dog muzzle

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angieleighbyrd
angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
in Chit-Chat
My youngest is going in tomorrow to the vet for the first time. He is getting fixed and all his shots. I'm considering muzzling him just because I don't know how he is going to react. He's never been away from my side. I have to drop him off and I am worried he is going to freak when I hand the leash to the tech and walk away. I'm actually more worried for my own reaction than his lol. I don't know if he has ever seen a vet before because he was abandoned. I have no idea who his previous owners were or how they kept up with his health. Probably not because he was actually thrown out of a moving truck. Anyway...I've never had to muzzle a dog before. Advice? Good idea? Bad idea? When my oldest was spayed they had me stay until she fell asleep. That was more for her than for their safety though. She didn't get violent, when I tried to leave she had a puppy anxiety attack. So they let me stay for a bit. This is a different vet though so I'm not sure if he freaks if they will allow me to stay.

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  • HiKaren
    HiKaren Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Try without one first. Hes got to get used to trusting people. Has he bit you? They are going to give him doggie anesthesia anyway. He will go to sleep and wake up without his you know whats... And then he will have a cone on probably. Try without first. Let us know how it went.
  • angieleighbyrd
    angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
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    Try without one first. Hes got to get used to trusting people. Has he bit you? They are going to give him doggie anesthesia anyway. He will go to sleep and wake up without his you know whats... And then he will have a cone on probably. Try without first. Let us know how it went.

    No he's never bit anyone. He is a big dog and his bark is horrifying lol. He sounds like a wolf. Most people are just scared of his size. But he's a big dummy most of the time. He's very gentle. But he's over protective of my kids. He's not good with strangers. He starts barking. He's never snapped at anyone though. He barks for a while until he realizes they aren't a threat then he just kind of hovers over the kids for a bit. They aren't coming with me to drop him off so it might be ok.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
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    I put a muzzle on my 110lb dog, hes never bitten anyone but I see no reason to take a chance
    He has no right, nor can he protest. But if he bites someone I would feel terrible
  • JoolieW68
    JoolieW68 Posts: 1,879 Member
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    First of all, bless you for rescuing him! :flowerforyou:

    As for the muzzle, explain the situation to the vet when you get there. I'm sure if they feel it's necessary, they will muzzle him, as I'm sure yours isn't the first dog they've seen that has anxiety when mom leaves.

    Stay strong, I'm sure he will be ok :smile:
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    I used to work for a vet. They keep muzzles on hand. If he snaps at them, and they get concerned, they will muzzle him anyway. Of course, for the entire time that I worked there, I never saw them muzzle a dog. And I almost got my face chewed off by a Rottie. They didn't bother to muzzle her because we were trying to put her out anyway. It took 5 of us to restrain her.
  • nbingham
    nbingham Posts: 102 Member
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    I wouldn't muzzle a dog that hasn't shown any sign of aggression, especially if he's never been muzzled before. Muzzling him will only serve to increase his fear and anxiety and will give him cause to fear / hate the vet from now on.

    I agree with JoolieW68. Let the vet make the call based off of what they're seeing when you get there. Perhaps your big guy will be just fine without one. He may surprise you. :)
  • jaeysson
    jaeysson Posts: 41 Member
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    It's better to be safe than sorry. Try to stay calm and confident because animals can pick up on your emotion.
  • Tennessee2019
    Tennessee2019 Posts: 676 Member
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    My suggestion would be to call the vet & tell them what you told us to see how they want you to handle it
  • senyosmom
    senyosmom Posts: 613 Member
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    I would express your concerns to the vet techs and let them decide if they ant her muzzled. If they do, you can still do it yourself with direction from them before you go. I bet they will give it a go without one - they encounter frightened animals all the time.
  • EmCarroll1990
    EmCarroll1990 Posts: 2,849 Member
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    Pretty sure they're going to sedate him anyway, so he'll be out most of the time. Most Vets are prepared for a dog to bite, whether or not the dog has ever bitten previously. Even with my aggressive Jack Russell Terrier, we've never muzzled him. His whole demeanour changes and it's really a sad thing to see. The Vet just takes precautions with him, and we're grateful for it.
  • KristinD1977
    KristinD1977 Posts: 101
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    Do not muzzle him unless you want to make sure he views the vet as a bad experience. If he's nervous at all and has his mouth tied shut then he's really going to be scared.
    Give the vets his history and request that they use caution since you don't know his background. You should also try to relax because he will look to you for guidance; remember that these people see animals all day long and are adept at reading body language and know safe handling methods.
    I'm giving my opinion assuming that your dog is not ordinarily (EVER) aggressive.
  • kevinsbarrett
    kevinsbarrett Posts: 11 Member
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    First, putting a muzzle on a dog is always a good safety precaution. Second, after owning dogs for 20 years I have learned that the more calm I am, the more calm the dog is. They take cues from us as their leaders and if we are freaking out, they are more likely to. When we first got a dog we would go to the off-leash park and my wife and I would freak out that our dog would run away or bite another dog. Sure enough, our dog would get super excited and run all over the place and get way away from us and we felt like we were the only people there yelling our dogs name. One week we decided to just be calm and be alphas and sure enough, the dog was more calm and when we walked away from her, she would actually follow US to stay close.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,026 Member
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    It's okay, doggie mom. Everything will be okay. Be calm and just take him in like it's any other trip to the park. If you are anxious, he will pick up on that and will react.

    This isn't anything for you to worry about. Don't pass on your anxiety to the dog. You don't want to create a fear of the vet.

    Vets and staff know what to do. Your job is to be calm and provide your Master Card, and lots of pampering afterwards.
  • b14a3w3
    b14a3w3 Posts: 61 Member
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    I think as long as you have him on a leash under control he should be OK. The vet will know if he needs to be muzzled when he starts the examination and they have muzzles there if needed. My husband is a dog trainer and uses a Halti Headcollar. It contols the head of the dog connected to a leash but the dog has total freedom of movement. You can buy them at Amazon or most pet stores such as Petco. Our dogs are 120-130 lb. Beaucerons and they are quite controllable with the Halti.
  • angieleighbyrd
    angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
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    I used to work for a vet. They keep muzzles on hand. If he snaps at them, and they get concerned, they will muzzle him anyway. Of course, for the entire time that I worked there, I never saw them muzzle a dog. And I almost got my face chewed off by a Rottie. They didn't bother to muzzle her because we were trying to put her out anyway. It took 5 of us to restrain her.

    Ok so if they keep them there I don't need to go out and spend 20 bucks on something I may not use anyway? LOL good
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    I used to work for a vet. They keep muzzles on hand. If he snaps at them, and they get concerned, they will muzzle him anyway. Of course, for the entire time that I worked there, I never saw them muzzle a dog. And I almost got my face chewed off by a Rottie. They didn't bother to muzzle her because we were trying to put her out anyway. It took 5 of us to restrain her.

    Ok so if they keep them there I don't need to go out and spend 20 bucks on something I may not use anyway? LOL good

    Yeah, that's pretty much what I meant. Don't buy one just for this occassion because you will likely never use it again. Like others said, the vet and vet techs are familiar with the animal's body language. If they feel it is necessary, they will take the extra measure. But if your dog has never really been aggressive before, I'm thinking he probably has a good temperament and will be just fine at the vet.

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