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Trying To Get Muzzle Off (Have Cat)


Guest DMBFiredancer

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Guest DMBFiredancer

Please tell me this is normal and I shouldn't panic. I NEED little Miss Gracie to wear her muzzle! It made me nervous yesterday and this morning to see her pawing at it to get it off. For the last few days she has been a muzzle rockstar....easy for me to get it on, easy for me to take it off....praise praise praise for being such a good muzz-muzz girl. But, this sudden pawing at it has me nervous. Can they get it off? (I assume they can.)

 

I only put it on her when there are possible cat interactions. Even though she seems uninterested in the cat, I won't feel comfy for a bit....

So, in the morning when I know she might be brave enough to explore upstairs (which she is doing now,) muzzle is on.

Early evenings when the cat decides its HER downstairs time, muzzle is on.

All night long...muzzle is on.

 

Is it just too much muzzle for her?

She sleeps downstairs at night by herself. She hasn't whined or anything. She comes upstairs in the morning to explore, but not at night to go to sleep even though she has the same bed up here. Cat has full run of house at night and I'd rather not change that, although if Grace is down, cat usually stays up unless we are down as well.

Thoughts?

 

Thank you!!!

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Guest Wasserbuffel

If she's determined, she might be able to get it off. You could get a simple buckle collar to put high on her neck and loop the muzzle strap through it for extra security. In three years with me, Jayne has only pulled her muzzle of twice.

 

It's not too much muzzling. Jayne's had to keep her's on 24/7 to keep her from stitches a couple times, never had a problem with it. I only removed it for meals.

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I know a lot of people here use a muzzle and might disagree, but personally, that seems like a lot of muzzle time to me. Not so much in the mornings and evenings, but to wear a muzzle overnight seems like a lot, especially since it probably makes sleeping uncomfortable. She might be developing an aversion to it. Can you crate her overnight instead and just use the muzzle during daytime interactions?

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It is normal for them to try to get their muzzle off at times. As long as I've had my dogs they from time to time will try to get it off. Yes, they can and do get their muzzles off so you do need to be careful about that. One way to make it more difficult for them to get the muzzle off is to run the strap that goes behind the ears through her collar. I know there is something out there that attaches to the muzzle and the collar but maybe someone else can tell you more about that. Another good thing to do is to have a safe place for your cat where Miss Gracie cannot get her. A baby gate across one door with space for kitty to get under but Miss Gracie cannot fit.

Good luck

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Guest Davros

my guess would be a little too much muzzle - can you contain the cat in a room overnight?

 

also just because a dog is muzzled doesn't mean they can't do some serious damage... I'd be supervising her if she is around the cat to make sure she's not interested... otherwise things can still get ugly in a flash and if you're not close by who knows what could happen : (

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Bonnie has 2 muzzles and can get them both off, depending on her determination. One has a thin leather strap, which she can maneuver off her head much more easily than the bulkier all plastic model. We have a blind/deaf elderly cat who has the run of the house as well, so its the bulkier muzzle that Bonnie wears both at night and when I have to go out. However, having said that, Bonnie's shown no interest whatsoever in the cat, but then again, a 21 year old cat can barely walk never mind run.

 

I don't know if there's an escape-proof muzzle out there. At one greyhound event, I once saw a home-made contraption where the strap of the muzzle was tethered to the dog's collar with a carabiner(!), (which is not something I would ever do) and the dog STILL managed to get it off. Hopefully someone else knows of a solution or has heard of something on the market that is more dependable and safe for both the dog and cat. I also wanted to mention that even though muzzled, your grey can also do damage or worse, if her prey drive piques and she wants to pounce. Your supervision is still the best safety measure until you're confident that both pets can peacefully co-exist. Best of luck!

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Another trick to keep them from getting the muzzle off is to run the strap through their collar. Mine wear tag collars so you could run the strap through there and then buckle it. Don't worry about her pawing at it. Mine wear muzzles every single time they go outside and when I leave the house and they have been wearing them for year and they still all will rub against anything to try and get them off. Let's face it, if given a choice none of them would wear them but I view it as safety equipment. You're trying to protect someone or something.

