Should have named him Socrates

October 4, 2010 5:48 PM

My dog likes to eat poison on walks. Can you recommend a muzzle?

As I type this, my beagle is vomiting rat poison at the vet's. This happens way too often, and it's time to put a barrier between him and all the delicious rodent killer, marijuana leaves, rotten meat, and pooled antifreeze out there.

What kind of muzzle works well for this? And can anyone recommend a good brand?

Here's what the little suicidal bastard looks like: 1 2

posted by hayvac to Pets & Animals (6 answers total)

I got my Golden Retriever an Italian box muzzle, which has a barrier between the dog's snout (and mouth) and all the goodies on the ground. It was perfect for her. Forget the website, but if you look up "muzzles" and then "box muzzles" you should find what you're looking for. It was about $20 - $25.
posted by psc1860 at 5:59 PM on October 4, 2010

Cage muzzle. It allows them to pant etc. but will prevent ingestion of strange and tasty objects.
posted by troublewithwolves at 6:42 PM on October 4, 2010

Not entirely answering the proper question, but have you considered a head harness instead? It gives you control of the snout itself and can prevent unwanted diving/scarfing of unknown objects without making your dog look like Hannibal Lector or some other kind of vicious killer. I've known people that swear by the Halti and/or the Gentle Leader.
posted by Ufez Jones at 6:53 PM on October 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure if they make them for other size dogs, but for greyhounds who eat things they shouldn't, the experts recommend a muzzle with a "stool guard" or "poop guard". It's a little solid plastic piece that fits inside a regular plastic muzzle like this.
posted by specialagentwebb at 7:00 AM on October 5, 2010

Oh god, the link I posted resizes your browser window and that's obnoxious. I apologize.

Try this one instead.
posted by specialagentwebb at 7:10 AM on October 5, 2010

If your dog is on a leash during your walks, this should be a non-issue since you're in command. If he's not on a leash, I suggest practicing the Leave It command. If your dog is partially (or completely) unsupervised on these walks, then yeah, a muzzle is probably your only option.

I get jumpy when I see muzzled dogs, especially off-leash. I assume they're biters. Also, Leave It is an insanely useful command - your dog isn't leashed or muzzled all the time, right?
posted by workerant at 9:17 AM on October 5, 2010