Sure your dog is well behaved and is the quietest, most sedate one at when you are at the vet’s but certain situations demand that you place a plastic basket muzzle on their mouth. The biggest problem every dog owner has with muzzles is that they seem troublesome for their lovable pet. As the owner of 3 labradors and a mastiff, I had similar concerns. So I did that would be best for my dog in these situations – ask my veterinarian. And what my vet did next put my mind to ease. He took a small sized muzzle and asked me to put my hand in it to feel how flexible and soft it was an was it! I even tried to squeeze both my hands in the muzzle to simulate what it would be like if my labrador tried to open his mouth while he was muzzled and it was surprisingly supple and easy on my skin. After all, my dogs’ skin is tougher than this so it shouldn’t be a problem at all.
There are however other things that you must do to ensure that your dog gets the best fitting muzzle because if it is too small there is going to be obvious discomfort and of the muzzle is too wide then your dog can easily claw it off which defeats the purpose of the whole thing in the first place.
What you would do to make sure that any of the aforementioned problems don’t come up is order a muzzle that has been specifically manufactured to fit snugly on a certain breed. Wider muzzles are for Rottweilers and Bull Dogs who have smaller snouts while the more common longer muzzles are for dogs with pointy snouts like Dalmatians and Labradors. It is also helpful if you can get the exact measurements of your dog’s snout as you can easily plonk those numbers in and get the best sized muzzle for your dog.
Make sure that the muzzle you buy for your dog allows them to open their mouth and pant, more so if you have a furry animal or live in a warm climate.
With plastic basket muzzles you don’t have to worry about your dog’s panting being restricted as often happens with stiff leather and wire mesh muzzles. The ability of a muzzle to let your dog breathe becomes extremely important and more so if you live in a warm environment. After all dog’s can’t perspire (sweat) and use panting as a method to cool off. If you’ve got a furry pet then this is of the utmost importance.
Training your dog to wear a muzzle is not the easiest thing to do. The best way that I have found to do this is to put a little food treat in the muzzle and then let the dog put their snout in a few times without even tightening the straps in. This will give your dog a chance to get acquainted with the muzzle and they will begin accepting it slowly.