 

Have you considered using a crate for those times when you need to monitor her closely? Crates can come in handy when you need to get things done and the cat is roaming. You wouldn't have to muzzle her and she might enjoy the down time.

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Guest DMBFiredancer

my guess would be a little too much muzzle - can you contain the cat in a room overnight?

 

also just because a dog is muzzled doesn't mean they can't do some serious damage... I'd be supervising her if she is around the cat to make sure she's not interested... otherwise things can still get ugly in a flash and if you're not close by who knows what could happen : (

 

Definitely supervising ALWAYS during the day. I don't want to contain the cat only because she is used to sleeping either in our room or downstairs. She has a "safe room" which has all of her stuff in, but that room has never been her sleeping spot. Before Gracie I promised myself I would try very hard to keep the cat's life as "normal" as possible. She was here first. She is still #1. I would feel horrible confining her in a room she doesn't usually sleep in if that makes any sense.

Thanks for all the muzzle suggestions....

I do feel bad about the overnight, too....

 

When we go out, the cat is gated with a tall gate upstairs and has full upstairs run, while Gracie has full downstairs w muzzle just in case. I DOUBT the cat could hop that tall gate, but I'd rather be safe. I COULD do that at night, too since Gracie sleeps alone downstairs anyway....Hmmm.....

 

But don't we WANT her to eventually sleep in the bedroom with us? Or do some greys just prefer to sleep alone on another level and that's all good? Sorry...confused newbie here just trying to do the right thing!

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I get mine from here... and you can save a dollar. The GEM Store. This is also an excellent source for squawkers.

 

Are you using that heavy plastic kennel muzzle? If you can't get around the whole muzzle thing, I think it would at least be more comfortable if you used a lighter UK muzzle. I don't know where you get them in the US but here's a Canadian source. Awesome-Paws. For anyone needing muzzles with stool guards, she also carries a muzzle similar to a basket muzzle but softer and with padding on the bridge of the nose and the stool guard is built-in.

 

Here's Summer in hers (the regular UK muzzle):

SummerJan5A.jpg

Edited by OwnedBySummer

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Lisa B.

My beautiful Summer - to her forever home May 1, 2010 Summer

Certified therapy dog team with St. John Ambulance

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Any reason she can't sleep in the bedroom with you now?

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Guest DMBFiredancer

I get mine from here... and you can save a dollar. The GEM Store. This is also an excellent source for squawkers.

 

Are you using that heavy plastic kennel muzzle? If you can't get around the whole muzzle thing, I think it would at least be more comfortable if you used a lighter UK muzzle. I don't know where you get them in the US but here's a Canadian source. Awesome-Paws. For anyone needing muzzles with stool guards, she also carries a muzzle similar to a basket muzzle but softer and with padding on the bridge of the nose and the stool guard is built-in.

 

Here's Summer in hers (the regular UK muzzle):

SummerJan5A.jpg

Sweet! Thanks so much!

Any reason she can't sleep in the bedroom with you now?

 

She doesn't want to. She runs back downstairs to her "safe bed."

The only time she comes upstairs is in the morning to explore a bit....a little longer each day since we got her Sunday.

 

I just measured the gate I have separating the upstairs and downstairs....it is 41" high....Do you guys think I could trust the cat NOT to jump that and keep Grace's muzzle off at night if she decides she really likes sleeping there?

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A determined dog can get any muzzle off. My Toni has it down to a science - three rubs on the chain link fence, one paw at the strap and VOILA! Muzzle on the ground! So, I got one of theose muzzle keeper strap things. Ha Ha! I'm thinking THIS will stop her. Five minutes after putting it on her the first time she comes running up to me outside with her muzzle hanging by that stupid strap around her neck! I've got her muzzle as tight as I can get it without squishing her nose into the end and she can still get it off!

 

Fortunately, she just leaves it lay, but my puppy will get hers off and chew it to bits. I've had to buy her two new muzzles. We're on number three now and she has chomped on the strap enough that it's going to break pretty soon too.

