Muzzles

NikkiF

NikkiF

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Sadly I am going to have start muzzling Maisie if I want her to have some offlead time. Her reaction to dogs that snap or growl at her is getting worse, we had a very nasty incident at the weekend and I don't fully trust her round other dogs anymore :(

There seem to be 2 types, the plastic cage one and a mesh one, which I haven't seen before. I'd like opinions as to which is the best please.

Any constructive ideas in addition will be welcome, but please no rude replies, I am upset enough already.
 
The basket plastic ones are best if she is going to be muzzled for any length of time as this will allow her to pant normally (and you cans till give treats through the muzzle.
I'm sure others will be able to advise you better but please make sure she is used to/happy to wear the muzzle before taking her out in it.
Finally, there is no shame in muzzling a dog - I have to muzzle mine if he is going to be handled by other people (vets and being measured at flyball competitions) as he is fear aggressive. He is more relaxed in it and so am I. It means I can work on his issues without having to worry about what he will do.
 
Sorry I don't know the background, but how often are other dogs snapping and growling at her? Because to me, reacting badly to that would be fairly normal, but I wouldn't expect it to be that regular an occurence either. Yes, dogs play rough and it can sound alarming, but normally that's all it is - sound, with no harm done.

I think it might be worth finding a behaviourist to speak to about this - I think you might need someone to take a look and see what's provoking this, if anything, and to give her some positive experiences with non-reactive dogs. I would also rather look for places to let her run where there are no other dogs, rather than use a muzzle, if this is at all possible for you.

The plastic cage ones for me would be better for free running exercise as they allow the dog to pant, but you need to be aware of where you use it, as I would imagine it would be at risk of getting caught up in undergrowth. Biting is also possble through one of these, I believe. The mesh ones, if I understand you correctly, stop a dog opening its mouth at all so are much more effective in preventing bites (think that these are the ones that DDA exemption dogs must wear) but prevent drinking, panting or vomiting so personally I would not recommend using one off lead.

To be honest, I don't think that it's a great idea to have a muzzled dog off-lead when the muzzle is being worn to prevent fighting (obviously some sighthounds wear them to stop them killing furries and that's another matter). If someone is injured, I would think you could possible be putting yourself in a tricky position if by muzzling your dog you've effectively admitted something untoward may happen - I'm thinking of someone getting caught in the crossfire or being knocked over by your dog when she's interacting with another dog, or something like that.
 
Our Staffie wears the Baskerville ultra Muzzle , which is by far the best muzzle on the market the vet told us, most comfy for the dog. She wears it for fighting other dogs too, we just can't take a chance with her. At first she hated it and tried to pull it off all the time but settled down over time and now it does not bother her, and we only had her 1 month so it did not take that long for her to get used to it. We got her from the pound a month ago, she is great but dislikes other dogs although fine with our boxer dog now. She is muzzled when off the lead , best to be safe than sorry.
 
Dogs cannot bite through the cage style muzzle it's impossible..?? The muzzle is about a 1" longer than dogs face only way it could bite something was if you poked it through its muzzle so I'm unsure why previous poster thinks that..??
 
I have a plastic Baskerville one, rarely use it but it is good to have in the kit (as GSDs are on the DD list when we travel) and seems to be OK.
As others not a big fan of the fabric ones and it is still possible for a muzzled dog to do damage (RIP, Spanish chickens :o :o :o)

Has she actually bitten another dog or is she just using noise and posture to defend herself, in that case I would not actually panic, most of these situations are just 'handbags'.
 
Spudlet, she is fine with majority of dogs and has some very good friends! Trying to be brief, she was attacked twice last year in the space of a week, both times her only reaction was to try and get behind me. I maybe wrong but I think these incidents have caused her to be reactive.

Since then we've had a couple of incidents where 2 dogs that she knew snapped at her and she went for them, not too major but owners understandably upset. She's a staffy x, and her reaction is to go for the throat and lock on :(

At the weekend, chap with 3 terriers offlead came suddenly round the corner, they all started barking and snarling and Maisie grabbed one, and we had a terrible time getting her off, she meant business. The terrier has puncture wounds in his throat and owner is threatening to call police if I don't muzzle her when offlead.

I'm being ostracised (sp?) by other dog walkers even though Maisie has played happily with their dogs for over a year.

Yes I can understand the idea of admitting there's a problem if I muzzle her. Part of the problem is I live on a small estate with several hundred acres of land on our doorstep, so everybody walks their dogs there, it's very overgrown so not always possible to spot other dogs quickly. I've been longlining her the last couple of days so that she has some freedom, and changed our routine so that I avoid the most popular walking times.

