muzzle

Muzzled Dogs – the Why & How

It is about time I write about the use of muzzles in dogs! Before we begin, I would like to clarify that I do NOT support the use of aversive training tools/techniques/P+ as science has time after time shown that in the long run they are not effective and do not create lasting change (not to mention they can create far more serious problems – we can talk about this further in an upcoming post). Furthermore, as a veterinarian I took an oath to alleviate suffering. Punishment through physical force is suffering.

Buster living his best life wearing a muzzle at the beach in Tofino, BC.

When it comes to muzzles, there is a huge stigma regarding their use. They look scary, therefore they must mean the dog wearing them is bad/mean or their owner uses aversive training techniques. This is absolutely not the case. Muzzles are tools that can allow for dogs who are fearful or reactive to be given opportunities they may not have access to without a muzzle. For example, some high-arousal dogs may greet other dogs inappropriately, but once the initial introduction has passed, they are incredibly fluent in dog-dog social interactions. In other instances, dogs who have a medical condition called ‘pica’ (eating of non-food objects) may wear a muzzle to prevent them from ingesting things that they shouldn’t. This is an incredibly responsible route for owners who have had close-calls with foreign-body surgery. For leash-reactive dogs (dogs who lunge/bark at the end of a tense leash when they see another dog, for example), wearing a muzzle is a good visual cue for others to ask before approaching their dog, even moreso a cue to parents of young kids to not allow their child to excitedly run-up to the dog who may not be comfortable with such a high-energy interaction. As a veterinarian, sometimes a muzzle is needed in a dog in order to perform a physical examination, give a medication or collect blood samples when a dog is sick (although many behaviour-savvy vets will also likely suggest pre-visit medication in these cases when possible).

In summary, muzzles are used for a variety of cases:

  • Prevention of ingestion of non-food items, feces, toxins when outdoors or indoors
  • For nervous or highly aroused dogs in social interactions (with dogs, people, children, etc)
  • For dogs who are at the vet & are either nervous at the vet, or may be painful
  • A visual cue that a dog needs space (this really shouldn’t be necessary, however many humans do not understand or have never been taught proper dog interaction skills)
  • Possibly in an emergency situation where your dog is hurt but you have to lift them to bring them to an emergency facility & do not want to get bit incase it hurts when you lift them (think: broken leg on a hike)
  • Prevention of licking/chewing of a surgical site
  • Occasionally for veterinary or grooming procedures (nail trims, ear cleaning, vaccine, etc.)
  • In some jurisdictions it is the law to have certain dogs or breeds wear muzzles in public
Buster wore his muzzle a lot when he was recovering from a bite wound on his front arm. Most importantly, it prevented him from prematurely ripping out the drain or adding extra bacteria to the situation through licking.

How do I choose a muzzle that is right for my dog?

There are so many options when it comes to choosing a dog muzzle. The most important factors will be fit, material & desired use. One thing to note is that fabric muzzles that hold your dog’s mouth shut should ONLY be used for extremely short instances such as a quick nail trim, a vaccine injection at the vet or ear cleaning. In all other cases a basket muzzle would be the humane choice. Basket muzzles allow your dog to pant (something dogs do when they are warm or stressed), take treats during training, drink water and generally engage in normal dog behaviours.

Buster has been wearing a muzzle when interacting with Mila who is only 6 months old. She has a lot to learn about interacting with other dogs and Buster tends to be far less patient with puppies than adult dogs. This still allows for play & for Buster to give a little growl if he thinks Mila is being too much, but also keeps Mila safe from Buster getting a bit too upset by her crazy puppy antics. Mila now also has a basket muzzle of her own to prevent her from eating things she shouldn’t on walks.

If you are looking for a muzzle to prevent ingestion of objects, any basket muzzle may work. If your dog attempts to eat feces on walks, a vinyl basket muzzle or a basket muzzle with a stool guard may be needed.

