Muzzle Training: An Introduction
As The Muzzle Movement says,
“One of the biggest barriers to muzzle use is stigma. Too often, muzzled dogs are labeled as ‘bad’ or ‘dangerous.’ The truth?
A muzzle is a sign of a responsible, caring guardian who is putting their dog’s welfare and public safety first.
By normalizing muzzles, we protect dogs from unnecessary judgment and help guardians feel proud of their proactive choice.”
Teaching a dog to feel comfortable while wearing a muzzle is a proactive skill I recommend everyone work on before it's urgently needed. Our lives are unpredictable, and under the wrong circumstances, any dog can bite. Many people start their muzzle training journey to help all beings involved feel safer during vet visits, in case of medical emergencies, or when introducing their dog to new people or dogs. Muzzles can also keep persistent scavengers safe from ingesting anything dangerous outside.
When well-fit, a good basket muzzle will allow a dog plenty of room to pant, eat, and drink water comfortably.
The correct size and fit are crucial to help prevent discomfort and promote positive associations. I highly recommend The Muzzle Movement's muzzles; they’re super lightweight and strong, cute, and thoughtfully designed with features like a padded nose band and curved edges. They are a bit spendy and ship from the UK, but in my opinion, they're worth it!
You might also choose to wait to buy your dog’s 'forever muzzle' and begin training using a cup with the bottom cut off, a small cone, or an inexpensive Baskerville muzzle (commonly stocked at pet stores). I've even modified cheaper muzzles like the Baskerville by cutting off the bars in front for easier treat delivery and removing any extra head straps to make them less intrusive at first. This gradual approach is imperative to help your dog get used to wearing a muzzle comfortably!
The following are additional muzzle training resources:
The Muzzle Movement offers:
an Introduction to Muzzle Training series on YouTube
an online Dog Muzzle Training Course for $94-283, depending on your choices.
The Muzzle Up! Project offers:
a free Muzzle Training Plan - Remember, this is a plan.tion
a YouTube channel with many muzzle training videos that, although several years old now, are still helpful!
Finally, if muzzle training isn't going as planned, please reach out so I can help you!
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Lily, a white femme person with long, wavy red hair, sits on a log-cabin-themed chair in a gated foster-dog area of their garage. They wear a reddish “SPOT ON DOG TRAINING” crewneck and brown yoga pants. In the pen, there is a cream rug on the floor, a snuffle mat, an elevated food & water station, and parts of more cabin-themed furniture can be seen, and the wall behind them is corrugated tin.
Lily holds a Baskerville muzzle with the front bars cut off in their left hand and a clicker in their right. They have a treat jar behind their back on the chair. ‘Maybe’, a middle-aged German Shepherd Dog, stands watching Lily and their hands as they begin talking.
Black text closed captions appear at the top of the screen against a white background. Unspoken comments appear beneath the CCs in white text against a black background.
At the start of the video, a comment appears: “Note: I’m holding the straps out of the way at first!” Shortly after, a comment reads “Her name is ‘Maybe’” and points as Lily says her name.
Lily scatters a few treats on the ground to keep Maybe busy, and she eats them. She then moves to check out her feeding station and stumbles a bit as she turns. Lily tosses a treat on the ground at the opposite end of the pen, and Maybe moves to eat it. Lily moves the muzzle to hold it on their knees, opening towards Maybe and treat side towards Lily.
At timestamp 30 seconds, Maybe reorients towards Lily and touches the muzzle with her nose. Lily clicks at this moment. The comment “*click*” in cream text appears over a black background. A gif of three cream colored lines emanates from the clicker as it’s clicked- every time Lily clicks the button.
They reach behind their back to grab a treat and then feed it to Maybe. The video speeds up x2 while Maybe eats her treats and between action. Lily pulls the muzzle farther away from Maybe’s head as she chews.
A comment correcting Lily as they say “You’re kinda short,” appears, reading “*tall”. They then lift the muzzle a few inches, more in line with Maybe's nose height. At this point, she turns her head and ‘boops’ the muzzle with her nose again, getting a click and then a treat.
They proceed in this manner. Lily begins to deliver Maybe her treat by tossing it onto her bed at the opposite end of the pen, causing her to turn around. When she reorients towards Lily after finishing her treat, they hold the Muzzle above their knees again, in line with her nose, so she easily continues to boop the muzzle. Soon, she offers to put her nose inside the muzzle, at which point Lily clicks and treats.
