What do you think about the Baskerville Ultra muzzle? What do you think about a dog wearing a correctly fitting muzzle as much as possible?

I really like the concept of the Baskerville because of the large holes which would make it easier for him to drink and eat. I'm not sure how safe it is, because of the large holes, but I do expect to be bitten and anything that slows him down/doesn't let him do it right is a good thing.

I just took in a fear aggressive malinois that will bite and I need a way to safely handle him. My thinking with him wearing a muzzle is the more I force handle him the more stressed he's going to get, so if he could wear the muzzle comfortably without it hurting him, why not leave it on? It's just like wearing a collar, only around his mouth right?

The dog has already been muzzle trained and when the owner put one on and off to show me the dog didn't freak out, paw at it, or show any signs of extra stress toward the muzzle. I will be working with a vet behaviorist and a trainer, and have decided to treat this dog as if he's feral. I believe that all his issues stem from severe lack of socialization and having a reasonable fear of people (being hit whenever he sees one). Whenever he's pushed he shows obvious signs of fear and avoidance, just like any feral dog I've worked with. He had the chance to charge me and instead he backed up into a corner and tried to make himself look small.

edited to fix name of muzzle

"I just took in a fear aggressive malinois that will bite and I need a way to safely handle him. My thinking with him wearing a muzzle is the more I force handle him the more stressed he's going to get, so if he could wear the muzzle comfortably without it hurting him, why not leave it on? .... The dog has already been muzzle trained and when the owner put one on and off to show me the dog didn't freak out, paw at it, or show any signs of extra stress toward the muzzle. I will be working with a vet behaviorist and a trainer, and have decided to treat this dog as if he's feral. "


Is the plan to make him adoptable?

The plan is to get him to relax and be a dog instead of flinching and cringing any time anyone touches him or he thinks something is going to happen to him. If he's able to recover enough to be adopted, that's great. If not, then I'll either keep him safe or if he's unable to be managed have him put to sleep.

I went out and got a Baskerville #4 and I'm worried the basket might be to short for his muzzle length. It's pressed against his nose, but I'm leaving it on over night and seeing how he does. He can pant and drink water. I bought a #5 to try as well.

I have one of those for Harley. The longest I had it on was 2 weeks to keep him from licking his staples. He was able to drink, get small treats but I had to take it off for him to eat.

He's been wearing it for almost 24 hours now and shows no discomfort and was able to eat his breakfast, too. I put the kibble in a shallow dish with some water to help it stick to his tongue, and he ate it pretty fast considering. I don't feel comfortable with him wearing it when he needs to pant. I feel that it restricts his ability to pant efficiently. I'm going to look around for one of those cage muzzles greyhounds use when they race, since they're very large and the dogs can open their mouths nearly all the way when wearing them.

Samantha, are you able to put the muzzle on and take it off without issues? Or does he try to bite when you do it?

I am thinking that if you can muzzle him without too much of an issue, I would have 2 muzzles for him. I would have the Baskerville muzzle just for when he needs to eat, and one that he can open his mouth and pant properly for the rest of the time.

I have muzzles for my Mals- I've got both the clear flexible Jafco and the wire basket muzzle. I think the air flow is much better with the wire muzzle- it's light and the dogs hardly even know it's on. The Jafco is nice because it's soft and flexible- I used these when I introduced Caterina into the pack. The problem with both is that they can't eat with them on - they can drink, but not eat.

Good luck with him!

--Kel

Kelly, I think you're right about using the Baskerville for eating only. As today has wore on, I've noticed him pawing at it a little bit, and I imagine it might bother him to not be able to open his mouth wide and stress pant. I just ordered one of those Jafco muzzles because they were the cheapest I could find with the large basket!

I feel comfortable handling him without a muzzle as far as swapping them out. His warnings are very subtle and he will strike out without hesitation if he feels threatened, so I'm not allowing my husband to mess with him at all until he learns to relax (both the guy and the dog). I tied him to the truck bumper when I put the Baskerville on yesterday just so that I could get away if I needed to, but he was mostly too stiff and shut down to do anything about it except turn his head away in avoidance.

This morning he actually sought attention from me, which was a surprise. I was gently stroking his body to check for bugs/bumps/cuts and he eventually relaxed and even turned his head toward me to ask for more when I stopped touching him.

Samantha I just want to say that I'm glad there are people like you. Its nice to know there are people out there willing to work the very hard issues out of a dog so it can have a real chance.

I have one of these for one of my dogs.... http://halemar.com/Halemar-Plastic-Kennel-Muzzles-100.htm

He wore it pretty much all day for months when I was introducing my pup, and he was fine with it. It seems larger than the Baskerville, he can exercise with it, pant, and drink.

Today my parents came out for a visit and my mom took pictures of him for me. I should have them emailed in the next day or so to show him off. He's one handsome dude for someone who needs a bath and a few more pounds.