Muzzle hold

Hi mi puppy Skye went for her first vaccinations yesterday.the vet asked us off all was well which it is apart from the nipping!! She told us to try the muzzle hold and demonstrated it too us,personally I thought it was a bit severe,but it calmed her down for a while anyway.does anyone use this method? Does it work?

It is a bit severe but I do it to Zeus when hes nipping alot as hes teething right now, it does work as he'll stop for a while. But sometimes he doesn't like it and he'll snap in the air at me, which I simply ignore.

I won't hold the muzzle to stop nipping, to me that creates more problems than it solves. It's a short term 'fix', but can make a dog very insecure & nervous, especially if they are already hot/anxious (ie playing or at the vets), because they are unable to pant.

At the vets, if Dempsey needs an injection or the vet needs to examine him I hold either side of his collar and keep his muzzle between my legs if necessary. To stop nipping, then the "no" and ignore has a much better long term result because the dog will be happy & confident with it.

I wouldn't do it either.

Not something I've ever tried and wouldn't either.

When Lexi was a pup she had a bad habit of chewing show laces and i would use this method, but it never worked. It just confused her so no i wouldn't reccommend it. Never take behavioural advice from a vet, they know nothing about behaviour.

I wouldn't do it either but i do use a proper muzzle for Chance when we go to the vets instead

ella wrote:I wouldn't do it either but i do use a proper muzzle for Chance when we go to the vets instead

Ella, I think you are being very responsible doing this. Well done