Muzzles Are Okay!

There is nothing wrong with muzzle training your dog. I have had owners reluctant to try it due to how their dog will look & what the public may think of them when out on a walk. Muzzles can increase quality of life & dogs can LOVE wearing them.

Reasons people may need to muzzle their dog:

• To stop them from eating 1080 poison when out camping

• To stop them from eating random things on their walk that make them sick

• To prevent a dog being able to bite another dog, person, animal or vehicle

• To stop the dog from biting the vet or groomer - Keep in mind while your dog might like the vet, if they are in pain & the vet has to look at them, they may now bite due to pain

• Working dogs or sporting dogs may require one to ensure stock, other animals are not bitten. Ensuring the handler that if something does happen, it wasn’t their dog that inflicted the damage as it was muzzled

• Policies when entering public buildings or transport where dogs are allowed

I have had clients reluctant to further their reactive dogs training due to:

• Off leash dog running up to theirs when they should not be

• People patting or running up to their dog without asking if they are allowed to

• People letting their on leash dog drag them over to my client’s dog

• The owner being nervous & unsure if they are able to keep control & avoid an incident when working in a controlled training environment in close proximity to other dogs - Their confidence has been shot from their dog’s reactivity in the past, they get nervous something may happen, which it can, accidents happen, owner gets distracted or nerves get to them. So a muzzle gives them that peace of mind

Without a muzzle, these owner & dogs would be stuck, not being able to progress in their training. Which impact on the dog & owner’s quality of life. A dog stuck with reactivity issues, where the owner can’t get the dog out of the house

Muzzle training your dog does take time, if you want them to like it. You can’t just shove one on & off you go. Lots of conditioning needs to go in to ensure your dog will shove its nose into it with a tail wag & continue on.

What the public think of your dog wearing a muzzle is none of their business. You should not let this get to you or make you feel judged. You are doing what is best for you & your dog to increase quality of life. Its highly likely they have not delt with a dog with the issues yours has. So keep doing what you need to do to get where you need to be with your dog.