In a last-ditch effort to prevent Lilly from eating her diaper pads — and risking an intestinal blockage — we resorted to a muzzle. Tom calls this Lilly’s “Silence of the Lambs” look.
She only wears it during my workday when I cannot watch her like a hawk. I do sometimes simply close my office door and keep her right with me, but she gets fussy about the limits on her freedom.
So, as much as it breaks my heart to see her in a muzzle, we decided it was an important safety option when Lilly prefers to have free range in the house.
I spoke with both our dog trainer and one of our veterinary neurology technicians — after Life with Wrigs asked us on our Champion of My Heart Facebook Fan Page if it might not be time for a muzzle.
Everyone agreed that it would be a good tool to try, so on their advice we ordered a Baskerville Ultra dog muzzle and used this muzzle training strategy from Domesticated Manners on YouTube.
I carefully measured Lilly and ordered a Size 2 muzzle. It fits really well. Lilly does not seem to need the optional strap over the head.
Once in a while, she’ll rub her face on us or the furniture, but for the most part, she wears it well. She even figured out quickly how to drink water with it on.
Honestly, wearing a muzzle is a really good skill for all dogs to have. Culturally, it’s seems awful to Americans, but dogs in Europe often have to wear muzzles when they are out in public — riding public buses and trains and such.
So, we played LOTS of muzzle games so that Lilly thought it was pretty keen. Magically summer sausage and cheese and peanut butter rained from the sky.
And, voila! She wears a muzzle without a fuss.
Hannibal Lecter is the first thing I thought of when I first saw her in the muzzle! 🙂
You make a valid point. Maybe if there were mandatory public muzzle laws, dogs would be allowed in more public locations in the US.
Tom is a clever man. “Silence of the Lambs” indeed! And she is still SOOOO beautiful. Good advice, to get Jasper used to it in the event it’s needed. Thanks!
I’ve thought about getting Elka used to wearing a muzzle, as a “just in case”, but of course i haven’t gotten around to it. Lilly is the cutest Hnanibal Lecter I’ve seen 😉