Muzzling a dog for hours?

Hi guys,

I work Monday-Friday and have a dog walker come in to walk Alfie for an hour in the afternoon. He's left alone from around 7:45am when I head out to work and approximately 1pm when the dog walker takes him out and from about 2pm when the dog walker brings him back until 5.30pm when I get back from work (sometimes I get in earlier at the back of 4).

Anyway, this has been happening for a couple of months and there had been no problems but last week I got in on Monday to find that Alfie had been chewing a couple of things. As it was out of the ordinary I didn't really think much of it and just tried to make sure that nothing dangerous was in reach when I went out to work on Tuesday. When I got back, however, he had been at even more things. He had climbed up on to the computer table and helped himself to my glasses case, a marker pen, a wax candle and most worryingly a little pouch with sewing needles in them. I got onto the vet and took him over to get x-rayed and thankfully he hadn't swallowed any needles or anything that the vet thought would do him any harm but now I'm unsure what to do about it.

I was thinking about putting him in daycare or crating him but I cannot afford either of these two options in the short term i.e over the next few days. The other thing was I was talking to a women in the vet surgery who said that she had had the same problem with her dog and had had to muzzle him while she was out.

I bought a muzzle yesterday which allows him to drink but I was wondering if it was safe enough to keep him muzzled for the length of time that I'll be out of the house. The dog walker will take it off when she comes to take him out and put it back on him again when they return so he will be getting a wee break from it but he'll still have it on for a good 8 hours. Anybody any ideas?

I am seriously considering going to the vets overseerers to ask them to bring out new legislation that states vets are not allowed to give behavioural advice to anyone.

You should NEVER ever ever muzzle a dog and leave it unattended, let alone muzzle it when it is not even aggressive. It can actually make them terribly stressed, they might scratch their own face off to get the muzzle off, it can get caught and the dog can strangle to death, if an intruder broke in the dog will not be able to defend itself making it a much easier target for theft..the list goes on!

I would nearly go as far as reporting that vet for bad advice!

If your dog is chewing then he is bored and maybe anxious. Do you walk him before you leave or is the only walk he gets the one the dog walker gives? Dogs love getting out in the morning to greet the day, it is probably their favorite walk of the day.

Crates can be gotten cheaply, or a baby gate that you can contain him in the kitchen or bathroom where there is less things to chew.

I;lll repreat NEVER leave a dog unattended with a muzzle on. EVER.

Cheers Hayley, let me just clarify though, it wasn't the vet that told me this, it was another punter at the vet with her dog.

He is walked every morning before I go out, an hour with the dog walker and again with me in the evening.

Thanks again for the advice.

I maybe misread and it is just a woman you talked to, not the vet, in which case sorry vets! lol

That does sound like quite irresponsible advice, did this lady actually work in the vet surgery or was she just with a pet under their care ? What a strange thing to say.

Are you able to leave some chew toys or a stuffed frozen Kong for him while you are not at home. Sounds like he needs a bit more mental stimulation for when he is left alone so he isn't chewing up your furniture.

Do you know how much exercise he gets while he is with the dog walker ?

Just another dog owner Kathy.

I must admit, it didn't really sit easy with me hence the reason I thought I'd ask on here. And I'm also a bit disappointed with the person who sold us the muzzle who was told what it was being bought for and in fact pointed out what muzzle was best for this purpose!

Maybe I am being a bit naive but I'd expect better from an independent pet shop.

Kathy wrote:Are you able to leave some chew toys or a stuffed frozen Kong for him while you are not at home. Sounds like he needs a bit more mental stimulation for when he is left alone so he isn't chewing up your furniture.

Do you know how much exercise he gets while he is with the dog walker ?

Yes I can do that. I bought him a Kong yesterday as well so I'll take him out longer tomorrow morning, leave the kong for him and remove everything else I possibly can from the room apart from the bear essentials.

Unfortunately, I can't be 100% sure what exercise he is getting with the dog walker other than what she tells me. She is paid for the hour and takes him up to a local wooded area with some other dogs so I'm assuming he's getting a fair bit of exercise/stimulation from that.

