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Do we need a muzzle for our scavenger?

2K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  ReichertCaleb 
#1 ·
Our beautiful darling beagle is a garbage gut. When we go for walks, he finds the grossest things to eat. Usually dead animals. I try to be eagle-eyed, but Lansky is FAST! I swear I'm looking at a harmless patch of grass and somehow he discovers something vile in it to devour. I've tried training the "Leave it" command, but when he has something "delicious" in his mouth, he is so not listening to me. I love going on long walks with him, but it can be exhausting trying to keep him from eating.

Our vet says he thinks we should muzzle Lansky when we walk him to prevent him from eating. The very thought makes me sad, but the idea of him getting sick off of something he ate makes me sadder. Lansky is the sweetest dog, would never harm anyone or anything, so the muzzle would only be for food purposes.

Has anyone muzzled their beagle for scavenging purposes? If so, what kind of muzzle did you use?
 
#2 ·
We walk the dogs by our side and carry yummy treats and reward them for staying by our side. The treats can also help you with the "drop it" or "leave it". They do make soft muzzles that work well, we have them for when we need to trim toe nails and when Oliver is at the vet. We used this kind of nylon muzzle https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/good2go-nylon-dog-muzzle
 
#3 ·
I'm sorry, but I have to absolutely disagree with Mollys Mom - do NOT use that sort of muzzle walking a dog, it stops them from panting and can cause heat distress. If you're going to go the muzzle route, get a basket muzzle that they can open their mouths and pant in.

I had a highly aggressive female GSD and she wore a basket muzzle when out.

We've debated putting a basket muzzle on Neb while we camp, because he's always eating something we don't see and getting sick. Perhaps not ALWAYS, but twice now.
 
#5 ·
I'll look at basket muzzles. THREE times this past week he's managed to get something gross. Once I was able to jog with him and make him drop it. Once I was close to the house and I made my teenage son come out to pry it from Lansky's mouth. And once he successfully ate it. We're talking really gross dead things that I have great trouble grabbing. I found something on Etsy called a "smuzzle" that might do the trick. Does this look like it could be safe for Lansky for walking? Smuzzle: A soft muzzle that lets your dog Smile Lansky has lived with us for a year now, but he's the first dog we've ever had, so we still don't quite know what we're doing. :)
 
#6 ·
That's interesting - I can't tell how easy it would be to pant, but it looks like a possibility. I saw one review that said their dog could pant.

I have two poop eaters (Neb's favourite - twice I have gone to take something out of his mouth, not knowing what it was, and discovered it was poop), and Neb picked up what I thought was a dead rat hiking (I just saw the tail) but I now suspect was a possum). Despite being in my late twenties at the time, I screamed and screamed and my poor mother (who I was hiking with) dealt with it.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Beagles don't miss the chance to get something disgusting. Last evening Cassie snapped a couple of June beetles right out of the air and enjoyed the live snack despite me trying to stop her. She will eat her bowl of 5 star food then go straight out to the yard and inhale the grass and chew on something.. like really dog? Cassie is big into trying to get lizards and when she'ssuccessful will carry it around but never eats it. I can distract her if I show her a piece of Turkey deli meat...it will make her run right to me if she sees it. So definitely have special treats on walks.
I would not have your son or anyone else try to pry something out of the dog's mouth... cute, sweet beagles bite too.
 
#10 ·
Beagles don't miss the chance to get something disgusting. Last evening Cassie snapped a couple of June beetles right out of the air and enjoyed the live snack despite me trying to stop her.
Oh Xerxes and Agis caught a couple of june bugs on the balcony night...I made Toby knock the june bugs over the edge. Yech.
 
#8 ·
Excellent point about my son not prying things out of his mouth. It wasn't quite prying. He wrapped a towel around the tail of the dead squirrel (he wasn't so keen on touching it either) and was able to pull it away. But I will be more cautious in the future. I've tried using treats to get him to drop what he has, but no matter how delicious the treat, it never competes with a dead animal.
 
#15 ·
Give your dog the habit of eating in the right place
Your pet must have a separate food container such as a bowl, saucepan or pot. When you feed your dog, you should only put them in and the dog will only eat food from that container.

Put in a designated place such as the kitchen corner, yard corner, in the pen, purpose to create a habit for dogs. From this preparation, combined with the following training, your dog will create a habit of drinking in the right place
 
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