Muzzles?

Barbara!

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#1
I need a muzzle for my Rhodesian Ridgeback boy.

He's strong, so I need something that could withstand him banging it around a little. I also want him to still be able to open his mouth and drink water and pant. Also something secure...I don't need him being able to just shake it or paw it off. I have little experience with muzzles, so any personal experiences with whatever brand you recommend would be great for you to share with me.

Thanks!
 

Barbara!

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#4
They're hard for them to pull off? He must not be able to get it off in the "heat of the moment" per say.
 

Danefied

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#5
What are you needing it for? Will he be wearing it a long time, short periods, unsupervised? That sort of thing...
 

crazedACD

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#6
They have an optional head strap for security. These are by far one of the best designs I've handled, and I looked at a lot at the trade shows. Also much easier to feed treats through than other muzzles.
 

Barbara!

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#7
Never unsupervised and never for longer than an hour. It's basically to make sure he doesn't rip the loose neighborhood dogs limb from limb when we go out on our walks...so it needs to be sturdy enough to withhold him actually trying to BITE something. Which is the point, so I'm sure most of them do that...just want to be double sure. Lol.
 

monkeys23

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#8
Why not drive somewhere else to walk him? He will still be able to muzzle punch and possibly injure them, just fyi...
 

Danefied

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#10
If you’re encountering loose dogs that frequently and he’s having that many issues with them, its very possible that he’s practicing a lot of behaviors that are going to give you problems even when loose dogs aren’t around.

In addition to muzzling, I’d work on desensitizing him to other dogs.
Very often you can diffuse a loose dog situation just by having your dog be completely un reactive. Obviously that’s going to take a lot of training, but if you can prevent him having opportunities to practice reactivity as much as possible, it will help the training tremendously.

And yes, a dog the size of a ridgeback can still do significant damage even muzzled.
 

FG167

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#11
I have a muzzle for Kastle. I started with this:


But he was able to pull it off in a variety of ways (wedge his foot in the bottom part that is so large and also wedge the end in the bars of his crate and then yank it off...he's a jerk).

So then I ordered THIS one specifically for GSDs but they have other breeds/sizes that are specific for each dog. I really like it and when we are SchH training, I use it weekly. I should mention, the center-forehead strap drives him nutty but it is what is essential for keeping it on his head. He can pant, drink, take treats etc in it.


 

*blackrose

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#12
I just ordered a Baskerville Ultra muzzle for Chloe. Don't have it yet, but it should do the trick.
 

Barbara!

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#13
If you’re encountering loose dogs that frequently and he’s having that many issues with them, its very possible that he’s practicing a lot of behaviors that are going to give you problems even when loose dogs aren’t around.

In addition to muzzling, I’d work on desensitizing him to other dogs.
Very often you can diffuse a loose dog situation just by having your dog be completely un reactive. Obviously that’s going to take a lot of training, but if you can prevent him having opportunities to practice reactivity as much as possible, it will help the training tremendously.

And yes, a dog the size of a ridgeback can still do significant damage even muzzled.
It's not a whole lot, but it's enough for me to want to get a muzzle. He is usually great and focuses on me when asked, but the last situation we were in, the loose dog attacked HIM. There wasn't a whole lot I could do besides try to drag Malyk inside. He is 87 lbs of muscle and he injured the other dog pretty badly. I'm not taking that risk again with him maiming another dog because animal control around here is notorious for taking people's animals and just putting them to sleep. So while I don't always have a car to take him when he goes potty, I can use a muzzle.

Also, I have no fence. I have a yard, but the neighborhood is cramped and people just let their dogs roam...drives me nuts, but it's where I live.
 

Danefied

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#14
It's not a whole lot, but it's enough for me to want to get a muzzle. He is usually great and focuses on me when asked, but the last situation we were in, the loose dog attacked HIM. There wasn't a whole lot I could do besides try to drag Malyk inside. He is 87 lbs of muscle and he injured the other dog pretty badly. I'm not taking that risk again with him maiming another dog because animal control around here is notorious for taking people's animals and just putting them to sleep. So while I don't always have a car to take him when he goes potty, I can use a muzzle.

