argue imo it is impossible to train a dog 100% off picking up stuff and putting in their mouths unsupervised - i know a few top trainers have lost dogs thinking they were proofed, only takes one pick up in a 1000 ignores - no dog is perfect, hate to see you lose yr dog that way after hours of essentially conflict training with food proofing. the fact that a dog can do a food refusal in a trial venue is nothing more than a symbolic token/gesture.

just saying as hate to see you think this is a trainable thing 100% of the time in an unsupervised scenario - i don't believe it.


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## GSD23 (Dec 9, 2012)

Thanks for all the replies everyone. We have been working much more on the "leave it" command since this has become a concern. I had a talk to my neighbour though, and he assured me none of the rat/snail pellets have been put near the fence, only near his house. We have a fairly solid fence, but there are 2 small gaps at the bottom of it which I was worried about. Regardless she's tethered to me whenever I'm outside. So I guess there really shouldn't be much of a need at all for her to be muzzled.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Do you think a cone might be an alternative? There would be nothing on her face to keep her from being able to pick something up, but the cone could act as an automatic correction.
Goes to pic it up, but the cone won't let her. If it's too short, I don't think it'd be difficult to make longer.
Though I'm sure it'd make her crazy, haha. Just throwing the idea out there, though.


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