It's not all bad

I've been to pets at home today and got Keith a harness and lead
And for a change I took moo shines in and we got some weird looks but other than that had a couple of people being nice, and said he's a handsome fella ( he had a jacket on hehe ) and gave him treats
And actually had people to stop and ask why he's muzzled, I explained and they fully understood and max let them pet him on the head
So it's not all bad, it's nice that people actually ask you why your dog is muzzled rather than assume and give bad comments and looks!
Thought I'd share

Yeah, it's nice to know that not everybody jumps to conclusions.

That's really nice that people were willing to ask rather than just assume a muzzle means a horrible dog, and good for Max letting people pet him

good story , thanks for sharing

So why is he muzzled?

Paul H wrote:So why is he muzzled?

Long, long story cut short
Max has recently been diagnosed to have bi-polar - mental illness.
He IS nice to people but he can switch in an instant and stiffen up and be very scared but he can also switch back to being happy with that person just as quick with out realising whats happened.

He can be really hyper and run around the house but the hyper moments don't usually last long.
He can get really paranoid for no reason and start running around the house.
He can get really depressed
But all of the above, aggression/scared, hyper, depression paranoia don't usually last long.
But in general he's pretty happy and does enjoy strokes, treats etc of other people.
We're, myself and my OH are just being safety first, as his calmness towards people COULD change with a click of a finger, so we'd rather not risk it.


It is nice that people do ask because they can then understand that Max isn't a "bad" dog and that there's usually more to it that " oh he's aggressive "
I'd rather people approach me and ask because their curious, people at the shop where surprised as they didn't think dogs could get mental illnesses, people can learn new things everyday.

Aww poor thing. I want to give him a biscuit....

Poor Max , but good on you for sticking by him , a lot of people may have just given up on the diagnosis

Tbh when I see a dog with a muzzle I instantly think "responsible owner", many other people would just leave it and problems would happen.

Well done on getting him involved. I tried to bring Logan into PAH once, he walked straight in and peed on the "Bakers" dog food stand. He must have been reading the comments about it on the forum

Ill give him one from you hehe

Oh there's no way we'd give him up, we've had him for 5 years, he's still our baby regardless and we'll make sure he lives the rest of his days being happy and well taken care of by us

MatLogan wrote:I tried to bring Logan into PAH once, he walked straight in and peed on the "Bakers" dog food stand. He must have been reading the comments about it on the forum

Kimb&MooMan wrote: we'll make sure he lives the rest of his days being happy and well taken care of by us

MatLogan wrote:Tbh when I see a dog with a muzzle I instantly think "responsible owner", many other people would just leave it and problems would happen.

Well done on getting him involved. I tried to bring Logan into PAH once, he walked straight in and peed on the "Bakers" dog food stand. He must have been reading the comments about it on the forum

Yeah there were a couple of people who did give real nasty looks lol, I told my OH if I see a dog with a muzzle on I exactly too think " responsible owner " it's honestly being safer than sorry in my opinion.

Ohhh I thought I'd brave it today as usssually he can be very distracted by everything, he was today to be fair, he knocked over loads of book lol, sniffing at everything, I just thought max having a muzzle on would mean he wouldn't be allowed in the shop.

This must get hard for you but at least you can get the chance to explain his condition as like you said he is not your average aggressive dog.......thank you for sharing and glad you came away with something positive must have given you a boost