Teach Your Dog to Love a Muzzle: Part 2
Even if your dog is the sweetest dog in the world, there may be a situation where s/he needs to wear a muzzle. For example, in the current pandemic many veterinary offices use muzzles as a precaution when they examine dogs without their guardians present. Why not be prepared for this or any other situation requiring a muzzle by teaching your dog to wear a muzzle now?
In Part 1 of Teach Your Dog to Love a Muzzle, we covered the beginning steps of introducing your dog to a muzzle. Now, in Part 2 of this series, KPA CTP Lauren Rubin shows you how to help your dog acclimate to wearing a muzzle. In this video, you will see that Lauren is using a basket muzzle, which makes it easier to deliver treats. She smears a spreadable treat, such as peanut butter or spray cheese, inside the muzzle so that the dog is happily occupied while she fastens and adjusts the straps. Lauren continues to feed treats while her dog is wearing the muzzle before removing it after a brief amount of time (15-20 seconds). Lauren repeats this sequence, slowly increasing the time the dog spends wearing the muzzle each time.
For more tips on how to prepare your clients' pets for successful vet visits, check out our Better Veterinary Visits course!
Happy training!