Should I buy a muzzle?

Discussion in 'Labrador Puppies' started by Andrea0408, Jun 9, 2019.

  1. Andrea0408

    Andrea0408 Registered Users

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    Hunter eats sticks constantly on walks.

    The floor where we walk is littered with them, including the road I live on so it is unavoidable. If he picks up a big one (longer than 4 inches or so) he will drop/give but suspect he usually bites the end off first. If he picks up a small one he seems to swallow it immediately before I can ask for it.

    He knows leave it and I feel like I say it constantly. He will focus on me for a while and gets an occasional treat but every now and again lunges really quickly to grab a stick.

    That's when he is walking on a lead. He is usually off-lead in fields but still finds things to eat. Is a muzzle the best way to go? Or is there something else I can do? I end up getting really frustrated with the constant "leave it" and walks are becoming less and less relaxing which isn't fair on either of us.

    Thank you.

    Also, he is almost 7 months old.
     
  2. Joy

    Joy Registered Users

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    I would suggest giving Hunter something else to carry. In fact I would take a bag with several safe objects and swap them around as you go along, also stopping frequently to play (tug, catch, fetch etc). Items might be a ball, a pair of old socks knotted together, an empty plastic bottle, an 18 inch length of hosepipe etc. (all things my dogs have loved). The advantage of playing, especially when he's off-lead is that you become the centre of attention for him- the source of all good things.
     
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  3. Ruth Buckley

    Ruth Buckley Registered Users

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    I agree with joy, have him carry something else on walks.
    I would still buy a muzzle and get him used to wearing it for short periods. You never know when it might be useful.
     
  4. Andrea0408

    Andrea0408 Registered Users

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    We take and play with toys in the field when we are off-lead. If we play with a ball for example he will stop on the way back to me to eat a dandelion or something.

    The issue is more when we are walking to a field or doing the school run. He walks brilliantly on a loose lead. I've tried to get him to carry balls/small soft toys/kong stick but he will drop them immediately for a tasty morsel of wood.
     
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  5. Ryakki

    Ryakki Registered Users

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    I don't think picking up sticks is a crime worthy of a muzzle. Eating bits of wood is odd though, can you see his ribs?
     
  6. Ski-Patroller

    Ski-Patroller Cooper, Terminally Cute

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    How much wood could a Labrador chuck if a Labrador could chuck wood. Tilly and Cooper were both part Wood Chuck. We never really cared except when they brought into the house and chewed it up on the carpet. Cooper still occasionally takes wood out of the basket by the fireplace, but the vacuum will pick up the remains.

    If she brings a stick in from the yard, we tell her "Outdoor Toy" and most of the time she will leave it. The good part is she chew up wood but does not eat it. No Harm No Foul.
     
  7. Jo Laurens

    Jo Laurens Registered Users

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    So, this happens:

    Puppies pick stuff up. It's what puppies do. People freak out for one reason or another and take stuff off the puppy.

    The puppy learns that people are a threat to what they have, which leads to either:
    1. running off with the item and the human chasing the puppy, thereby reinforcing the puppy for picking up the item because chase is so much fun.
    2. guarding of the item - growling, freezing, turning back towards the person and the beginnings of resource guarding.
    3. puppy eating or swallowing the item quickly, to possess it before you can take it off them.

    When this behaviour becomes obsessive and about the dog repeatedly eating just about anything they can, then it's highly likely that 3 is happening....

    I would be especially worried if this involves sticks because those are often not very safe for dogs to ingest and can cause punctured stomachs and intestines etc, not to mention splinters...

    So whilst yes, a muzzle will physically prevent this behaviour from occurring and is a good idea in terms of management - it's papering over the cracks and not addressing the underlying behavioural tendency via training - which is what really needs to be worked on.

    Really, you need to train a reliable drop cue - and doing this kind of thing preventatively and with every puppy, is important because this is a huge problem area for many dogs:

     
  8. Andrea0408

    Andrea0408 Registered Users

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    He does drop Jo but he bites the end off and drops the rest. With small ones like I said he swallows before i get the chance. I dont take stuff physically off him, he was taught drop it when hes young.

    After hes snacked on sticks or the odd leaf he has terrible runny poos.
     
  9. Jo Laurens

    Jo Laurens Registered Users

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    I think you need to work on what isn't working. So - you need to bring home some sticks, you need to have available tasty treats and you need to practise with things he can drop more easily and you can mark and reinforce and then build up to him dropping the stick and you marking and reinforcing.

    If he wants what you have to give him enough, he won't even think about biting and eating the stick - he will be spitting it out as fast as he can, to get your reinforcer. You need the behaviour to be fluent and 100% reliable indoors under controlled conditions before you can then expect it to work away from the house.

    People often say "XYZ recommendation doesn't work". It's not that it doesn't work, it's that it's not being applied properly, split down into successful enough stages, practised to the point of fluency, generalised sufficiently to different locations and objects, reinforced highly enough or consistently enough - and so on. That's what dog training is. It's not a tick-box "is Sit trained?" - tick! Is "Leave trained? - tick!".... It's not black and white...
     
  10. Andrea0408

    Andrea0408 Registered Users

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    Fab thank you for your advice Jo. He was trained by dropping toys and shoes and things like that rather than "edibles". I'll get some sticks and give it a go.
     
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