Muzzles

So I'm thinking about getting a muzzle for Dragon today, since he's quite aggressive towards other dogs, but my question is, will it help me socialize the dog? I mean, when I let another dog come near Dragon (when he has his muzzle) Dragon can't bite them, but he can still growl, would that cause the other dog to attack my dog? Because I was thinking of letting Dragon see other dogs while muzzled and after a while let him of the lead with another dog, muzzled and see if he'll play with them, but I'm scared because even if the other dog is good that it'll attack Dragon because Dragon might growl causing them to attack Dragon?

It is possible yes, and he will not be able to defend himself. I think it would work if you were able to find a calm stable dog to introduce dragon to to get him used to it but in all honesty if you have an agro dog now, it will be hard to change it without professional help. You might be able to make him tolerate other dogs near him on the lead but you might never have him run around like other dogs, thats just his personality.

Moved this to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Chat section

I think you have to do it gradually. I mean, if you need a muzzle because he's aggressive, you shouldn't let him off the lead to play with them, because if he does end up growling at them or being aggressive in body language, it could cause the other dog to react. I think if he needs a muzzle then fair enough, get him one, and by all means keep letting Dragon meet other dogs, but I think at least for the time being, take it slowly, just stick to letting them sniff, walking together, and keeping an eye on him. But that's just what I think.

Sorry. I was reading some stuff on introductions and I might of posted there by accident, sorry.

But yes that's what I meant, I'll let them sniff and walk them together and ask people if they don't mind coming with their dogs on the lead to see Dragon, while Dragon is muzzled and just introduce as many dogs as possible to Dragon so he starts getting that dogs aren't nasty and he does not need to attack them. Then when he stops growling when they sniff each other and that try let him off the lead and let them play and see if he gets along with the dog, etc...
Dragon is a very very smart dog, he learns really quickly so hopefully with me doing all this he might start understanding not to attack other dogs etc.

The main thing I have against muzzles is that the dog wearing it cannot defend itself should it need to. Yes it then cannot do any harm either while wearing it, swings and roundabouts, but ultimately your decision. Personally I dont like to see them.

The thing is when we let another dog sniff Dragon so they meet each other, Dragon will growl and bite even if he's on the lead, with the muzzle he'll only growl and he'll not be able to bite the other dog.
I'm not sure how to make him not be as aggressive because he's nearly 2 years old and I haven't had him for that long, so it's hard to undo what the old owner did to Dragon (making him aggressive). It's hard to walk with Dragon also because he'll always pull me towards a dog if he sees another dog while walking, I do pull him back and say no, but he just never stops and it probably hurts him as well as he's pulling so hard to go to the other dogs. :/

DragonTheStaffie wrote:The thing is when we let another dog sniff Dragon so they meet each other, Dragon will growl and bite even if he's on the lead, with the muzzle he'll only growl and he'll not be able to bite the other dog.
I'm not sure how to make him not be as aggressive because he's nearly 2 years old and I haven't had him for that long, so it's hard to undo what the old owner did to Dragon (making him aggressive). It's hard to walk with Dragon also because he'll always pull me towards a dog if he sees another dog while walking, I do pull him back and say no, but he just never stops and it probably hurts him as well as he's pulling so hard to go to the other dogs. :/

Try teaching him "watch." Loki isn't aggressive, but he pulled like mad to dogs and people to meet them, and people on here suggested it to me. It's worked loads, he doesn't pull towards people at all now, and he's slightly better with dogs, definitely more manageable. Anyway, hold a treat up to your face and when he looks, tell him "watch" and then give him the treat. Keep doing it and eventually he'll learn to look at you when you say it even without holding the treat up. Then try and practice when outside. Obviously it'll take a while for him to decide to look at you rather than another dog, but if it helps even a little bit, then you're all the better for it.

He knows that, he'll look at me if I call his name but then he'll keep on pulling.
He comes back if I ask him to BUT not when there's another dog on the scene.

