Introducing a Muzzle

We want our dogs to see their muzzles as a really great thing and to enjoy wearing it. Does your dog get excited when you pick up the lead, or go over to the treat cupboard? This is an example of positive association! 

Your dog has learned that when you pick up that lead or approach that cupboard, something really great happens! We can build that same brilliant association with the muzzle by pairing it with fun stuff that your dog thoroughly enjoys, such as food and play.

STAGE 1

To start creating this positive association, simply place the muzzle on the floor, and scatter food or toys nearby. If your dog has no guarding issues, you could use some enrichment activities too such as lick or snuffle mats. If possible, you may want to remove the straps of the muzzle if your dog is particularly frightened but most dogs are happy to take part in the enrichment, snaffle up the treats or play around the muzzle.

Once your dog is comfortable and happy taking part in enrichment, play or taking treats from around the muzzle on the floor, you can start to use a clicker or marker to specifically reinforce when your dog looks at or sniffs the muzzle. Be careful not to mark and reward anything you don't want such as grabbing or pawing at the muzzle. Take it away and replace it a few times to help your dog get used to the movement and the sounds around the muzzle and offer them plenty of reinforcement on the floor so they continue to see it as a positive thing.

STAGE 2

For the next stage, you can repeat the process but start to encourage active engagement. You could do this by placing the muzzle on the floor, marking your dog for any approach towards it, then placing the treat slightly away to reset the position. Gradually increase the distance from the muzzle until you're rewarding from several feet away and your dog is actively re-approaching the muzzle to earn their next treat.

Now that your dog has some good reinforcement history of approaching the muzzle, we can also encourage further investigation into the muzzle. Sit nearby the muzzle on the floor and when your dog approaches or investigates it, mark them and place the reward just at the opening of the muzzle.

Make sure your slow progress down or split the criteria into smaller stages if your dog is worried by nudging the muzzle and creating a sound or movement.

Gradually, we can build the dogs confidence around close contact with the muzzle and encourage them to start putting their nose further in.

If your dog is avoiding the muzzle, or is unwilling to engage in training, assess that the issue is definitely the muzzle.

Try the exercise in another area, look at your dogs body language and ensure they are happy around you and in the space without the muzzle. Once we are confident the muzzle is the problem, you can work on slowing the desensitization process right down.

You can start by simply placing the muzzle out in the room, perhaps on a table or side, carrying it around while you whilst you continue your usual daily activities. You could also start getting the muzzle out at feeding/play times, at a distance your dog is comfortable with, to pair it with a good experience.

You could also use a cheap muzzle, cut up into smaller pieces to start with, until your dog feels more confident.

Once your dog has had an introduction to the muzzle on the floor, we can repeat this process with the muzzle in our hand. You may find that your dog is really happy and comfortable at this point but we’d still advise working through each of these steps to solidify your dogs positive association and confidence around the muzzle.

Start off by holding the muzzle in your hand and engaging your dog in play with the toy, encouraging them to use nearby enrichment or offering them treats. You don't need to put the muzzle near the dog or try to force any interaction at this point – we are just building that good association to begin with.

If you find that your dog is still a little bit worried then by the muzzle now being in a new position, you can fix the muzzle somewhere and repeat this step with a little more distance if required. You can attach it to a hook, stand, chair, or baby gate, then engage your dog in activities nearby. This is also ideal if you're struggling to juggle everything in your hands all at once.

When your dog is showing signs of being happy and comfortable around the muzzle being held you can progress to rewarding any movement towards it. This could be as little as looking at it, to actively approaching, sniffing or even nudging the muzzle with their nose.

You can take the muzzle away and put it behind your back before representing it in your hand again, to encourage your dog to investigate and explore and gives them a great opportunity to earn more reinforcement.

Similarly to the previous step when we had the muzzle on the floor, we can also mark the positive interactions with the muzzle in our hand, and throw or scatter the treats to create some distance between your dog and the muzzle.

This sets our dog up to re-approach for another practice and opportunity to reinforce them.

Some dogs may be unsure of the noises made by the muzzle. Even if your dog has been muzzled previously you may find that different materials make different sounds.

Desensitising to noises made by a muzzle can help at this stage, because when a dog wears a muzzle on their face they will be able to hear noises such as the metal buckle moving, strapping squeaking and bumps and bangs when they knock the muzzle into stuff out and about.

Start off by gently tapping the muzzle, jiggling the metal and opening or closing the clasp. You can gently tap the strap on the muzzle or lightly scrape the muzzle on the floor.

Pair these strange noises with something great happening such as play or treats and gradually you can increase the intensity of the noises, making sure that you progress super slowly - especially with dogs who are particularly noise sensitive.

Helpful Products

The Ultimate Training Guide

The Ultimate Muzzle Training guide is an instant digital download which takes you through the muzzle training process from start to finish and is the perfect addition when buying your new muzzle.  

The Ultimate Muzzle Training guide is perfect for dog guardians of all skill levels and explains how to train your dog using force-free training methods. An easy-to-read, step by step run through from introducing your dog to their muzzle, all the way through to helping our dogs comfortably wear their muzzle forever. This guide is suitable for ANY muzzle, not just for our Muzzle Movement muzzles! 

Once you have purchased the guide, you will automatically receive a link via email for you to download to your phone, tablet or computer – perfect for using on the go or printing out! 

KEY FEATURES

• Get started training straight away with this instant download!
• Step-by-step guide from start to finish of muzzle training.
• Available on the go on your phone or laptop - or print a hard copy