Mutt Muffs PIREP

timwinters

timwinters

Ejection Handle Pulled
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The following is simply my opinion.

I planned to post this in Nick's "Piper" thread but after going there and catching up on the last few days' events I decided it best to not sidetrack it. Man, what a story.

I too recently rescued a Shepherd mix from a pound (in January at 5 months and 45# in Appleton, WI). And, of course, I want him to fly with me so I recently ordered a set of Mutt Muffs.

Well, I'm completely underwhelmed.

The shells are hard and do not flex so I question their ability to seal tightly to MY dog's head. Do they really think that the head of every dog is exactly the same shape?

Moreover, the foam seals are only about 1/8" thick. Far too thin to help compensate for the hard, inflexible shells if the muffs don't conform to a dog's head very well. They simply aren't thick enough to help seal any gaps

As a test, I held the "mutt muffs" tightly over my ears and pushed them hard against the sides of my head to ensure that they were tightly sealed (more than I can say they'll be when I put them on my dog). I could still easily hear my wife's voice in normal conversation from across the room (a 50' long great room). The dB reduction was minimal.

I just revisited the site (http://www.safeandsoundpets.com/index.html) and don't find any data regarding dB reduction (surprise?) and I honestly don’t think they reduce the noise level enough to make your dog more comfortable while flying.

YMMV

Boris in February @ 6 months

Boris in February.jpg


Boris in April @ 8 months

Boris in April.jpg

He's a big boy!
 
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I do ARF and Pilots 'n Paws rescue flights too. No dog has kept mutt muffs on for more than 10 minutes. Most of them just curl up in the back and go to sleep anyway. Money's better spent on a nice washable doggy bed.
 
What a good lookin' fella he is!! :yes:

Shoot, just stick some cotton in his ears... of course, with those ears, that could be a lot of cotton... :)
 
timwinters said:
I just revisited the site (http://www.safeandsoundpets.com/index.html) and don't find any data regarding dB reduction (surprise?) and [/FONT][/COLOR]I honestly don’t think they reduce the noise level enough to make your dog more comfortable while flying.
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FYI -- I just looked at the site, and in the FAQ section there is a paragraph answering the question "What's the dB rating?".

Chris
 
Get a dog with built-in NR like Pancho. She was deaf when I got her.

She also hasn't gone flying yet.
 
etsisk said:
How's Pancho doing these days? :)
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She's been very sick and unable to sleep, because when she sleeps she suffocates. Like I said, they do sleep apnea research on bulldogs. I have to watch her try to hold her head up and stay awake. She nods off, her head hits the floor, and she jerks awake. She keeps gurgling and panting.

I'm having a hard time figuring out to get her meds right. A few times I've wondered if I'll have to let her go.

With a few pills, she's better today and sleeping at the moment but she had trouble for a while last night. She keeps me awake with her noises. :(

I'll stock up on enough meds that she's still coming to Gastons but it may be her last time.
 
I hate I'm gona miss her Mike. She was a sweet dog. At least you still have that picture of her. :) If not...I can always send another.
 
HPNFlyGirl said:
I hate I'm gona miss her Mike. She was a sweet dog. At least you still have that picture of her. :) If not...I can always send another.
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I have it and it's on Gramma's night stand.

Pancho is normal now. I just wish I could predict how much medicine she needs, and I wish it would go to work faster.

The vet's theory is the steroids open her up to infections. We give her an antibiotic course.. She may have seasonal allergies, too.
 
As a follow up...

As Chris pointed out, the mutt muffs website does provide dB reduction data on their FAQ page. The website states a dB reduction of 21-24.

For comparison, I was out weedeating and mowing yesterday and grabbed by headset style hearing protection as I always do. I noticed that the data sheet was still in the case. My hearing protection, bought at the local hardware store, provides a noise reduction of about 42-45 dB depending on the frequency.

Now, it's been a long time since my college math years but I believe that since decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, a 20dB difference means that my hearing protection is 100 times quieter than the mutt muffs.

100 times quieter!!

A pet owner would be doing just as well to fold their dog's ear flaps down and wrap his head with an ace bandage...or stuff cotton in his ears as Tom suggested! :smile:
 
Keep in mind that people used to go flying about in our airplanes sans headphones. I have flown in more than one with a microphone, and actually used same from time to time when I had radio troubles. If you are going to take your dog flying all the time the noise could be a real worry. But if you're only doing it once in a while I would not worry. I've taken my dog flying before and it was non issue. She still ignores my commands just as much as she did before she went volant.
 
steingar said:
Keep in mind that people used to go flying about in our airplanes sans headphones. I have flown in more than one with a microphone, and actually used same from time to time when I had radio troubles. If you are going to take your dog flying all the time the noise could be a real worry. But if you're only doing it once in a while I would not worry. I've taken my dog flying before and it was non issue. She still ignores my commands just as much as she did before she went volant.
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its easy to find those guys. they are always yelling "whats that sonny!??!?! I CANT HEAR YOU"
 
steingar said:
If you are going to take your dog flying all the time the noise could be a real worry. But if you're only doing it once in a while I would not worry.
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Actually, once (IF) he becomes accustomed to it, he'd fly with me about 7 to 8 hours per week. Weather permitting, of course.

I'll probably keep the Mutt Muffs and try to use them because they're better than nothing. However, it would be really nice is someone made a product that actually worked and worked well. I'd feel a lot better about it.
 
