The EASIEST Way To Muzzle-Train Your Dog

Muzzles are an important safety tool. You never know why or when your dog may need to wear one:

Whether you are working with a reactive dog and need an extra safety net, want to try out a sport such as lure coursing (that requires muzzles), need it for public transport or in an emergency situation ... EVERY dog should learn how to wear a muzzle!

Muzzles are not inherently comfortable for dogs. Most dogs will try to rub their face and get their muzzle off when you first put it on.

That's why it is important to properly condition your dog to wearing a muzzle. By following the step-by-step instructions in this video and slowly getting your dog used to the new tool, you can make muzzle-training free of stress and fun for the dog.

If you have any questions about the training, feel free to drop them in the comments!

[kimandmoandnoelly]

While cleaning up poops I discovered my dog has been eating small rocks so this training comes at a perfect time. Her muzzle will need to prevent her from getting rocks in her mouth however spray cheese sprayed inside the muzzle will be helpful. Thank you, this is a Very helpful skill to learn

[robinrutherfordcost]

Learned this from one of the instructors whose class I took and I now tell all my students this. Everyone's dog should be ok wearing a muzzle, especially if you travel with your dog. If anything bad ever happens, the first thing a vet will do is put a muzzle on your dog; so why freak them out twice - once with the muzzle and once with whatever the vet has to do to the dog. I did 3-5 repetitions before each meal for a whole week of them putting their face in the muzzle to lick out the cream cheese, liverwurst, or wet dog food before i ever even attempted to actually buckle it on their face. (i.e. I didn't go towards them with the muzzle). My Dobes never try to remove it. Good things happen when it's on, and I never make them feel bad about wearing one - such handsome dudes! Even my Beagle/JRT mix, who hasn't worn hers in years, wagged her tail when I got it out the other day. My one Dobe really doesn't need one, but it's not fair for the one dog to have it on without the other dog wearing one, so I got him a light blue color of the Hound of the Baskervilles muzzle. They hardly ever wear one now; just nice to know when it's needed, they're ok wearing one. Hope that helps.

[fet]

Great video! Concise but clear. Thank you!

[Ethical-dog-care]

Thank you so much!!! You demonstrated this in great detail! I have started muzzle training this way with my dog but didn't know exactly know how to go through the steps. He's only 1.5yrs old but I want to be able to put a muzzle on him in case of medical emergency in his life time so I don't have to worry about wasting valuable time trying to pick him up if he's injured or hurt and risk getting bitten. After all, even the most gentle dog can bite when in pain. Because in. a dogs lifetime, at some point we will all likely have to pick up our dogs if they get injured even in play or due to illness or even eventually in old age when they may not be able move easily due to arthritis. Not to mention, even just for a general veterinarian check up when he needs to be touched in ways that may make any dog react. Again, thank you for demonstrating this so well!!!

[denisewilliams]

Great video… My vet is requiring a muzzle for my dog.

[MeganBartowski]

Thank you so much for this video. You were very clear and concise. Quick question. I am doing this for a foster dog, but I also have 2 German shepherd puppies that will need this as well, but they are still so little-only 10 weeks. In your opinion, when would you start this training?

[shorn]

Will starting from step one also help with dogs who do wear muzzles but don't love it, and don't have the best feelings about putting them on?

[connorc]

My dogs breed has recently been banned where I live and they have to wear a muzzle by law, she will let me put the muzzle on and keep it on for a short time but as soon as I try to walk with her she will keep trying to claw it off until she succeeds. It is very stressful because I do not want her to be taken away but she just doesn’t want to wear it. I am going to follow all steps in this video, any advice?

[ratcals]

What muzzle would you recommend for a Miniature Pinscher? I'm having a hard time finding one that small that fits your three criteria.

[andreayancey]

Which muzzle are you using here? Baskerville? We got a leather one from the dog trainer but I feel like it's hard to get treats to him and would be hard for him to drink with.

[marketingmadesimple]

How long would you expect it to take to train a dog to wear a muzzle? And how many minutes/times per day would you sugges working on this?

[merylelehn]

Can a dog who has been trained with the muzzle be inventually allowed with supervision for off leash time in an inclosed area such as yard or a off leash park.

[Emma-Jayne]

Hi, I am trying to muzzle train my dog. He is a year old now and due to a new ban he must wear it for legal reasons. He is very aggressive towards the muzzle and shows his dislike of it the moment it is in his view. We have never forced him but I do think some of the steps where missed in our training. What do you think we should do? Apart from start from scratch of course. Is there another step I could use to desensitise him from hating it first?

Thank you