Hi Jo, please dont think of Dragon as being aggressive he is just doing what many unneutered male dogs do when they meet up, this is perfectly normal. yes its sensible to have him muzzled, as a precaution, but have a muzzle that enables him to pant and drink water and take titbits. Solly wears a muzzle all the time when he is out and about in London and yes he has been attacked by other dogs and no he has not been hurt because his sheer weight collapses the offending dog!!!!!!!!!!!
I must repeat that though us humans dont like it , this behaviour is normal in dogs, I would be more concerned if Dragon was unsociable towards bitches and some neutered males because it may point to him being uncomfortable around all dogs, then perhaps you should ask for help. Keep away from entire males and get sociable with the rest.

I use a muzzle every day on Chance and you need to desensitise a dog to one if they have never worn one, or they will spend all their time getting stressed and trying to get it off.

Please don't forget that a muzzled dog CAN still cause a lot of damage to other dogs if you let so they aren't a quick fix

Panda wrote:Hi Jo, please dont think of Dragon as being aggressive he is just doing what many unneutered male dogs do when they meet up, this is perfectly normal. yes its sensible to have him muzzled, as a precaution, but have a muzzle that enables him to pant and drink water and take titbits. Solly wears a muzzle all the time when he is out and about in London and yes he has been attacked by other dogs and no he has not been hurt because his sheer weight collapses the offending dog!!!!!!!!!!!
I must repeat that though us humans dont like it , this behaviour is normal in dogs, I would be more concerned if Dragon was unsociable towards bitches and some neutered males because it may point to him being uncomfortable around all dogs, then perhaps you should ask for help. Keep away from entire males and get sociable with the rest.

Dragon doesn't get along with any dog at all, not even bitches, he'll still growl, maybe I should try with a bitch staffy instead of another type of dog?

ella wrote:I use a muzzle every day on Chance and you need to desensitise a dog to one if they have never worn one, or they will spend all their time getting stressed and trying to get it off.

Please don't forget that a muzzled dog CAN still cause a lot of damage to other dogs if you let so they aren't a quick fix

Thank you, I've bought a muzzle today and I guess he's never had one because he tried to get it off as soon as I finished putting it on him.
So how should I go about, making him be happy wearing his muzzle?

When I muzzle trained Betsy I was advised to start feeding her kimble or treats through the muzzle (don't yet put the muzzle on). Do this for a while until your dog is quite comfortbale with it.
As this happened, I'd have the muzzle close to her until eventually she was happy for me to losely tie it. I'd go for short very short periods as she was quite resistent at first. Once she was ok I'd then move to tying it fully on and straight away treats. I progressed slowly from using it in the home to outdoors. It took us a while until Betsy felt ok and as soon as she tried to take it off I'd distract her.

Someone may be able to offer something else, but this worked for us.
Good luck!

Normally Dragon will stop anything he's doing for his squeaky ball, but today while he was trying to take his muzzle off, he did not care about the ball or anything else...

The pet shop women, said we should give him some treats through the muzzle (with it on).

Personally I wouldn't rush it with him. If he's trying to take it off, I'd feed treats without the muzzle on him. I think it's important that there's a positive association with it and going at a pace where he isn't going to resist i.e yeah I could sit here and take treats from you through the muzzle all day long

DragonTheStaffie wrote:

Panda wrote:Hi Jo, please dont think of Dragon as being aggressive he is just doing what many unneutered male dogs do when they meet up, this is perfectly normal. yes its sensible to have him muzzled, as a precaution, but have a muzzle that enables him to pant and drink water and take titbits. Solly wears a muzzle all the time when he is out and about in London and yes he has been attacked by other dogs and no he has not been hurt because his sheer weight collapses the offending dog!!!!!!!!!!!
I must repeat that though us humans dont like it , this behaviour is normal in dogs, I would be more concerned if Dragon was unsociable towards bitches and some neutered males because it may point to him being uncomfortable around all dogs, then perhaps you should ask for help. Keep away from entire males and get sociable with the rest.

Dragon doesn't get along with any dog at all, not even bitches, he'll still growl, maybe I should try with a bitch staffy instead of another type of dog?

ella wrote:I use a muzzle every day on Chance and you need to desensitise a dog to one if they have never worn one, or they will spend all their time getting stressed and trying to get it off.

Please don't forget that a muzzled dog CAN still cause a lot of damage to other dogs if you let so they aren't a quick fix

Thank you, I've bought a muzzle today and I guess he's never had one because he tried to get it off as soon as I finished putting it on him.
So how should I go about, making him be happy wearing his muzzle?

you don't want to put it straight on him.

