Honest opinions on muzzling Staffies

Unfortunately due to the fact that gob****** are allowed to own dogs, our Staffies have been given
a bad reputation. This may have been argued to death on the forum already but being a new member
I would not be aware of it.

Anyway.. Do you think that Staffies should be muzzled at all times. It is the law in Ireland that Staffies
living in built up areas must be micro chipped and have to wear a muzzle at all times.
I personally hate them. I think it makes the dog look vicious and everyone tends to cross the road or give
you a wide berth and make faces when you walk by.

My Staffie is very well socialised and havs no interest in attacking other dogs or humans.
The only time I ever seen him attach another dog was when my friends x large American Boxer, attacked
my Akita pup. Caesar and Ricky ( the Boxer ) always get on great but it was the first time that Ricky seen Jake
( the Akita) and he took an instant dislike and attacked. He dived on the pup and tried to savage him.
Ceasar grabbed Ricky by the back of the neck and pulled him off Jake. He stopped Jake getting a pretty bad mauling. He never drew blood. He just get Ricky at bay until my friend and I got to the scene. They were friends again immediately after.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with their Staffies and would you agree that Staffies shouldn`t have to be muzzled.

I think if the dog needs to be muzzled it is very responsible and I have a lot of respect for an owner that does it. I've heard people say they didn't want to muzzle their dog because it looks bad, even though they were aware they needed it.

However, if a dog doesn't need muzzled it will create really big problems with nervous/anxious behaviour because of it.

Because of other owners ruining it though I know it is a rule in some parts. It's a shame tbh.

If the dog is aggressive or potentially aggressive then yes it needs muzzled, but i think its crap that it has to be muzzle just for being a staffy.

Tough question.

If a dog is human aggressive, the yes, it should have a muzzle on in public places. A dog aggressive dog I personally wouldn't muzzle, but then I've got a pretty good idea how to handle a dog so there wouldn't be too many problems.

A blanket law that all staffords should be muzzled is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. As Mat says, it can actually cause insecurities which lead to fear aggression, and if another dog attacks it, it can't defend itself.

Caryll wrote:Tough question.

If a dog is human aggressive, the yes, it should have a muzzle on in public places. A dog aggressive dog I personally wouldn't muzzle, but then I've got a pretty good idea how to handle a dog so there wouldn't be too many problems.

Agree. I don't muzzle lexi unless i know she will be within very close range of another dog, and as the experience two days ago proved, i didn't last very long with it! I would say i am responsible in not letting her off lead in areas with other dogs about, i also know how to handle her should a loose dog come up to me, so don't feel she needs muzzled. However if someone who didn't know her or dogs well and was to take her for a walk i would muzzle her.

I`m lucky in that all my dogs are very well socialised.
They are all easily walked off the lead and do everything they are told but
I always keep them on the lead when walking through housing estates
or built up areas. They only get off the lead when we reach the park.

I agree that there is always the exception that proves the rule.
My neighbours sons has a large Pitbull and this dog attacks everything it sees.
Its never muzzled and it almost ripped off the head of another neighbours Jack Russell. When he brings the dog out it actually brings him for a walk.
He gets dragged down the road and any dog that comes near is fair game. If I had brought up this dog he would not be like this. I blame the owner 99% for the dogs behaviour. Its guys like that that ruins it for everyone..

PS. Even tough my Akita is doing great with his training, he will be wearing a muzzle or at least a head collar when he get a bit older..

My old boy, Bandit, was dog aggressive - very! But he was naturally like that, even though he'd been socialised. Some staffords just don't like other dogs & there's nothing you can do apart from getting to know your dog & recognising his body language.

Dempsey was extensively socialised as a pup & young dog, but is unpredictable with other dogs. Some he's fine with, others he'll hate with a vengeance!

I don't think a dog should be muzzled unless absolutely necessary, in some cases it is and responsible owners know when that's the right thing to do. But no one breed should have to all be muzzled in my opinion.

Sazzle wrote:I don't think a dog should be muzzled unless absolutely necessary, in some cases it is and responsible owners know when that's the right thing to do. But no one breed should have to all be muzzled in my opinion.

I agree

Anto, I'm a bit confused.

Apparently in Eire Staffs have to be muzzled in built-up areas and yet your neighbour's Pitbull is apparently never muzzled. Is it only Staffs who have to muzzled?

Hayley wrote:If the dog is aggressive or potentially aggressive then yes it needs muzzled, but i think its crap that it has to be muzzle just for being a staffy.

Unfortunately this law came into force about two years ago. It makes no sense. Some Pea brains,, working for
the council, that probably never owned a dog in their life, came up with this bi law or what ever it is called.
Basically they took a load of breeds, Akitas, Pitbulls, Staffs, German Sheppards, Doberman pinchers, Mastiffs and
Rotweilers and put them on a restricted dogs list. Their are others on the list but I can`t name them all.
Siberian Huskies and Kerryblue Terriers are not on the list though. Personally they would be the first two on the
list if I had drawn it up..