Maybe offers her paw to Lily’s knee and then paws at the muzzle, at which point Lily clicks and treats. Lily adjusts how they present the muzzle, and Maybe begins to put her nose in it again, earning a click and a treat. The comment “watch again” appears as the clip of Maybe putting her nose in the muzzle replays in slow motion.
They continue in this fashion; Lily adjusts how they present the muzzle to Maybe to make her more likely to line up with putting her nose in the muzzle. Anytime Maybe looks, paws, or nose touches the muzzle, Lily clicks and then delivers her treat by tossing it behind Maybe in her bed. This sets her up to turn right back around into the muzzle!
Eventually, Maybe begins to show some fatigue from turning around to get her treat, like sitting down instead of standing and pawing at Lily- not the muzzle. So, Lily begins to hand-deliver Maybe’s treat just off to the opposite side of the muzzle. When Maybe continues to take a moment to respond (another sign of fatigue), Lily taps the muzzle to remind Maybe what they are interested in. Maybe nudges the muzzle once more, followed by a click/treat.
Maybe then checks out, walks away from Lily, and sits down, at which point Lily puts the muzzle and treat jar away. Lily offers to scratch Maybe, and she moves back to Lily to get some pets. Lily finishes the session by scattering a few more treats on the ground while saying, “All done!”
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[Unspoken comments appear in these brackets.]
I want to make sure that I am totally ready
[Note: I’m holding straps out of the way at first!]
before I put the muzzle at a height that Maybe can reach.
[Her name is “Maybe”]
I want to be able to mark and capture her first interaction with the muzzle and every interaction with the muzzle so that we’ve got tons of positive feelings. I don’t want to have it down and have her interact with it and not be able to catch it.
Put it about where I’d expect her nose to end up anyway.
[*Click*] Good job!
You’re pretty short. [*tall]
[Click] Good job.
Is this a tricky position to be in? Should we- [Watch my treat hand] maybe like this?
[That’s what she’s watching!] [Click]
OK. It’s also cause I have food in my hand. [Oops!]
Maybe I need to do it this way. [Muzzle in one hand, clicker in the other]
Empty. No. Can you do it this way?
[“What if I smack it?”] [Click]
Sure, that works.
I sometimes wonder if Maybe [Click] has a vision impairment.
That was a really good [Click] capturable moment.
[Watch again] [Click]
If she, or the dog that I’m working with is not going to offer anything, I might reset [toss a treat away].
I’m also going to try this time just feeding her through the muzzle a couple times.
She’s- good girl- pretty comfy putting her head in there. So now I’m going to reset, [toss a treat] and I’m going to present the muzzle again. See if we can’t get [click] more interaction with it.
The other thing I can do there, is I just- instead of waiting for her to nudge the muzzle, or put her nose in it, my first criteria was even just like her looking [Click] orienting towards it now.
Hi sweet pea. [Treat for choosing to reengage]
I’m also trying to be aware of [where I toss to reset] which way she’s going to turn towards me and which way is going to work best for her to have the opportunity to move into the muzzle.
[“Oh hi!” as Maybe looks right at the camera]
[Click] Good job.
Maybe is pretty weak in her rear end, and so when I’m tossing treats away to reset, I’m trying to toss them into a predictable spot every time [Her bed, with an arrow pointing to it] and I also like that it’s a little bit higher off the ground so she doesn’t have to lean all the way down, which can put strain on a dog’s neck.
[Click] Good job! That was really good. [Note: Maybe chooses to sit]
[Click] That counts. I’m even gonna- just hand feed to the side [Sitting down again] in case even that [moving to get her treat] is physically taxing.
Are you OK? Do you want to keep going? Can you put your head in here? [Another fatigue sign] Your hand? You’re funny. [Click] Good job.
What if I just set it here? I’m going to try and keep my hand neutral [empty]. No food in it.
Do you just want scritches? [Click] Oh, good girl. That works- counts too.
I want to keep this easy and positive… so I’m gonna remind. Hi! [Click]
Maybe also does not have a huge attention span at this point. Which is A-OK.
Hi, should we just do pets? I got greedy there, to be honest, cause I’m trying to film a demo. But typically, I want to stop working with her before she is opting out on her own. I want to stop when she’s still enjoying it.
And so, realistically, [Do as I say, not as I do] I would have probably stopped after like, the second time that she had her nose all the way in the muzzle.
But otherwise, Maybe’s just a baby. So we gotta keep it short and easy. Yeah? We really are building up her attention. She’s able to, enjoy sticking in training a lot more now. She’s a good girl. Need some cookies? All done.