Put in on the floor with a few treats in and let him eat the treats out, and do it a few times, when you go to put it on him, smear something tasty round the end where his nose will be so he licks it off while you fasten it.

Leave it on for a short time and take it off, repeat and increase the time until he's happy with it

ella wrote:I use a muzzle every day on Chance and you need to desensitise a dog to one if they have never worn one, or they will spend all their time getting stressed and trying to get it off.

Please don't forget that a muzzled dog CAN still cause a lot of damage to other dogs if you let so they aren't a quick fix

And if you want a muzzle to definitely stay on, use one with an overhead strap as well as a neck one.

Foster's neck-strap-only one fits so well that there is no measurable "give" between muzzle and mouth when tested, yet when she smells something she wants, she pulls it with both paws while rubbing it on the ground and then it's off.

I think i said this on another thread but here goes , i once had a terrier who was aggressive towards other dogs , so i muzzled him and let him mix with other dogs , it soon dawned on him that the other dogs were not a threat either to him or myself after a week or so i took the muzzle off and he was fine with other dogs for the rest of his life .

Working dog wrote:

ella wrote:I use a muzzle every day on Chance and you need to desensitise a dog to one if they have never worn one, or they will spend all their time getting stressed and trying to get it off.

Please don't forget that a muzzled dog CAN still cause a lot of damage to other dogs if you let so they aren't a quick fix

And if you want a muzzle to definitely stay on, use one with an overhead strap as well as a neck one.

Foster's neck-strap-only one fits so well that there is no measurable "give" between muzzle and mouth when tested, yet when she smells something she wants, she pulls it with both paws while rubbing it on the ground and then it's off.

I use the baskerville ultra muzzle, but have never needed to use the head strap as it can be adjusted alot, it also has a loop under the chin to thread a collar through which i use

[quote="ella"][quote="Working dog"]

ella wrote:
I use the baskerville ultra muzzle, but have never needed to use the head strap as it can be adjusted alot, it also has a loop under the chin to thread a collar through which i use

Hi everyone, my Dizzy wears a muzzle at all times when off the lead. I also use the Baskerville Ultra as it is a much better shape, comfortable for the dog and is also black so in Dizzy's case coz he is black and white, the colour co-ordination is perfect!

Dizz is not instantly aggressive towards other dogs and is pretty good with dogs he knows, but I can never totally trust him with any dog. He was fine with all dogs up until about 14 months then I had an incident where he was playing nicely with another dog then he just turned, for no reason, grabbed the dog by the neck and wouldn't let go. It took three of us to get him off and the other dog was on the verge of passing out, so it was a lucky escape for her, and a very frightening experience for everyone at the time!

Another indident also occurred earlier this year when somone was looking after him for me and I warned them to keep him muzzled when playing with the other dogs. Unfortunately they decided to let him play without the muzzle at one point and at first he was fine, but then again the same thing happened, he suddenly turned on another dog and this time caused damage which required a number of stitches. I was absolutely mortified and so upset, but the carers took full responsibility at the time

As Ella said, they can still hold their own even with a muzzle on. Dizzy was attacked by a collie once who he approached in play/say hello with his muzzle on, but the collie immediately went for him which instantly made him retaliate and he pinned the collie to the ground with his sheer strength and weight!! So yes, whilst they cannot cause major damage with their teeth with the muzzle on, they can still put up a fair defence, although none of us want this to happen in any case as we don't want any damage done to our babies either!

Due to the ignorance of a local in my village too who saw fit to let his dog run up to my dog (off a lead on a public road) and have the cheek to abuse me when my dog 'told his dog off' for jumping up in his face, I now muzzle him on the lead when I walk him locally. I never used to when on a lead at all and I hate it, but stupid people are too quick to point the finger when it comes to staffies, so I refuse to let him be blamed for anything now!! I love my boy too much and would be beside myself if anything happened to him due to the ignorance of others!!

Lola has to wear a mikky muzzle when she is off lead as she can be funny with other dogs since she was attacked by a Rottie and saw Lily attacked twice. She seems to know she can't bite with it on and just chases Lily, I hate her wearing it but I can't trust her! I didn't get Lola until she was 6months and she had never been outside not even in a back garden so she didn't have the socialisation Lily had from 12 weeks being on the beach every day.