Vomiting While Muzzled

[greyinmaine]

Nike is muzzled when left alone in the house. Yesterday I came home from work to find that she had vomited. It is a basket muzzle that I got from her adoption group so she can open her mouth some, but not all the way. Was she in danger of choking? She isn't ill and hasn't vomited before (she has been home almost 4 months) but I know that it just happens sometimes. I muzzle her to keep her safe from chewing things she shouldn't, but now I'm worried that she may be in danger.

[TheFullHouse]

As long as there is no stool guard in it she should be fine. She can shake her head and get the stuff out of the muzzle.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

I would just say it depends on what you feed.

In the racing kennels, even without a stool guard there is dangers.

Because they are fed a mix of raw meat and kibble it will tend to be more of a meatloaf consistency which doesn't flow through the holes of the muzzle as easy as say just kibble.

 

Biggest reason I never kept the hounds muzzled while they were in their crates.

If in the case we had a dog that chewed up the carpet they were switched to paper so no concerns of blockage from pieces of carpet.

[greyinmaine]

I don't use a stool guard and she is fed only kibble. She isn't crated while I'm gone, she hates her crate and is a good girl when loose, she just doesn't always know what she shouldn't chew. I know she can eat with the muzzle on, I leave her treats when I leave, the small size dog cookies that she can fit through the muzzle. She also nicely cleaned up the mess after she was sick- so thoughtful since she got sick on my bed

[mychip1]

I muzzle for the same reason...i.e getting into stuff when I am not home - because they are not crated. Dustin had a bad stomach one day and when I got home, he had vomited in several places, but it had all flowed through the muzzle. I agree, if they are being fed food that could come back with a very thick consistency, then it might be more dangerous, but with basic kibble, there does not seem to be a problem.

 

(And yes, he and JJ cleaned up Dustin's mess, but I could still see the spots where it happened - so I know it was in several locations.... )

Edited November 12, 2010 by mychip1

[TheFullHouse]

If she's just fed kibble it should fall out of the muzzle. Mine have gotten sick a couple of time in their muzzles but mine have stool guard. I'm always near by but honestly they start to clean it up immediately.

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

Mine threw up in the car with her muzzle on, no problems, went right through it. I have to muzzle mine when I leave, I have four and they have gotten into a fight before.

 

I noticed you said she can't open her mouth real wide though? I'm sure it's fine if it came from a group though. Mine can pant while they are muzzled, but they couldn't yawn really wide for instance. As long as she can pant it's probably okay.