I had this problem with alfie, but since ive introduced his crate this has solved it. However, this doesnt help you short term. Does he have any chew toys etc? Alfie has a stag bar and a kong and they are brilliant, definitely keeps him entertained, you could maybe try this?

Oops just read you have a kong

Definitely a no to the muzzle, they can get stressed out with them, best not to use them unless needed for aggression issues. Could you not keep him in just one room and try to make it as safe as possible? That'd work until you could get a crate, which helped me loads when Loki was still chewing everything.

I am shocked someone told you to muzzle him whilst you were out. No harm in him having a stag bar as well as a kong

Darcy is crated while we're out and does really well, lots of this to keep him busy should help, but please not the muzzle

Baby gate?

Tara wrote:Definitely a no to the muzzle, they can get stressed out with them, best not to use them unless needed for aggression issues. Could you not keep him in just one room and try to make it as safe as possible? That'd work until you could get a crate, which helped me loads when Loki was still chewing everything.

He is just in the one room Tara so I'll just have to do my utmost to make sure there is nothing dangerous that he can get his big staffy gums round while I'm out. That and take him out for a longer walk and leave him something to keep him mentally stimulated such as a book of crossword puzzles or something.

I'll see how it goes from then.

Thanks for all the comments.

Agree with everyone above. I think muzzles should only be used when necessary not as a quick fix for other problems. It would most likely create other more potentially dangerous problems with nervousness etc.

I think the baby gate idea is def a must, and time consuming toys and crates are a God send.

I would question the dog walker more or spy on them to check out Alfie is getting his excise. If hes been ok up till then, and now this, something must have changed with the dog walker???

Staffy lover wrote:I would question the dog walker more or spy on them to check out Alfie is getting his excise. If hes been ok up till then, and now this, something must have changed with the dog walker???

Very good point Staffy lover , and I would tend to agree.

To the OP The muzzle thing is crazy and this woman that suggested it to you should be taken and shot imo. Do you not have another room you can make safer that isn't full of computers and needles etc . Is it only stuff like this he is chewing or is he going for the table legs , his bed etc

Does he get a good walk with you just before work as well ?? (this is a very low cost option ??) Can you leave a radio or TV on for him , maybe he is getting a little stressed. Just a thought as we've just had the holiday period but have you just been at home for a long while and now having to leave him again ??

You will tend to find there must be a link to his behaviour , they don't tend to just snap into a change overnight unless there is an illness or something . You say you went to the vet hence getting your advice but was this to get him checked over due to the problem or not , did the vet give him the all clear ??

Sorry for so many questions but hopefully there's an answer in there somewhere Just please put that muzzle in the bin immediately

No worries Dave.

He hasn't chewed table legs or furniture or anything, it was just some bits and pieces that were on the computer table which is quite difficult for him to get up to so he made some effort to look for things to munch.

Yeah the vet gave him the all clear but at 220 quid for the trouble, I was worried about him doing it again both for his health and my finances before I could come to a decision as to what to do next.

He gets walked every morning before I go out to work but it had only been for about 15 minutes. This morning I upped it to just under 40 minutes. I removed anything I thought would be potentially dangerous if he went on a chewing spree again and I also left him a kong with some treats in it for him to work at getting out and this (touch wood) seems to have done the trick. When I got in today everything was thankfully intact, including Alfie!

Ushanka wrote:No worries Dave.

When I got in today everything was thankfully intact, including Alfie!

Great stuff , personally I would still try and up that morning walk to a bit longer if you can find the time , tired dog = good dog keep us posted

I've always found that the morning walk is the one they look forward to most of all, and is the one that sets the tone for the rest of the day.

A nice, long walk in the morning will calm your dog down, tire him out & will help him to settle when you go out.

Caryll wrote:I've always found that the morning walk is the one they look forward to most of all, and is the one that sets the tone for the rest of the day.

A nice, long walk in the morning will calm your dog down, tire him out & will help him to settle when you go out.

Couldnt agree more. Its what I tend to do, if I have to go out for a few hours, as Pixee doesnt like me leaving, but a long walk has always done wonders for her, she is so happy and tired in the conney sunbathing in the sun when the sun is out, and stays put (as far as I know) till she sees me pull up in the car, then its a crazy staffie on the loose