Good evening, I have a 8 year old lab who has a habit of eating Fox & cat poo whilst off the lead. The latter half of last week he suffered with terrible diarrhoea & vomiting. The vet informed me he must have eaten something bad. I’m now considering a soft muzzle for when he is off the lead so he doesn’t continually eat crap! Any recommendations out there? Thanks in advance x
I might be wrong but I think a soft muzzle would stop your dog from panting properly if tight enough to stop him eating stuff. Could be danger of overheating if worn for any length of time whilst running off lead so a basket style would be safer. I know it's easier said than done (my dog's a nightmare for eating dodgy things) but have you taught 'leave it'?
Ruth is right, you don't want a soft muzzle - you want a baskerville or cage kind of muzzle. However, be warned that dogs will tend to shove their faces, with the muzzle on, right into the tasty poop they want to eat - and then you eat up with a poopy muzzle, which is arguably worse than a dog just eating it. Frankly, I tend to think there is a reason nature has created poop to be so tasty for dogs. It is very rich in bacteria, obviously. And so on the whole, it is probably incredibly beneficial for the microbiome, as disgusting as we might think it is. Occasionally it may be that the bacteria is 'bad' bacteria that causes vomiting or runny poops, but that has to be counter-balanced by the fact that most of the time, it probably benefits them...
