A greedy puppy has gone under the knife four times because he can't stop eating everything in sight - including his own MUZZLE.

Dexter the spaniel was so naughty with chewing everything he could get his paws on, including tights, chocolate and duct tape, so his owners got him a mouth guard - which he ate.

Andrew and Teri Gumpert, from Teddington, have had to take the 18-month-old pup to their local Vet4Life more than seven times, as a result of his insatiable appetite.

Among the items he has chowed down on have been a tennis ball, a pair of fishnet tights, chocolate, duct tape, wood chippings, a hair scrunchie, a plastic bag and one of his own toys.

Andrew and Teri even got the cute puppy a muzzle to stop his chewing, which he ended up eating.

Andrew Gumpert, who owns Dexter with wife Teri, said: “It all started with him eating his way through the contents of one of my daughter’s clothes drawers about a year ago and it has continued ever since.

“We got him a muzzle but it appears Uncle Casper – our older spaniel – helped him to loosen it to the point where Dexter could get his teeth into it and proceeded to eat it.

“We hope it’s just a playful puppy thing and he’ll eventually grow out of it as at the moment we can’t take our eyes off him for a minute.

“He’s a beautiful, loving dog but he is also very mischievous.”

Vet Sebastian Griffin has carried out many of the operations on Dexter.

He said: “On four occasions, Dexter required an exploratory celiotomy, which is when a large incision is made down the tummy to identify all the organs within the body.

“Once the foreign bodies are located the intestines are incised, the foreign body removed and then the intestines are stitched back together.

“All other organs are then checked before closing and putting stitches in.

“On other occasions, such as when he ate 12 chocolates, which could easily have proved fatal, the best way of dealing with Dexter was to make him sick.

“This involved an injection to induce vomiting. Of course, this is never pleasant for a dog but it is extremely effective.

“Young dogs often eat things which they shouldn’t but Dexter seems to do it more than most. To do four exploratory surgeries on one dog is certainly unusual!”