I have a 13 year old female GSD that has recently been digging up and eating dirt from the yard. Do you have any suggestions as to the length of muzzle I should get?

Hi there Ed,

I have a 13 year old female GSD that has recently been engaging in some bizarre behavior. She has been digging up and eating dirt from the yard. It is not just in one particular area, but from several areas (it is quite a large yard). It is also quite a sufficient amount of dirt she has been consuming. She has a diet of Nutra chow supplemented with lean chicken and fresh, cooked vegetables. This has been her diet for many years, but this behavior is quite recent. I am not sure what she is trying to compensate for in her diet, but she knows it is a bad behavior and therefor only does it when she knows she can get away with it. She has also recently stopped using her potty area and using the entire yard. All of this may have to do with her age, but I am worried that it is not helping her health. She is an otherwise completely healthy and happy dog. She has had aggression issues in the past, but only toward other dogs (never humans) for the first couple of minutes. Now, she has mellowed a lot in her old age. She has been receiving Deramax in the last few months for what seems to be the onset of arthritis, but I'm not sure if this is related to the dirt eating. She also gets glucosamine pills in her daily meal.

I am thinking that this is a behavior that can be curbed by putting a muzzle on her to prevent the dirt eating. The potty issue is one that we are still working on.

Do you have any suggestions as to the length of muzzle I should get? I don't want it to be right up against her snout. I hate muzzling her, being that she is so old. I don't want her to feel punished.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks much,
Lara