Muzzles

[Stray]

Recently, my dog Kane had an incident when my boyfriend was walking him and was surprised by two joggers. When one passed on the left, my boyfriend was startled as they didn’t call out and moved him to the right, where the woman jogger was also passing unannounced. Kane tagged the woman in the shoulder and is now on quarantine by Animal Control although I am feeling better as there was not much my boyfriend could have done (he knew that Kane having little vision and a tendency to want to “correct” people running past him as a combination of protection/herding behavior) as the runners were completely unannounced from behind.

He also does this behavior in my house, and I go through a long ritual with new friends coming by to make sure he is still safe, but when he gets scared he will “tag” people in the rump or thigh, which is completely unacceptable but still requires informed friends if we are going to work on it and make it better. He has this behavior around children, and is no longer allowed around them as I do not want to take any risks there whatsoever.

Kane has improved drastically with this behavior, but as I was reminded this week, doing well is not enough. I have been muzzle-training him a little just in case, but yesterday purchased a nice wire muzzle from amazon-

Amazon.com: Dean & Tyler Dog Wire Basket Muzzle for Everyday Use Size #R2 - Fits Perfect Breeds Rottweiler, Golden Retriever, Labrador, Mastiff Etc...- Please Measure Your Dog's Snout and Match the Right Muzzle Size or Contact Us for Sizing!!! -

Amazon.com: Dean & Tyler Dog Wire Basket Muzzle for Everyday Use Size #R2 - Fits Perfect Breeds Rottweiler, Golden Retriever, Labrador, Mastiff Etc...- Please Measure Your Dog's Snout and Match the Right Muzzle Size or Contact Us for Sizing!!! -

which will hopefully fit well as I measured the best I could.

I realize that in the past I have seen wearing a muzzle as a frustrating indication that I have failed in training him, but in talking to the Animal Control officer she explained that it’s better to be safe and not have to worry, and asked if I really want people bothering us or socializing on long walks anyway when we are using the dog park, home, and my work at a kennel for that purpose. Also, that many dogs wear them even if they have no bite record.

So, in training with a muzzle I know to start him slow and make it a happy thing, being calm and happy putting it on him and feed him treats while it’s on. I think this will work as at this point he is very happy to see his prong collar come out and will sit well when I put it on.

TLDR:
Anyone have advice about using a muzzle in suburbia, what to look out for, and how to train well with one so that it is a positive and safe tool?

[gsdraven]

A Method of Muzzle Training

It's written for whippets but it's how I would go about muzzle training. I would make sure that he is at the happy to have it on stage before taking him out with it on so he doesn't stress.

[Caledon]

I've had to put a muzzle on Dakota as part of her program when we went on off leash hikes with other dogs - most wearing muzzles. I took it slow, let her sniff it, touch it, put food in it and let her take it., placed it over her nose, loosely did up the strap, took it off, put it on, let her wear it around the house, etc. She got used to it pretty quick, but then again I've always touched her muzzle and she is used to a halti.

I felt terrible seeing her in a muzzle, like it was my fault. My trainer told me the same thing animal control told you. Better to be safe than sorry.
My trainer told me to go back to off leash hikes but to keep her in the muzzle, that way I know my dog did not bite another dog. She said if anyone commented about it, to tell them that she eats things and this controls it.

I did see a GSD cross wearing a plastic basket muzzle on a walk. I talked to the owner and she said her dog can be leash aggressive, but I didn't see that. I didn't think anything of if and neither did others walking by. The owners were walking the dog as if the muzzle was not there. It did not bother them.

I've seen some really nice leather muzzles at my local pet store, but they did not have her size. They look a little less "hannibal" than the wire ones.

[Silvermoon]

We decided to train our 13 month old, Mercury, to wear a muzzle. He has a great temperment, but has never really been around many children. We spend the majority of our time in the summer at a crowded boat dock on our house boat. The trip to and from the boat is full of running kids and stuff being wheeled around. We wanted to be proactive. If a child came running along from behind and slammed into him or something like that, we didn't want a horrible accident. We ordered an Italian cage muzzle from dogmuzzle.com. He took a size 10. It only took three days- an attribute to his temperment- to have him wearing it. The first day treats eating out of it and him carrying it around, the next treat thru the side while pushing it on his face, the third day fastened for a short time and then increasing. You can tell from the pic that he doesn't care. I had it on him when I took him to the vet recently and they were very, very appreciative. They felt that it was a good idea to have your dog used to it, especially if they were in an accicent and had to handled by someone other than family. I don't really like how it makes him look mean..... but I am glad we made the decision to get him used to it!!

[Silvermoon]

and asked if I really want people bothering us or socializing on long walks anyway when we are using the dog park, home, and my work at a kennel for that purpose.


QUOTE]
This really would be a benefit, I don't like people I don't know messing with my "kids" anyway!!!