Weevil, thank you, yes realise I must accustom her to a muzzle first :)
 
That's what happened to us our new girl got in a fight with our boxer - the boxer started it, but the Staffie graben her by the throat and my god would not let go, it was very traumatising and it took me about 4 mins of hitting her to get her off, the boxer was covered in blood , my hands were burst open , I was alone in a woods and extreamily upset, thank god it never happened to someone else's dog or we could of been in trouble. Now although she never started the fight, she meant business. And I just not prepared to take that risk as if it did happen again to a strangers dog it could mean her being put down and all because I never muzzled her. TBH I think your doing the sensible thing, especially due to the bad reb staffies have if your dog does bite someone else's they just going to call you irresponsible etc and report you and who knows what might happen. Honestly your dog will get used to it in a short time , our wee girl really does not care now, runs around quite happy, still able to indulge in her favourite past time - eating horse poo at the yard ;-)
 
They do make fabric muzzles that dogs can pant with- I bought one to try and stop my dog eating snow (it nearly killed her one year) but she can still open her mouth a tiny bit with it on- enough to pant, eat small treats, drink, but not enough to bite anyone/thing properly. Shame because she can still eat the snow with it!
If I did have to use a muzzle on her though I would use it, its really lightweight, nice soft edges and folds up nice and small- also only cost about £4 off ebay including postage!
 
we have one of those basket muzzles for our dog. she was attacked as a pup and now does not like most dogs. i say most, because she was fine with our yard dog when i introduced them and also fine with my grandparents elderly spaniel. We never know if she is going to be ok with other dogs or not, so we make sure she wears one.

its not your fault, i know how you feel though, especially when you see other dog owners looking at them as though they are the devil! i just politely tell them the above. usually shuts them up!
 
Basket muzzle as suggested, I think it very responsible of you and indeed the main worry sees to be that it's not that she attacks every dog but if she is attacked you are very concerned about the height of her reactions. You can always work on your own dog but you cannot control others sadly!
If you can as suggested take her for some isolated blasts un muzzled and still let her interact with calm un reactive dogs:)
 
I've got a golden retriever who was not very socialised as a pup so she can be fine with majority of dogs until we see the odd one. She too has been involved in scuffles that are definitely more serious than just play, although they stayed as handbag fights and didn't really injure each other. I was once walking both my dogs down towards the woods on a fairly wide path (on leads) and a dog was walking up the opposite way off lead in front of his owner. Amber seemed a bit excited to see him (straining towards him on the lead but not quite lunging, wasn't growling or barking) would have been ok if the other dog ignored her, but then he decided to go for her. I had to let go of Bonnie (my other dog) and she got out of the way, and the other owner had to come and pull his dog off her. Fortunately no injuries but that's not the first time its happened.
What we do now with Amber is to distract her with treats so hopefully she is not giving any iffy signals off to other dogs and I socialise her with as many friendly dogs as possible. But we haven't had to resort to a muzzle, which I think can make things worse.
 
Baskerville muzzle is the best choice. The fabric Mikki muzzles do not prevent biting, i've been bitten by a dog wearing a mikki muzzle. xxx
 
I muzzle my Weimaraner bitch if she is off the lead, as she can be so unpredictable and her recall is iffy with me. She spends most of the time rubbing her face along the floor trying to rub it off *sigh*
 
I muzzle my JRT with a Baskerville (the one with the extra strap that goes up between the eyes and back to the collar) as he can remove the standard BV.

He is unpredictable with other dogs and quite frankly, a thug if he thinks he can get away with it!

We do get some funny looks with my Hannibal Lecter lookalike especially as my Rottie is bowling along side us loose :)

The Rottie wears a standard Baskerville when we are in ROI as he is classed as a dangerous dog there :(
 
Thanks for all your replies and advice, appreciated.

So we bowled along to the pet shop yesterday to try muzzles on for size. Don't like the mesh ones at all, she needs to be able to open her mouth for panting as she runs around like a lunatic :rolleyes: Got her a Baskerville one but it's going to take some work as she got it off fairly quickly, sigh! Will just keep putting it on at home every day until hopefully she starts getting used to it.

Such a shame, she's missing playing with her friends, I can see her looking for them :(:( At least I've managed some offlead time for her every day so she can have a bit of a hooley chasing rabbits and pheasants :)
 
buy the ultra version as it has the head strap that goes between the eyes and on to collar and also through collar at bottom, you get them off the internet
 
I agree the cage ones are the best if you can find one that fits your dog. We're on muzzle number 10 at the moment (some have been painfully expensive!) as our malamute seems to have an odd shaped snout - the muzzle will either fit her (so she can't pull it off) but she then cannot pant in it, or in the next size up she can pant in it but can get it off! What we do now is use a piece of string to tie form the top of the cage up to her headpiece which stops her getting it off. I'd also say don't be lured into trying made to measure muzzles - we've spent a hundred pounds on getting a police one made for her and she still gets it off, even after three people have gotten the same measurements for her!
 
Toffee44 said:
Do you let your dogs off lead when muzzled??
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Sometimes - if I can be fairly sure that there won't be strange dogs around - usually only on private property.

In Spain we ran three dogs offlead in muzzles from horseback, as mentioned one still managed to grab a chicken
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Oh, there definitely not infallible:D but they do make it harder for them to eat other animals...

In my case, 'orribl terror knows when he is beaten and behaves like a lamb while wearing his - but doesn't think twice about nipping other dogs without it.
 
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