Sigh. Things never seem to improve here, I must have been an awful person in a past life. The house move delayed AGAIN -believe it or not!- yes all the correct paperwork appeared but then a NEW problem appeared........

Anyway, everything is falling apart with the dogs and we have very, very serious problems with hardly any of them getting on any more. Long story and yes I am having professional help. It can all be made easier once we move as I can then kennel the one dog that has caused it all, for now I have NO choice but to keep them together.

On the advice of my trainer  I am having to have one male dog muzzled at all times as for now, I cannot separate the dogs. There's not constant fights and so having him muzzled means fights tend not to happen -or at least a lot more seldom. He still tries to start fights, but when he can't bite, MOST of the time the other dogs just ignore him. So using a muzzle is essential right now, and thankfully he doesn't mind AT ALL.

But I am going through muzzles at the rate of one a DAY -because of my puppy! I cannot crate either her or the adult dog as they are not used to it and both are very vocal and with our neighbour problems, we CANNOT risk a dog barking or crying even for one single night -which they would if crated.(I have never used crates for large dogs hence they are not used to it.) But the puppy chews the muzzles off the adult. I use basket muzzles, obviously -would not dream of using a fabric one like a Mikki. He can pant and even drink with them on. At first we had one with leather straps. Leather, YUMMY! Soon got chewed off. Then we changed to a type with fabric straps and a clasp at the neck. Really good, easy to take on and off for feeding, and no dangling bits. BUT pup still gets them off him.

This morning, and I SWEAR this is the truth!, we came downstairs to find the dog was NOT wearing a muzzle -just the strap around his neck. The pup, and probably the others as well, had eaten the ENTIRE muzzle. Not as much as a tiny piece left!

So where oh WHERE can I find a muzzle that CANNOT be chewed off ????

What about a racing muzzle? These are made of thin wire and are very lightweight.  The only problem is that they do have leather or webbing neck straps, but at least these are made to not flap about.

HTH

Debs

I know this may not go down well Marianne but have you though about muzzling the puppy also?

I remember years and years ago one of my Roughs used to bark a lot so I put a muzzle on him when he was outside we would after half an hour or so hear him bark so would go and look each time the muzzle would be on the floor with both roughs running around playing and himself having a good old bark . We couldnt figure out how he was doing it so we video'd them . As soon as I left the garden he would go to my younger dog and bend his head down then Ross would grab the muzzle at the back and they would tug until it came off then they had a little tug of war and slung it then run around barking I presume laughing at me!
I gave up in the end... luckily he grew out of the barking.

Oh goodness Marianne, what  a problem! I agree, a metal type muzzle may work - or have you considered using a taste deterrent? it would have to not sting or be nasty for the muzzle wearer, obviously...

Any chance you can separate the dogs at night just by a childgate or even take the pup or other dog upstairs  with you? I would, for an easy life!

Lindsay
x

See, this is why CD is so good! I get myself all into a state, too much going wrong at once, and so do not THINK clearly. I shall dip the straps of the muzzle in something nasty tonight -worth a try!It's after all only around his neck where it matters most -and if I got a metal one only the strap would matter. Thanks Lindsay. But no, can't easily split them up -we only have 2 rooms downstairs -albeit big ones, living room 29 feet long for instance- (not counting the bathroom and very, very tiny hall) so the big dogs sleep in he kitchen/dining room and the little dogs in the living room, and the way the pup is at the moment I daren't let her in the living room or bedroom as she'd eat everything in sight. That age -all the Malis have gone through it. And the adult boy well what with everything going on he's marking like mad. The moment we can move all we be solved, but how much longer........ :rolleyes:

You know Roni, I'd never thought of that -muzzling the pup as well. I don't really WANT to, she's young and so loves using her mouth (in play for instance, and with toys) -but it is a definite possibility if all else fails -need only be at night when they are unsupervised as somebody is always here during the day. Guess it would also save the kitchen a bit as she is a that chewy stage -hole in wall, shelves chewed, you name it -hence chewing muzzle off her big brother as well.

I use muzzles every day while walking the zois and have went through masses of those wire ones Debs as the solder tends to crack, leaving sharp edges that make the dogs nose bleed. The plastic coated wire one are much more durable, look more comfortable and strangely are lighter. They would only work though if it's a Mal causing chaos though Marianne, don't think they would fit a goldie. I'm pretty sure they couldn't be eaten, the fabric strap could but then you can just use an old show lead or similar to replace it.

Check item KS8 on this page. They post out very quickly, usually next day.

Actually thinking about it, I have quite a few old muzzles as I renew them every couple of months, if you pm me your address I could pop a pile in the post for you to try them out? They're all borzoi sized though, so it would need to be a long nosed dog.

You're a star chaumsong, well and truly. :D Will PM you. Yep it's a Mali.

hi Marianne - just a thought - is it possible for you to take the dog that is being aggressive with the others to your bedroom at night ? - even better if you can squeeze a crate beside your bed - he would get used to it very quickly if he saw it as the place where he sleeps and the reasurrance of having you next to him through the night would make him settle quickly - it would also stop him from marking around the house. Then once he is used to being crated happily you can pop him in there for short periods through the day when you are not able to supervise his behaviour around the others.

interestingly I have always believed that there are real differences in the temperaments of all he varieties of BSD - with Groenendaels being the more laid back easier choice ,Tervs being a bit hyper especially when young but Mals being the most difficult because they seem hard wired to work and the males in particular can be quite 'sharp'.

Just my own theory and not much help to you at the moment - good luck !

Yvonne