Which muzzle for greyhound/lurcher?

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Sprig

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I was wondering if anyone could recommend a muzzle for our lurcher (greyhound sized)? I just had a quick look on Ebay and they mostly seem to be plastic, I was expecting metal. Is plastic normal now?
 
Plastic is pretty standard. The wire ones can bend and cause injury if they fail on their face at speed - as happens a lot with mine who are total goons!
 
Plastic is totally usual, all of my greyhound/lurcher muzzles are plastic ones :) Bear in mind that greyhounds and lurchers have very different shaped heads (lurchers generally, but not always, are broader across the skull and slightly shorter in the muzzle) so they need different fitting muzzles - I find the ones from www.grwe.com are great, all of mine have them :)
 
Alec, the hound likes to chase things and we walk on some open common land where there is no livestock, but there are deer, and I would like to be able to let him of his lead confident that he is not going to be able to grab hold of one if he catches up with it.
 
Sprig said:
Alec, the hound likes to chase things and we walk on some open common land where there is no livestock, but there are deer, and I would like to be able to let him of his lead confident that he is not going to be able to grab hold of one if he catches up with it.
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It's an ongoing problem and one which I face daily and I understand. I also understand that you may not be prepared to take the rather carefree approach to the problem that I do! One word of caution though; Muzzles are designed for dogs which are either unsafe to handle, or within the restrictions of a racetrack or whilst on a lead. Allowing a dog free exercise and whilst it has access to the occasional rough-and-tumble of open areas, so a muzzle will put your dog at serious risk of injury. Every major accident which I've seen with coursing dogs has been because of something which they are 'wearing', be that a muzzle, a harness, or a collar.

Your dog, your choice!

Alec.
 
Mmm, difficult decision isn't it. Previously I have left him to it as I was of the opinion that the deer will get away. Unfortunately last week that was not the case and he did catch one. It was a big deer and it was unfortunately not a clean kill. Generally when I am out with the dog I have my 4 yo son in tow so I am not really in a position to be tracking down and dispatching injured deer.
 
Sprig said:
Mmm, difficult decision isn't it. Previously I have left him to it as I was of the opinion that the deer will get away. Unfortunately last week that was not the case and he did catch one. It was a big deer and it was unfortunately not a clean kill. Generally when I am out with the dog I have my 4 yo son in tow so I am not really in a position to be tracking down and dispatching injured deer.
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I should think a plastic one, maybe with a 'field safe' type attchment, if there is such a thing, would work?
My lurcher has pulled down and killed deer in her youth and it was a protracted and horrible death, which always ended up with me having to finish it off. At least that was on our own land, I hate to think what reaction I would have dealt with in public, I think a muzzle sounds like a good idea in your situation.
 
Plastic muzzles used here too. I cannot be suspected of poaching if my dogs wear a muzzle and accidentally put up a deer or a hare, and I will not have to perhaps cope with a badly damaged animal in the middle of nowhere. They can still kill squirrels, rabbits and other small mammals when muzzled if they hit them hard enough but it lengthens the odds. I try and walk the dogs when and where I know game is not normally but it is obviously not foolproof. I will not let a high prey drive dog loose in woodland as it usually means serious injury to the dog sooner rather than later when he picks up a scent, goes out of sight in a split second, and tries to run down a deer through brash and other obstacles at top speed. Open fields you have walked before to spot barbed wire and other hazards, and moorland away from roads where you can see prey a long way off and get the dog back before he goes, are much safer options for walks. Avoid early mornings and dusk as well if you can as game is more likely to be away from cover, and most dogs are then keener to hunt than in the middle of the day.
As for the injuries to the dog from a plastic muzzle, I believe it must be possible but unlikely. The leather straps are not very strong, the whole thing will distort and stretch under tension and there are no sharp components.
 
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