02/12/2019
This morning’s training was a quick muzzle conditioning session with Pixel! She’s been conditioned to one before, but I want to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible in it. We have a new dog entering the household soon, and a muzzle gives us an awesome safe way to work on interactions/greetings.
Why muzzle condition? Muzzles are a helpful tool for any dog, even those who are not aggressive/bitey. Pix has always had some unpredictability/handling issues, so for her it’s a good way to keep everyone safe. With friendly/non-bitey dogs though, they can be very helpful for: emergency vet visits (sometimes injuries will push even friendly dogs into biting out of pain), eating things off the ground that they shouldn’t, and preventing dogs from biting at injuries. Muzzles should be a positive, fun thing to wear so that in the event of difficult situations, they don’t become an extra stressor. After I released both dogs after this vid, quest actually got up in front of me and demanded I do a session with him! (Despite this muzzle being two sizes too small for him...)
I’m using the baskerville ultra muzzle here. The great thing about basket muzzles like this one is that dogs can eat, drink, pant, bark, and do any dog stuff they want while wearing them.
