Here we go again: Baited sausages set out in SG.

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1

An is at it again, this time in St Gallen. Sausages baited with tacks have been found in Wattwil and St Margrethen.

https://www.20min.ch/story/gina-kaem…l-346966422651

https://www.20min.ch/story/wir-koenn…n-708537849673

A dog in Wattwil is in critical condition having eaten tack-baited sausages. Another has sadly died in St Margrethen, also having eaten baited sausages.

Laying out meat baited with poison or nails, tacks, razors is seems to happen with some regularly in Switzerland. There are some sick out there.

Keep a close eye on your pups, folks. At the first sign on anything amiss - even if it is just that voice in the back of your head, do not delay, get to the vet asap.

If you find poisoned bait, call the police. It often helps if you take a photo in place and mark the area. Pick the bait up using your Robisack, ask the police if they want the bait as evidence.

(Attitudes from officials may vary, but please insist that they take a report.)

And keep up with that ‘anti-Giftköder’ training!

/PSA - one that I wish we didn’t need to repeat so often.

2
I was looking into training mine to wear one of those soft bait muzzles. We trained pretty well to leave / not eat stuff off the ground but if it's too "delicious", I'm not sure the training will hold.

Do you know whether any of these cowardly sods have ever been caught and what their punishment was?

3

In all the years I have been reading articles on poisonings, I have only seen one where the poisoner was found and arrested. See this thread:

https://www.englishforum.ch/pet-corn…bait-case.html

In this case, the poisoner was referred to psychiatric care.

4
Psychiatric care? If I ever caught such a person doing that to my animal, they would need more than psychiatric care.

This infuriates me and is a big reason why I am happy to have indoor cats, no matter how the Swiss look down on me for it.

5

Some random thoughts on muzzling:

Are you thinking of using the mesh muzzles, such as this?
https://www.galaxus.ch/de/s15/produc…-leine-6896757

I bought one of those and found it to be too flimsy to be effective. Robin had it ripped apart in minutes.

There are other mesh and fabric ‘Antigiftköder’ muzzles, but some seem a little too close to the nylon muzzles that restrict panting for my comfort, I worry they might be inappropriate if they are to be used during activities or for any length of time. You’ll want to check out the construction/breatheability/restrictive effect carefully.

I’ve settled on the Company of Animals Baskerville muzzle - the old style - here:
https://www.galaxus.ch/de/s15/produc…leine-23982496

(They are much less expensive at Amazon, btw.)

I like the structured muzzle because it allows a dog to pant naturally and to drink. These are very light and have a quick-clip fastening, far easier to use than those that buckle. This muzzle is quite comfortable, Robin honestly doesn’t seem to care.

The CoA muzzle is rather long and narrow, which is perfect for Robin. But if your dog has a rounder face you might look at other styles.

Robin wears a muzzle because of how his seizures present - but an added bonus is that I know he is safe from contraband.

That said…

Be aware of how people react to a dog wearing a muzzle. Some can be very cruel. Robin is a teensy fluffy cute sheltie. Nonetheless people see a muzzle and say and/or do terrible things. I have a pretty thick skin, I can take it - but walks are often a lot less pleasant thanks to ignorant idiots.

If possible, choose a muzzle the same color as your dog’s snout - less apparent to passers-by, and so you are less likely to be bothered by the ‘Besser-wissers’.

But bottom line, do whatever you think is right for your dog. Safety first, always!