 

At this point, since she will come upstairs now, I would try and transition her to sleeping in you bedroom with you. You can baby gate her in there and let your cat have the run of the rest of the house at night. That way Gracie doesn't have to be muzzled all night long. See if you can persuade her to come up to the bedroom after last potties. You might clip the leash on to encourage her to follow you up - plus treats of course. She may be a bit restless the first couple nights. Just let her settle on her own.

 

A 41 inch gate won't stop a cat from jumping unless the cat is very bottom heavy or overweight. Mine could all easily jump onto a kitchen counter, which is taller than that. Make sure you have multiple escape routes for your cat from every room. Pull your furniture away from the walls a few inches so she can hide behind them if she needs to. I wouldn't feel that horrible about confining her to a single room for a time each day, if you're very concerned for her safety. Cats sleep most of the time anyway! And it's not for forever.

 

If Gracie hasn't displayed any interest in the cat by now, you've probably got a nice, cat tolerant greyhound. That being said, due to her shyness and bit of an uneasy transition, you should watch their interaction as Gracie becomes more comfortable in her home. Sometimes a dog won't display their true cat colors until they are feeling relaxed and confident. But I would bet you're not going to have any trouble.

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Our cat/s will fly over our tall baby-gates -- just for fun. They bank off the wall as a game. The safest option is crating the Greyhound at night, and when you leave the house unsupervised. We crate new fosters in the master bedroom at night (helps them transition nicely). We crate newbies downstairs when we leave the house (but we have multiple crates). New Greyhound/s + cat in house = not safe, even with muzzled hound. As others mentioned, dogs can seriously harm a cat with thier legs (even in play), or swatting a cat with their muzzled head. If you can't afford a sturdy metal crate at the moment, consider asking your adoption representative if they can round up a crate for you to rent or borrow.

 

Glad things are going well with your new hound. Enjoy! :)

 

ETA: I would be cautious about using a muzzle strap, or stool cup if you are asleep or away from the house.

- However unlikely, adding a muzzle strap could potentially increase new dog's risk of catching muzzle + collar on something that could strangle dog by collar.

- Dogs can drown themselves if they happen to vomit in a muzzle cup. When dogs vomit, their head is pointing down towards the ground creating a muzzle cup "bowl" effect, so vomit that can't drain fast out enough.

Edited by 3greytjoys
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Guest FastDogsOwnMe

We had a few at the kennel who could always get them off. Rum Diary comes to mind- I didn't even bother muzzling her for turn out. The strap can help, but I also agree muzzling over night without a medical reason seems a little too much. I would bring her up stairs and shut the bedroom door.

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Guest blueberri

Our boy has not figured out how to remove his (touchwood), but spends most of his time with it on trying to get it off. His favourite is inserting it into the butt/crotch of an unsuspecting victim... I suspect he's going for the jump, thinking it'll have a bottletop-remover effect.

 

We had him in his muzzle probably 23hrs a day for the first week... made sure the cats understood there was a d-o-g in the house. We didn't have to worry so much with our new one, as our remaining cat (RIP Hunter) is a spook, and spent the first week under the spare bed... so no fear of her going near the dog! They are gated in separate areas for cat's safety.

 

Some dogs are quick with muzzles though. In our adoption group one had his rather tight muzzle off in less than five minutes, and another had the racing muzzle off when there was a scuffle...race muzzles here are wire, and actually less protective than kennel muzzles.

 

I think you muzzle until you feel comfortable with the dog/cat interactions, and any destruction from anxiety etc (wish I'd remembered that with #2!!). As long as they are getting some "downtime", which hopefully increases as they're with you, it's appropriate.

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Guest DMBFiredancer

Thank you everyone for the excellent advice. Grace finally slept upstairs in the bedroom for some of the night. I've been vigilant about the muzzle for now....like you guys have said, even though it SEEMS like everything is going to be a-ok, true colors can still come out. She is still a dog. Béla is still a cat.