Also, I have no fence. I have a yard, but the neighborhood is cramped and people just let their dogs roam...drives me nuts, but it's where I live.
Wait. Your dog gets attacked while leashed by an unleashed dog, and AC will come take your dog?? That’s insane! How would they even know your dog was the one who hurt the other dog if the dog is loose with no owner around? If AC is that active, I’d be calling them every single time I saw a loose dog. If nothing else, they’d have it on record that you had already complained about the loose dogs, and nothing was done.

Am I the only one who would leave my dog UNmuzzled so he could defend himself? I think I’d also be carrying some mace to spray at the dog before he gets to mine.
 
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#15
Yeah, that is one big downfall of muzzle IMO..if the dog IS attacked they cant fight back and a whole host of issues can pop up. Personally, instead of muzzling your dog I would get an airhorn, some pepper spray if needed, etc etc to break up or scare off loose dogs.
 

Doberluv

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#16
If I had a dog capable of defending himself and other dogs were attacking or antagonizing him, I wouldn't dream of leaving him vulnerable like that by keeping a muzzle on him. Absolutely not. I like the idea of calling AC, reporting these loose dogs and carrying some kind of deterrent, as was mentioned. And I agree about working on some dog reactivity training. There are a few good books to help with this. Click to Calm is one of them. Good luck.
 

Barbara!

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#17
I would honestly rather try a muzzle. I can keep a dog off of him, but I can't always keep him off of another dog. He's stronger than me, and VERY protective of me. I think what riled him the most about this dog the other day was that it was coming at us, and he felt I was in danger. Idk. But I've had animal control at my door fussing at me for kicking a Jack Russel before that bit me (they came t my door after i reported the JRT asking me for mg rabies info). I REALLY feel a lot better knowing my dog wouldn't be at risk of being taken. I know that might seem ass backwards, but it just makes me feel a lot better. Animal Control around here is weird and just...scary. Lol. And like I said, I feel I am capable of keeping other dogs away from him...but I am not physically capable of keeping him off of another dog that he wants to get to.

We have recently been working on his focusing and reactivity towards offensive natured dogs. Any pointers on that though, are welcomed.
 

Danefied

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#18
I would honestly rather try a muzzle. I can keep a dog off of him, but I can't always keep him off of another dog. He's stronger than me, and VERY protective of me. I think what riled him the most about this dog the other day was that it was coming at us, and he felt I was in danger. Idk. But I've had animal control at my door fussing at me for kicking a Jack Russel before that bit me (they came t my door after i reported the JRT asking me for mg rabies info). I REALLY feel a lot better knowing my dog wouldn't be at risk of being taken. I know that might seem ass backwards, but it just makes me feel a lot better. Animal Control around here is weird and just...scary. Lol. And like I said, I feel I am capable of keeping other dogs away from him...but I am not physically capable of keeping him off of another dog that he wants to get to.

We have recently been working on his focusing and reactivity towards offensive natured dogs. Any pointers on that though, are welcomed.
Generally dogs that are reactive like that are not being protective, they’re scared. Click to calm is a good suggestion, also look up Grisha Stewart and BAT.
But really you’d need to work with a qualified trainer who can help you work through this. I’m honestly a little concerned to hear you say you can’t stop him from going after another dog if he wants to. If this is the case, most definitely a muzzle and different equipment to walk him in so that he can’t overpower you.
I’m not generally a fan of head halters, but it might be worth it in your situation as some will also close the dog’s mouth and act as a muzzle of sorts. He would need to be properly introduced to the head halter and thoroughly desensitized to it. I see way too many dogs walking like rooting pigs trying to get head halters off, drives me batty and totally counter productive in a situation like yours. If you go the head halter route, get more advice from people who actually use them (I don’t).
 
K

Kaydee

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#19
Really, speaking from having a dawg who's very reactive onleash...finding a place to walk with few to no other dogs is such a remarkable relief, just something to consider.
 

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