Muzzle Problems

mosi

I've been having some problems with the Baskerville Ultra that I have for the mastiff mix. He'll happily have it put on him but tends to fight it when out on walks. I've been trying various distraction techniques when he does this, but have noticed that the muzzle seems to chafe his nose a bit. I'm not sure if this is down to the muzzle itself or a result of him trying to fight it. Either way, it's not good and will definitely not help him to accept wearing it.
I had it fitted in the pet shop, and compared it with other sizes in there. I had also taken measurements for him so am pretty sure that the fit is correct. I'm wondering if anyone would have any suggestions for alternatives. I could either try and diy some padding onto it or look for a different type of muzzle. I have seen wire basket muzzles advertised that have padding built in. If I do get another one, it has to be something that allows for panting, drinking and that I can feed treats through.

tk123

Have you conditioned him at home to associate good things with wearing the muzzle and built up the time he's wearing it or just put it own him cold turkey?

mosi

tk123 wrote: »

Have you conditioned him at home to associate good things with wearing the muzzle and built up the time he's wearing it or just put it own him cold turkey?

I spent a good bit of time putting it on him at home, feeding treats through it without strapping it on to him, putting cream cheese or pate in it for when it started to be strapped. I built up the length of time he would wear it for as well, although I wonder sometimes if I went a bit fast for him. If he's wearing it out and we're standing still at traffic lights, outside a shop etc., he's fine but can start messing when we're on the move.
Like I said, he's very happy to have it put on, as he associates that with getting something nice. He usually does settle after a while when he's out, but will then start again. I'm just worried that it may actually be uncomfortable...not sure if he resists it because it is uncomfortable and chafing, or if his attempts to resist it because the chafing.

boardbrowser

Here are a couple of suggestions for acclimation and comfort of muzzle.

1- If there is a stop guard piece in the narrow part of muzzle then i would take that inner section out. It normally pops right out, this will mean that his nose won't be pressed against it adding a little more room at the front of the muzzle itself.

2- To get a more positive association to wearing it i would suggest feeding all his meals when wearing the muzzle. how to:- cup the muzzle in your hand with the narrow end ( front of the muzzle) facing upwards. put several pieces of his food ( if feeding dry food) into the basket muzzle and allow him to target his muzzle into the basket in order to retrieve the food. continue till he has finished eating a whole meal. keep up the use of daily short sessions( 1 minute sessions)for conditioning purposes with high value food rewards too at home like you have been doing already.

3- you can make the basket muzzle more comfortable to wear if you add the likes of 'Dr Scholls self stick moleskin' to the part that would rest on the bridge of his nose. This is the stuff that you would put on the inside of shoes to prevent chaffing and getting blisters.

i also like the 'pro guard tuffie muzzle with nose guard'. These are soft padded muzzles with mesh at the sides and might be a nice alternative to the plastic muzzle.

mosi

boardbrowser wrote: »

Here are a couple of suggestions for acclimation and comfort of muzzle.

1- If there is a stop guard piece in the narrow part of muzzle then i would take that inner section out. It normally pops right out, this will mean that his nose won't be pressed against it adding a little more room at the front of the muzzle itself.

There's nothing that can be removed on the muzzle itself. It's actually quite good around the front, there is a decent amount of room in front of the nose. The only removeable part is the strap that goes over the head which I don't use as it seems like an extra irritant.

2- To get a more positive association to wearing it i would suggest feeding all his meals when wearing the muzzle. how to:- cup the muzzle in your hand with the narrow end ( front of the muzzle) facing upwards. put several pieces of his food ( if feeding dry food) into the basket muzzle and allow him to target his muzzle into the basket in order to retrieve the food. continue till he has finished eating a whole meal. keep up the use of daily short sessions( 1 minute sessions)for conditioning purposes with high value food rewards too at home like you have been doing already.

I hadn't actually thought of feeding whole meals through it, I can definitely see how that could help with the length of time.

3- you can make the basket muzzle more comfortable to wear if you add the likes of 'Dr Scholls self stick moleskin' to the part that would rest on the bridge of his nose. This is the stuff that you would put on the inside of shoes to prevent chaffing and getting blisters.

Will definitely try this. Like I said I'm worried that any conditioning may be undone if the muzzle is causing discomfort so this would be ideal.

i also like the 'pro guard tuffie muzzle with nose guard'. These are soft padded muzzles with mesh at the sides and might be a nice alternative to the plastic muzzle.

I had a look a them. While I like the idea of a soft alternative that's still suitable for walks, I'd be put off by the fact that it doesn't seem to allow for treats to be fed.

ferretcrazy

Hi, have you tryed Trixie Nylon Muzzle Band
you can see the on zooplus.ie or zooplus.de and transtlate from german to english, there very soft to use and you have better control if there a large breed , and brillant for the vets, cos you can adjust the muzzle to have wider for walks so they can pant, drink or tighter for vets etc. I'd recommend size 2 for sherperd etc and size 3 for bulldogs etc, anyway hope that helps;)