IMG_7628_zpsd6af6dc5.jpg

 

The cat tries to test how close she can get to Grace at times....just out of curiosity. Grace just lays there. Most times she looks then just looks away. Just like this picture shows, she doesn't even bother to pick her head up. I am hoping we see the same behavior once the muzzle is off.

 

Bela will run away from Grace sometimes if Grace is walking around and Bela *thinks* she is walking towards her. To me, it never looks like she is actively going towards the cat...those times she just happened to want to go in that direction and the cat was there.

 

The cat has stood her ground upstairs. Grace was coming up the stairs and the cat was up at the top in the hallway. Cat stared at her as if to say "this is MY turf right now up here!!!" and Grace turned around and walked back down the stairs.

 

Also when cat was on our bed, Grace got close to the bed and cat gave stink eye:

 

IMG_7620_zps6d984073.jpg

 

Cat let out a small hiss when Grace was about 2 feet away moving towards the bed....Grace seemed unphased. She was more interested in just snooping around the room. Hoping these are all good signs!



We had him in his muzzle probably 23hrs a day for the first week... made sure the cats understood there was a d-o-g in the house. We didn't have to worry so much with our new one, as our remaining cat (RIP Hunter) is a spook, and spent the first week under the spare bed... so no fear of her going near the dog! They are gated in separate areas for cat's safety.

 

Some dogs are quick with muzzles though. In our adoption group one had his rather tight muzzle off in less than five minutes, and another had the racing muzzle off when there was a scuffle...race muzzles here are wire, and actually less protective than kennel muzzles.

 

I think you muzzle until you feel comfortable with the dog/cat interactions, and any destruction from anxiety etc (wish I'd remembered that with #2!!). As long as they are getting some "downtime", which hopefully increases as they're with you, it's appropriate.

 

Thank you. Seeing how much you muzzle makes me feel a little better for having it on as much as I do. I would like to gradually start letting Grace have some interaction without the muzzle. Of course I will not let them out of my sight and keep that water bottle handy - in case I need it for EITHER of them!

Thank you everyone for the responses! I truly appreciate this forum!

 

 

 

Just had another interaction.....Grace wanted to get out of the bedroom, but cat was in the hallway. Cat gave stink eye and let out a hiss. Grace walked back into bedroom and plopped on bed. Then, once cat left hallway, Grace went downstairs. All she wanted to do was get out of bedroom!

Good signs, I assume?

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Good sign. As you gain trust in them you can remove the muzzle while you're home. It's up to you. I have a cat and only muzzled my dogs for one day (each dog) when I first got them. Call me bold, or crazy, I'm good either way. :colgate They've been very good with the cat, with one special exception that no muzzle would have prevented:

 

My Ajax is sometimes a stinker. He's the more playful of the two dogs and loves to pounce things. You guessed it, a couple times he's gotten excited and too mischievous and tried to pounce the cat. He's missed both times - on purpose I'm sure because slamming his 80 pounds down on her with his front paws I'm pretty sure if he wanted to he would have smashed her flat. And she was unharmed. But he got the Voice of God both times and his disposition both times was "being a stinker" not true prey drive or aggression. Most times he's sweet as candy with her, like touching noses and letting her brush her tail on his face, so I know he really likes her.

 

Oh, I forgot to add that I asked about their behavior of fussing at the muzzle also, when mine were new. I don't know where the thread is anymore, but someone here who works in a kennel said that yep, they pretty much all try to rub their muzzles off on the turnout fences and workers. And my two still do it also. I never scold them for doing that because I don't want to make the muzzle a bad (worse) experience for them. Sometimes they need to wear them, end of story. They can act like babies if they want to, I just giggle - especially when big ole Ajax rubs his face on the floor/grass with his giant butt sticking up in the air.

