Muzzle Warning: If you train with or use muzzles, you need to read this!

By Ed Frawley  |  Last modified: April 13, 2022

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WARNING: Graphic photos of a bad dog bite below!

I include this page as a warning to those people who use muzzles while training their dogs. A muzzle is only as effective as the people who use them. When they are not properly tested before training, bad things can happen.

These are photos of a good friend's leg. My friend is a experienced police K9 handler with over 20 years experience as a dog handler on a sheriff's department. He was accidentally bit during a police K9 training seminar.

The dog's muzzle was not properly tested before it was released to do a building search. The muzzle was too loose on the dog's head. I explain in detail how to properly fit a muzzle in Muzzle Fighting for Police Service Dogs.

My friend was hiding down under a desk. When the dog initially stuck its head under the desk, he pulled it back out. The muzzle caught on something and came off. The photos show what happened next.

This kind of thing can also happen to people who use muzzles for dominant and aggressive dogs. Muzzles are nothing more than training tools and as with every training tool, they can be improperly used. When muzzles come off at the wrong time, bad things happen.

The bottom line is if you're going to use a muzzle on your dog, you need to learn the correct way to put it on and just as importantly how to test it to make sure its on correctly and won't come off. When muzzles come off, it's a handler error and not a problem with how the equipment was made.

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About Author

Ed Frawley

Ed Frawley is the founder and owner of Leerburg.com and has been producing professional dog training videos since 1982. Over the years, he has collaborated with some of the most respected dog trainers in the country. His body of work includes 194 full-length training DVDs and 95 comprehensive online courses. In addition to these, he has produced and published over 4,000 short training videos available free of charge on Leerburg.com and across the company's social media platforms.

Ed and his wife, Cindy—also a professional dog trainer—bred working-line German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois for more than 35 years. Although they retired from breeding in 2009, they had produced over 300 litters by that time.

Ed also served as a K9 handler for the local sheriff's department for 10 years, working in partnership with the West Central Drug Task Force. During his time in law enforcement, he handled multiple narcotics and patrol dogs and conducted more than 1,000 K9 searches. If you want to learn more about Ed, read about his history here.

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