When Should A Dog Wear A Muzzle?

If there is any chance that your dog could bite, or your dog is aggressive, spiteful, or reacts aggressively, or your dog is in an area of distress, then you should really think about investing and training your dog in wearing a dog muzzle. This might not mean that you have to muzzle your dog in every situation; just the ones that present the possibility of an injury, based on how your dog has responded to similar situations in the past. If your dog is aggressive, and/or has bit another dog or human in the past, muzzling can be used to ensure safety. If your dog has a history of biting, or has bit another animal or human in the past, consider using a muzzle when he is in unfamiliar social situations.

If your dog has a history of biting or aggression, wearing a muzzle while you are outside in public may help to communicate to others to stay at arms length. Training your dog to wear a muzzle can help reduce the stress of an examination room, both for humans and for your dog, since nobody is worried about being bit. If your dog is ever injured or suffers an injury, having your dog become comfortable wearing a muzzle may prevent the bite from being delivered to a veterinarian employee trying to help your dog. Remember, if your dog is injured or hurt, having the muzzle on him or her before trying to move him or carry him may also prevent a bite to you or to others trying to help your dog safely get to a veterinarian.

For example, if your dog is stressed out while at the vets office or while going to a hair salon, using a muzzle might be good. Even though you may be temporarily muzzling your dog in these situations, you will still want to think about behavioral changes that will help them get used to the grooming or the vet visits. You also do not want to use your dogs muzzle on behavioral issues such as chewing or barking.

Many dogs only need muzzling in special situations, such as when visiting a veterinarian, but others might need a muzzle for everyday walks until they learn how to modify their behaviors. Introducing dogs to new environments wearing a muzzle is not sufficient to help them get used to it. Of course, wearing a muzzle at first feels unnatural for most dogs, but you can help a dog acclimate to wearing a muzzle with a slower, positive reinforcement training technique using treats and food.

One of the most humane tools that you can use when training a dog is a muzzle, as it helps manage his or her behaviors, all the while protecting him, you, and others. It is just a temporary tool that can be used while you are working on correcting the dogs behavior with a veterinarian or trainer.

When you reach a stage in their conditioning where they are capable of holding a muzzle longer, you can begin using one on walks or any other time a situation calls for it. Increase wear times Once your dog is successfully getting in a muzzle, your next goal should be getting your dog used to wearing a muzzle for longer and longer periods. Once your dog is comfortable, you can slowly build the time that you allow between putting on the muzzle and giving your dog his treats. Once you have finally got the muzzle fully zipped, snap it off and let him or her have another treat.

Repeat this as many times as necessary until the dogs are comfortable with having their faces inside of a muzzle. Repeat to make them stick their noses into the muzzle, and finally to hold the muzzle in for longer and longer periods. Once you are able to make them hold the noses into the muzzle themselves, then wiggle the leash as if you were going to strap a muzzle.

Once your dogs are comfortable wearing a muzzle for short periods, be sure to keep up with the routine training to ensure wearing a muzzle is a part of your dogs routine. Gradually increase the amount of time that your dog wears the muzzle, building to wearing it for 15-20 minutes around your house, then using it during training or when he is stressed. If training is mostly done in emergencies, remember to revisit the training with a “magic” muzzle occasionally, reminding your dog that a muzzle is a good thing.

If things do go awry, or boundaries are crossed without your knowledge, a muzzle prevents your dog from biting, giving you peace of mind during training sessions or situations like these.

There are some situations in which the muzzle can be extremely helpful, and sometimes the dogs muzzle is even required, but there are also other scenarios where a dogs muzzle is absolutely not a good option. There are specific situations with some breeds of dogs and their owners in which muzzling may be a better choice, such as controlling aggression or history of biting. Most canine experts agree that there is likely a time in each dog’s life where an owner will have to use a muzzle. In these instances, the muzzle is your best tool to ensure the safety of everyone, including your dog.

The most common mistakes are using the muzzle only when something unpleasant is going to happen to your dog (such as if it is going to get shot), expecting your dog to immediately accept the muzzle, or leaving the muzzle on too long. If you remove a muzzle right after your dog struggles with or claws it, your dog can learn those actions remove the muzzle. Remove the muzzle every time your dog shows signs of distress.

#dogs muzzle     #dog acclimate     #canine experts     #dog become     #dogs life     #many dogs     #vet visits     #humane tools     #reinforcement training     #vets office     #veterinarian employee     #training technique     #behavioral changes     #behavioral issues     #routine training