Edited by jetcitywoman

Sharon, Loki, Freyja, Capri (bridge angel and most beloved heart dog), Ajax (bridge angel) and Sweetie Pie (cat)

Visit Hound-Safe.com by Something Special Pet Supplies for muzzles and other dog safety products

:gh_bow

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Guest DMBFiredancer

Good sign. As you gain trust in them you can remove the muzzle while you're home. It's up to you. I have a cat and only muzzled my dogs for one day (each dog) when I first got them. Call me bold, or crazy, I'm good either way. :colgate They've been very good with the cat, with one special exception that no muzzle would have prevented:

 

My Ajax is sometimes a stinker. He's the more playful of the two dogs and loves to pounce things. You guessed it, a couple times he's gotten excited and too mischievous and tried to pounce the cat. He's missed both times - on purpose I'm sure because slamming his 80 pounds down on her with his front paws I'm pretty sure if he wanted to he would have smashed her flat. And she was unharmed. But he got the Voice of God both times and his disposition both times was "being a stinker" not true prey drive or aggression. Most times he's sweet as candy with her, like touching noses and letting her brush her tail on his face, so I know he really likes her.

 

Oh, I forgot to add that I asked about their behavior of fussing at the muzzle also, when mine were new. I don't know where the thread is anymore, but someone here who works in a kennel said that yep, they pretty much all try to rub their muzzles off on the turnout fences and workers. And my two still do it also. I never scold them for doing that because I don't want to make the muzzle a bad (worse) experience for them. Sometimes they need to wear them, end of story. They can act like babies if they want to, I just giggle - especially when big ole Ajax rubs his face on the floor/grass with his giant butt sticking up in the air.

 

Great story! Funny thing is I call my cat a "stinker" sometimes too! She's the one right now who is the curious instigator! TOTAL OPPOSITE of what I expected!

Just before, she would not leave the bottom of the stairs, knowing Grace wanted to come up.

Grace is getting braver each day, so here's what happened....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J34pTdHYBnA&feature=youtu.be

 

Another good sign I suppose?

Might be ready to try no muzzle....still nervous just because I'm a newbie!

Edited by DMBFiredancer
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Well, if that happened in my house, I would definitely be ready to remove the muzzle! I would still be cautious at night and when you are not home (although they probably both sleep the whole time you are gone), only because Gracie is so new, but I really think you have a very cat tolerant dog :)

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I get mine from here... and you can save a dollar. The GEM Store. This is also an excellent source for squawkers.

 

Are you using that heavy plastic kennel muzzle? If you can't get around the whole muzzle thing, I think it would at least be more comfortable if you used a lighter UK muzzle. I don't know where you get them in the US but here's a Canadian source. Awesome-Paws. For anyone needing muzzles with stool guards, she also carries a muzzle similar to a basket muzzle but softer and with padding on the bridge of the nose and the stool guard is built-in.

 

Here's Summer in hers (the regular UK muzzle):

SummerJan5A.jpg

I am now the owner of 2 UK muzzles. They are terrific!

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I have another great story about Ajax and our cat. Ajax had only been with us for a week or two, and as I said we only muzzled him in the house for one day so he'd been loose to roam the whole house for a while. Even when we're at work, we allow our beasts free run of the house. So one day when he's a couple weeks with us, I'm the first one home from work. Everybody is happy to see me and looking normal. Except. Ajax's nose looks funny, so I look closer. He had an entire cat claw stuck in the fuzzy top part of his nose just above the leather tip. Actually it was the sheath, not a claw, but it was the hughest sheath I've ever seen - the entire sheath. I pulled it out and he was fine, and I checked the cat and she was fine. There's a story there that they'll never tell. :rofl:

Sharon, Loki, Freyja, Capri (bridge angel and most beloved heart dog), Ajax (bridge angel) and Sweetie Pie (cat)

Visit Hound-Safe.com by Something Special Pet Supplies for muzzles and other dog safety products

:gh_bow

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I am now the owner of 2 UK muzzles. They are terrific!

I know, they're wonderful and so much more comfortable! AND there's the added bonus when they are in a playgroup, that their pretty faces actually show in the pictures, rather than a pair of eyes looking over a big bulky muzzle.

SummerGreytalkSignatureResized-1.jpg

Lisa B.

My beautiful Summer - to her forever home May 1, 2010 Summer

Certified therapy dog team with St. John Ambulance

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