Dog muzzle okay?

[QuailMan6666]

Is it okay to put a plastic muzzle (that allows a dog to open their mouth for air) a good idea if I have visitors in my house? Or should I put my dog at a pet hotel?

 

[ShrekDawg]

Muzzles themselves are fine and I think dogs should learn how to wear one as well as be crate trained in case of emergencies etc. BUT!!! You have to train and condition them to the muzzle properly. You cannot just slap it on the day of or even day before and expect them to be okay. Also it doesn’t solve the stress aspect if visitors stress them out. So it might be best to put them up somewhere.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

My dog is aggressive to strangers

Does he have a kennel that you can put him in thats in another room?
If he is aggresive towards stranger then taking him somewhere to stay is going to be worse than a kennel in your house and the strangers need to not go in that room.

 

[fluffycrow]

Then don't simply put a muzzle on them. Muzzle training requires time to begin with. Keep your dog separated from the visitors, and start working on neutralising him/her to strangers, while doing muzzle training separately

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Why does the dog need a muzzle?

is he human aggressive?
If he does id get one he can eat/drink and bark in. And he would need to learn the muzzle is ok, you cant just strap it on him and expect him to like it, its going to take a few days even for him probably just allow you to put it on.

 

[AinaWGSD]

A muzzle can be a useful tool, but it does require training and conditioning. It's not something you can do in a couple of days.

One of my dogs was not properly socialized as a puppy and can be a bit iffy with non family members. He wears a muzzle when the kids have friends over for sleepovers and family gatherings like Thanksgiving. After a while he settles down and we can often remove the muzzle. If we can't be right there or he doesn't settle he goes in his crate.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Can you just put your dog in a room? My dog is aggressive toward certain people (we don't know why), so whenever there's someone new coming around that I'm concerned that he won't like, I put him in my bedroom (which is where he usually sleeps at night). I got a plastic muzzle for when I take him places and I'll only put it on him when I take him out of the car. You shouldn't keep a muzzle on your dog for a long time. (I think the directions I got with one muzzle said 15 minutes or less?)

My male pup use to be that way towards certains people especially men, but with a lot reinforcement and training i can now take him places and people can enter our house with no problem. The easiest thing is to teach the pup that people equals good not bad.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

My male pup use to be that way towards certains people especially men, but with a lot reinforcement and training i can now take him places and people can enter our house with no problem. The easiest thing is to teach the pup that people equals good not bad.

It's mostly men with my dog too. Unfortunately, he's 5 years old now, so I'm not sure about training. (I got him when he was 2.5 and this has always been a problem.) I also am not around a lot of people that isn't usually around, so times of working with him around strangers are few and far between.

 

[Roosterinthecity]

Pet hotel? I’d be telling my guest to get their own hotel room. Rather them than my dog(s).

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If the dog is familiar with and comfortable, use one that they can drink out of. My old dog had to wear one during walks for her protection as much as the person at risk, she would get very excited seeing it come out because it meant walk time