We have found the right muzzle for Gus, it enables him to torture Fate while she is out in the pasture and he doesn’t even try to eat anything while it is on his head.  He is perfectly acclimated to it. The muzzle was made for hunting dogs, the kinds of dogs who eat foxtails.  It’s called an OutFoxField Guard.

But it works perfectly for Gus (it cost $46) and unlike the first fix muzzles we got, it is soft, offers freedom and fastens easily and securely on Gus’s head. I have to say I was disappointed in most of the muzzles we got, they were too hard, too lose, or fit poorly.

I continue to experiment with diet and moisture in Gus’s food, to help the food pass through the esophagus and down into the digestive tract. I put a spoonful of pumpkin in his food for fiber, and a tablespoon of plain yoghurt for mobility, to help the food move easily through the esophagus.

I have a good feeling about the yoghurt.

I’ve also stopped adding some olive oil to his food, I think it was irritating his throat and esophagus.

Gus had a very difficult day Saturday, he spit up or regurgitated nearly a dozen times. Something was very wrong and we don’t really know what it is. Some hard pebbles came up in his vomit, he must have gotten into anything.

This is a dog who will eat absolutely anything and is supposed to eat absolutely nothing apart from his prescribed food. He vomited once yesterday, spit up once today in a small amount. Otherwise, we are having a good couple of days. Gus does not seem to notice his muzzle and gets to resume his active life as a far dog. In the morning, he doesn’t even look when the border collies rush out to work.

He is, in many ways, an indoor dog, he is very happy to sit by the fire and chew on his antler bones, bones that will not chip or break off. He is lively and alert and affectionate, his weight is holding steady so far as we know.

It is odd to see him walking around in that mask, but it doesn’t bother him, the sheep or the dogs and donkeys. Fingers crossed.