I agree Mutt Muffs kinda suck.
Our Miss Bailey goes in the plane with them on when we get there they're always off.
A friends dog, hoover, is pretty good about not taking them off, but we modified them with extra velcro straps and the dog looks like a mummy.
I also agree they are hard and don't fit or seal well. Two large flexible cups( such as falsies):blush: would be the ticket.Maybe some duct tape to hold them in place, ouch!!:yikes: to remove though.
 
Update:

MUTT MUFFS SUCK!

The quality sucks, the design sucks, the sound attenuation properties are marginal at best.

Buddy has logged almost 200 hours with me now and he's worn his mutt muffs religiously but...I doubt seriously that they've helped.

But there may be salvation on the horizon. Check this out:

http://4pawsaviation.com/muffs.html

These look to be a far better design, better quality and might actually help to deaden the noise instead of being simply a "feel good" item for the owner.

I'll pirep as soon as mine (er, I mean Buddy's) arrive.

Stay tuned!

Note: Boris is now official nicknamed Buddy. We travel a LOT and everyone's always coming up to him, petting him and saying "how are you Buddy?" So, finally, it was like, "oh, what the hey...he might as well be Buddy".
 
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Any updates Tim? Looking for something to use on pilots-n-paws transports.
 
No, they had some serious issues with their gel seal supplier and only about a month ago were they finally ready to ship a size large to me. But, now I'm not flying for business like I formerly was so I passed.

They HAVE TO be better than mutt muffs though...it would be impossible to be worse!
 
We had back luck with the Mutt Muffs on our husky. They constantly slid back, off his hears, and around his neck.

We ended up cutting the tip off the foot of a knitted sock. Cotton balls go in his ears, the ear flaps fold over the cotton balls, and the sock holds the ear flaps down.

I don't know exactly how effective it is, but he didn't seem to mind the trip. And besides, anything is better than a pair of Mutt Muffs if they won't stay on his ears.

064.JPG
 
FWIW, I just happened to be watching sons of guns and they were suppressing a rifle. In the case of the show, suppressed vs non suppressed was a difference of 19 Db, which according to one of their technicians is about 6 times quieter. Earlier in this thread was mentioned the logarithmic scale, which according to the pro on the show, every 3db is half.
So if the muffs reduce sound by 42.875, that is roughly 14 times quieter. Thus, so long as they fit properly, your dog will love you even more.:D
 
timwinters said:
Update:

MUTT MUFFS SUCK!

The quality sucks, the design sucks, the sound attenuation properties are marginal at best.

Buddy has logged almost 200 hours with me now and he's worn his mutt muffs religiously but...I doubt seriously that they've helped.

But there may be salvation on the horizon. Check this out:

http://4pawsaviation.com/muffs.html

These look to be a far better design, better quality and might actually help to deaden the noise instead of being simply a "feel good" item for the owner.

I'll pirep as soon as mine (er, I mean Buddy's) arrive.

Stay tuned!

Note: Boris is now official nicknamed Buddy. We travel a LOT and everyone's always coming up to him, petting him and saying "how are you Buddy?" So, finally, it was like, "oh, what the hey...he might as well be Buddy".
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The 4pawsaviation product is much quieter based on my trying them on my own head as well as the mutt-muffs. The 4paws product also is built like an aviation head set with gel seals. If you go to either Sun-N-Fun or Oshkosh you can try both headsets out yourself and you will immediately discern the difference in noise reduction and quality.
 
FWIW, my Corgi has been wearing MuttMuffs for a couple years and has never taken them off in flight. Recently I purchased a pair for my cat and was surprised that he left them on as well. I doubt they really provide 20+DB of attenuation over the spectrum in my Baron but I'm sure they do provide some nose reduction in addition to what you get folding the pet's ears over (which also happens with the muffs). I tried them on each animal a few times at home before taking them on a flight and I think that helped acclimate them. The manufacturer of MMs says they will provide a full refund within 30 days of purchase if the pet won't leave them on.
 
I have flown over 1000 dogs and cats. We don't use anything for their hearing. The noise doesn't bother them - they just go to sleep. I personally wouldn't buy these for my dogs. Of course, my dogs also don't fly with me much.

I can understand someone who flies with his or her dog regularly wanting to get these to prevent long-term hearing loss. I'm not convinced that they'll actually make a difference. The total number of hours a dog will log in its life is pretty low.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I have flown over 1000 dogs and cats. We don't use anything for their hearing. The noise doesn't bother them - they just go to sleep. I personally wouldn't buy these for my dogs. Of course, my dogs also don't fly with me much.

I can understand someone who flies with his or her dog regularly wanting to get these to prevent long-term hearing loss. I'm not convinced that they'll actually make a difference. The total number of hours a dog will log in its life is pretty low.
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While high noise induced hearing loss is somewhat cumulative, several hours of exposure to a high enough level can have lasting effects on human hearing. Given that dog's hearing is quite a bit more sensitive than ours I think it's quite plausible that just a few long trips in a Baron could damage my pet's ears. But what we really need is an ANR kennel.
 
gismo said:
While high noise induced hearing loss is somewhat cumulative, several hours of exposure to a high enough level can have lasting effects on human hearing. Given that dog's hearing is quite a bit more sensitive than ours I think it's quite plausible that just a few long trips in a Baron could damage my pet's ears. But what we really need is an ANR kennel.
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The question, of course, is to what level, and if it makes any significant difference. I have friends who fly their dogs in their planes regularly for hundreds of hours, and the dogs don't appear to suffer any ill effects from it.

Or you could just ANR your Baron like they did with the Q400. :)
 
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