If you are wanting a muzzle to help with dog-dog introductions, I would recommend a softer basket muzzle as the wire basket muzzles can hurt quite a lot when a dog runs into another dog, human leg, jumps up, etc. The softer types would include baskerville (many of these don’t fit right on a lot of dogs, but they are relatively cheap & easy to find), biothane custom dog muzzles, vinyl basket muzzles, greyhound racing muzzles & more. Wire basket muzzles are a great option if you are looking for something to be used on leashed walks – they have many sizes & are also bite-proof (as are some of the vinyl muzzles). Below I have images of a variety of muzzles (P.S. that is not Buster’s actual collar, it is his leash extender, we had an oopsie and Buster ended up being a naked dog the day we took these so we made-do):

Baskerville Ultra muzzle. A good option for low bite-risk dogs (as they can still *technically* bite through this if motivated enough), a good option for dog-dog interactions. I also added a strip of “moleskin” (found in the first aid section of any pharmacy) to the nose bridge & removed the forehead strap for extra comfort. Buster wears this muzzle for 7+ hours at daycare on a weekly basis, depending on how rowdy his playmates are.
Leerburg wire basket muzzle (size 29C). Notice that that the nose does not touch the tip of the muzzle & there is plenty of room to pant. This is the muzzle we often use for leashed walks as Buster seems to be most comfortable with it. It would NOT be a good option for dog-dog interactions that are planned as it hurts quite a lot when it hits you (from experience Buster has run into the back of my leg with it before).
JAFCO vinyl basket muzzle. This is a softer muzzle & is another good option for dog-dog interactions. There are options with and without a treat-hole. The ones without a treat-hole would be considered “bite-proof” and may also be a good option for dogs who ingest feces on walks. The forehead strap cannot be easily removed. This muzzle may be a tad bit too small as Buster cannot have a “full pant” but its pretty close.

Other options I do not have photos of would be greyhound muzzles, custom biothane or other custom muzzles. The Muzzle Movement has some pretty fancy muzzles that are being released – we have one on order & I will add it to this blog once arrived. I have not pictured the fabric “grooming” muzzles here as they are not recommended for regular use.

Sizing Your Dog for a Muzzle

For sizing your dog for a muzzle, there are several good resources online. I would recommend the following:

Measurements you will need are: 1) snout length 2) muzzle width 3) full pant height 4) full pant circumference. You can use a tennis ball (or smaller size chuck-it ball for a smaller dog) and measure that way. Here are my very blurry photos of doing this with Buster before we purchased a proper muzzle:

I thought it would be good to also include what a poorly-fitting muzzle would look like. This was the first muzzle we ever bought which seemed to “fit” but was not appropriate for any amount of time longer than maybe 10 minutes:

As you can see here, there is no room for panting, the muzzle is riding up into his eyes, his snout touches the end of the muzzle and overall he appears fairly uncomfortable with it on.

Muzzle Training: Wait, I can’t just use it now?

For muzzle training, you do need to have reasonable expectations. It is not reasonable to expect that you will buy a muzzle today & tomorrow be walking around the neighborhood with your dog wearing said muzzle, happy as a clam with no distress or attempts at removal. For a food motivated dog, I would suggest 2-4 weeks of training before you can expect to have your dog wear it comfortably. Longer if you expect your dog to wear it for extended periods of time. There are some great resources on the muzzle up project (as linked above) for training. Your dog should not be scared of the muzzle in any way. For Buster, we used a lot of food just for him to make positive associations with the actual object itself before ever even putting it on or even having him slip his nose into it. Once he was comfortable enough to not immediately rip it off, we went on a walk immediately with it on (literally a 5 minute walk) to help the environment positively reward him for wearing the muzzle (with sniffing in addition to the treats I gave him as often as possible). Here is the thing: Buster could rip off any of his muzzles at any time, but he doesn’t. If your dog has a negative association with the muzzle, they will take it off – and attempting to tighten it more will only add to their distrust. Take your time, and remember: muzzled dogs are good dogs too!

A happy, comfortable dog with adequate panting room.