Muzzling him while we're away

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Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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Hi everyone, it's me again.

I'm posting here again to ask for your advice (which has already been so helpful for other problems). My German Shepherd is turning one this Saturday; he's lovely and very easy-going, except when I'm out. He gets into a bit of mischief—not much, but some of it is actually dangerous for him. To give you some examples, when we first started going out, we used to leave him inside with our other dogs. But then he started stealing things that aren't good for him (the cats' dry food, for instance), then he raided the bin to eat everything he could find inside (from bones to just plain tissues), then he decided to go upstairs but he doesn't know how to get back down and nearly slips from the top because he charges around the landing so much, and so on. At first, we found solutions for every issue (putting the cat food up high, putting a full bag of dry food on the bin lid to stop him opening it, installing a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs, etc.), but these were only temporary fixes because he's grown so much and now clears every obstacle. So, we've secured the garden and have been leaving him out there for the last few weeks when we're away. It’s all going well, and he’s got a few toys to keep him occupied. The only problem—and it's a big one—is bees and wasps. He hunts them and has already been stung in the throat twice; we had to rush him to the emergency vet for an injection. But he hasn't learnt his lesson and keeps doing it every time. To make matters worse, my neighbour has hives, so we unfortunately get a lot of them in our garden. The only solution left seems to be a muzzle. He's already used to wearing one, though as a punishment, but he's taken to it really well and waits patiently for us to take it off. It breaks my heart a bit, but I'd prefer that to a crate. Obviously, I'm thinking of a muzzle that would allow him to drink and pant. What do you think of this as a solution? Do you have any muzzle models to recommend?

Thanks in advance.

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  • ?
    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Yeah, I'm sure that's what I'm worried about too, but right now it's literally a matter of life or death. He's been incredibly lucky in the past, but I'm scared his luck won't last forever. Just this morning, for example, I had to rush him to the emergency vet because he'd swallowed a shoelace. He eventually managed to bring it back up thanks to an injection from the vet, but we really thought they’d have to go in and get it via endoscopy, as there was such a high risk of it causing a bowel obstruction once it moved past the stomach. I reckon if I take it really slowly and build a positive association with the muzzle—putting it on for short bursts and rewarding him—then maybe he won't see it as a punishment anymore. It'll take time for sure, but it might just be possible. Leaving him alone is a massive source of stress for me; I'm always terrified something's going to happen and I won't be able to act in time. Muzzle training is going to be a long, hard slog, but I hope it works. Especially since we don't work the same hours, so the muzzle would only be for about 3 hours at most, and often a lot less.
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    Gsd_lover
    Gsd_lover Icon representing the flag French
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    A basket muzzle—Baskerville is the first one that comes to mind. However, I don’t think it’s a great idea, specifically because it’s been used as a punishment before. I could be wrong, but I think it’s just like using a crate for punishment, or when you ‘poison’ a command—once that's happened, it's a lost cause and he’ll just be miserable every time you use it. :/ He’ll likely feel like he’s being punished for no reason... Let’s see what everyone else on the forum thinks.
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