Anyway.. These dogs have to be chipped and must wear muzzles are all times when out in public.
I think the law my be even worse and these dogs are banned entirely in built up areas ( heard different interpretations) but I have yet to hear of anyone losing their dog and the Gardaí (Irish police ) have just been warning guys to muzzle their dogs.
The Gardaí do have the power to take the dog from you and have it destroyed.

Wow. What a restrictive law. How does your neighbour's Pitbull get away with it then?

Lynda wrote:Anto, I'm a bit confused.

Apparently in Eire Staffs have to be muzzled in built-up areas and yet your neighbour's Pitbull is apparently never muzzled. Is it only Staffs who have to muzzled?

My neighbours son just does not give a fewk. Thankfully he does not live with his father.
He has a drug problem and lives in an apartment with this pitbull and a stunning Bitch Staffie.
The last time I spoke to him the Pitbull had attacked the bitch and done a bit of damage. This was when the
pitbull was only six months old.

The dog is stunning. He is jet black with a massive big head. A waste of a stunning dog.

Here is a link to some information regarding the law..


http://www.dspca.ie/index.jsp?p=153&n=216&a=80

Thank you for the link, very informative.

I really don't want to criticise the laws put in place by a country other than my own, I can only say that all of the dogs I have ever owned, loved and trusted NEVER to bite any person or dog would all have had to be muzzled in public under this law - most unnecessarily and possibly to the detriment to their own happiness and personality.

Very sad.

I think it's a stupid law for all dogs of a certain breed to be muzzled, because as we all know, it's about how they're trained, not simply their breed. But if the dog needs to be muzzled because of it's temperament, it's the responsible thing to do.

Can't say any more than what has been said already , a muzzle used for the right reasons is a responsible action , a muzzle because the law says so is ridiculous

Dave wrote:a muzzle used for the right reasons is a responsible action , a muzzle because the law says so is ridiculous

Couldn't agree more Dave.

I was in the park yesterday with a friend, and a lab came up to us and we were stroking it ect and then a big staffie type dog (think it was a boxer cross) ran up to us with a muzzle on and my friend got really scared and was saying "oh god it's going to attack the lab or bite us" and I was like it's fine look at it, and it just slowly walked up to the lab and had a good old sniff and the lab went happily back to it's owner and I said see, he's fine - give him a stroke! By this time he was rolling all over the floor and wriggling around and he knocked his muzzle over his eyes so we sorted that out for him and his owner came running up and she was like "sorry he's just so in love with everything, he's a devil to keep close sometimes!" and my friend asked about his muzzle and she said people had been threatening to hang her dog if she didn't walk him muzzled because of all the dog attacks lately So it goes to show that muzzling your dog, if not needed, really does give a bad first opinion on them! Luckily I work with dogs so I knew by his body language he wasn't aggressive or anything, other wise I would've panicked a bit more But not everyone knows and I just think it's a shame

Dave wrote:Can't say any more than what has been said already , a muzzle used for the right reasons is a responsible action , a muzzle because the law says so is ridiculous

Could not agree more.
9 times out of ten its because of how the dog was reared. I also have an Akita ( 7 months ) and when we got him
he was very nervous, food aggressive and a drama queen.
The breeder told me that he has to separate the parents during feeding and if he was to give one of them a bone
even he could not approach the dogs. He only walks them at night too.
I`m not saying I am Ceasar Milan but I am good with dogs. A little bit of work and effort and Jake ( the Akita ) has
become really social. His food aggression is gone and all he wants to do is play with other dogs.
He still is a bit of a drama queen but his tantrums are very rare and when he starts the other dogs nip it in the
bud straight away. He is not to keen about stranger rubbing him unless they are kids but I don`t see this as
a problem. He just pulls his head back and moves away.

I see nothing wrong with muzzles

if a dog needs to wear one then fair enough

Both of my boys have a muzzle and are accustomed to wearing it, although harvey's is incase of ingury

I don't like the blanket case of having all dogs muzzled though

Ceasar wrote: I also have an Akita ( 7 months ) and when we got him
he was very nervous, food aggressive and a drama queen.
The breeder told me that he has to separate the parents during feeding and if he was to give one of them a bone

Those two dogs should never have been mated with temperaments like that!

I personally think that they should only be muzzled if they're aggressive towards people or if he's aggressive towards dogs and you can not control him, having to be muzzled just because of a breed its like saying a black person has to wear a "muzzle", I think it's pure stupidity.

You're very lucky that your dog is well socialised, since I got my boy when he was already 1 and was already dog aggressive i have never had the chance of socialising him, he's bite other dogs but most of the time is a nip as he's always on the lead around dogs and I pull him back and walk away, only once that he's a hurt a dog because the other owners didn't care about their dog and when we shouted out your dog on the lead mine is not very friendly, they ignored us so in a way they got what they deserved for not caring about their dog and not listening but I felt sorry for the other dog as it got really hurt.

I think it depends on the dog and as already mentioned a responsible owner will muzzle a dog if it is a problem. I always keep my 2 dogs on a lead unless in a open area where I have good visibility as unless I know the other dogs dont want mine to mix.