Muzzles
Why might a dog need to wear a muzzle?
Most people think that a dog in muzzle is aggressive, but did you know that there are many other reasons why dogs might be wearing muzzles? Let’s discuss some of the reasons as well as the appropriate ways to interact with the owners and dogs.
I feel that all dogs no matter what breed, size, age, temperament should be muzzle trained. There are many situations where dogs might need to wear muzzles and, in this article, I will go over several of them. All my own personal dogs have been trained to wear muzzles for a few different reasons which I will discuss in this article as well.
To Stop them from eating potentially dangerous items
There are many dogs that have a condition called pica, it is defined as “the persistent chewing and consumption of non-nutritional substances that provide no physical benefit to the animal.” While many of our dog’s chew on a variety of objects, only some dogs consume the objects which is one of the requirements of Pica. Pica is a condition where the dogs chewing and eating of objects is way more than normal and many times the dogs seem obsessed with it. Pica can be a symptom of an underlying medical problem, such as nutritional deficiencies, or behavior problem, such as anxiety, boredom, or true compulsive behavior. Pica can lead to medical problems including poisoning, dental problems, and gastrointestinal obstructions.
Therefore, many owners with severe Pica choose to have their dogs wear muzzles either while outside or inside to prevent poisoning, surgery to remove the items, or even death.
To Stop High Prey Drive Dogs from Catching and Hurting Wildlife
Certain breeds of dogs are bred to hunt and kill things like rabbits, rats, or other creatures. That instincts that have been genetically bred in a lot of dogs is so high that even a walk in the woods can be difficult for the owners. Although training is needed in those situations many owners still feel more comfortable knowing that no matter what the dog cannot hurt the animal if they crossed paths with it.
They Play Too Rough with Other Dogs
I can say that this situation is one I deal with the pack I own. Having six dogs and all of them high drive working dogs when it is time to play and run it is a very competitive situation. When running the dogs off leash on the trails or in the fields I generally muzzle 2-4 of the dogs that play too rough. This prevents the dogs from injuring each other, prevents them from building grudges against each other from the rough play, and they are generally less competitive with the muzzles on, so play less rough to begin with. These dogs all live and co-exist together in the home but in the high intensity environment of racing and playing I just play it safe. This is most often seen with high intensity working breed dogs, dogs that have a high pain tolerance (they can’t feel the corrections from the other dogs), or those that their breed tends to play rougher than the other breed of dog they are playing with. All breeds of dogs have their own play styles and some dogs just play rougher than others.
To Practice Use for Vets, Groomers, or for Sports
This is another situation where I have used muzzles on my own dogs. I have had a few of my dogs get injured over the years and I have had to muzzle them to prevent them from biting me out of pain. No matter how much your dog loves you and know you they WILL bite you if they are in severe pain. Having been a vet tech for 15+ years I can tell you from personal experience that many people brought their dogs in with injuries, but they had been bitten themselves trying to help their dogs. Having a muzzle on hand and having your dog already train to it in emergency situations can be a life saver.
The second area that my own personal dogs wear muzzles is for the dog sports that we do. My three whippets race in events and one of the requirements for those events is that the dogs wear muzzles. So, my own personal dogs learned as puppies that muzzles mean that they were going to go have some fun. To this day if I get a muzzle out at my house all the dogs get super excited and know fun is coming up next.
The Dogs Do Not Like Other Dogs or People in Their Space (Aggression Issues)
This is probably what most people immediately go to thinking about when we see a dog in a muzzle. What I will say is this, I commend all owners that have dogs that are reactive or aggressive that take all measure to keep the general public safe. These owners should be looked highly upon as they are putting your safety first before their own needs or wants, and the dogs needs or wants.
Many of these dogs that do have some aggression issues also feel safer and react less with muzzles on if introduced properly.
The owners of muzzled dogs are also more comfortable knowing their dog is unable to do harm to anyone or another dog. Thus, when working with the dogs in areas that they struggle the owners are more comfortable which transfers to the dog and they are generally more comfortable.
Do’s and Don’ts When You Meet a Muzzled Dog
Don’t Go Up to Them!!! Give Them Space!!!
This on the surface seems self-explanatory HOWEVER I cannot even tell you how many times I personally was working muzzled dogs and people would just come up to us like nothing was going on. Or the people would come up to us and start a conversation about the muzzled dog and the muzzles themselves.
So, if you see a muzzled dog leave the owner and dog alone! Respect the owner and dog and allow them to work. Every time I was interrupted while in public with a dog, I was working it always broke concentration. Not only my concentration on the dog was broke but also interrupts the concentration of the dog and what it is supposed to be doing.
As discussed above not all dogs are aggressive and could be gone up to pet and be totally fine with it HOWEVER you will not know this until you go up to them and by that point if they are aggressive, you have possibly caused an aggressive move by the dog because of your disrespect for their space.
Don’t Allow Your Dog into the Other Dog’s Space
If you have your own dog with you make sure that your dog doesn’t get into the other dog’s space for the same reasons as above. Keep your dog on a short leash, under control, and near you. By you keeping your dog under control you will make the muzzled dog feel safer and less likely to react if they are dog reactive/aggressive.
Don’t Judge the Owner/Dog or Comment/Act on Your Views of Muzzles
Today’s Society feels the need to always say or act upon their opinion on any subject without thinking about the repercussions of those words or actions. The tongue can either cut someone down or lift them up and can have effects that last forever.
So many of my clients that needed or wanted to muzzle their dogs felt the undo pressure of society not to. Some knew their dogs would do better with muzzles, but the stigma put on dogs and their owners prevented them from doing it. Some had so much stigma built up in their own heads that they could not see how much of them, and their dogs would benefit from the muzzles.
Once again not all dogs are aggressive and as we talked about earlier and many of these owners are practicing for other things. Remember some dogs eat things while out on walks that could be dangerous, some dogs would chase and hurt wildlife, or the owners are just practicing for the vet, groomer, or sports. Even if the dog is aggressive just remember the owner of that muzzled dog is putting your needs for safety well above their own wants or wishes.
