I have to vent a bit. I am a pit bull lover and I run a seminar for bully breeds every so often, to give owners tips about how to best make their dog a good ambassador. I’m anti-BSL (breed specific legislation) and think pit bulls are awesome dogs. Rumors are now circulating about comments I made on muzzles in the seminar, so I wanted to clarify. I never said Pit Bulls need muzzles!
One version of this rumor is that all the dogs in the class are muzzled. First off, dogs don’t attend the class. It’s a seminar, for the humans, and always has been. Nobody gets muzzled. If we have any students with reactive dogs in the seminar, I talk about safety gear, including muzzles, but it’s not in the sense that I think all pit bulls need muzzles. My position is that, in very specific situations with dogs (of any breed) that are reactive, I will recommend muzzles for safety.
It’s especially important to discuss muzzles in this situation (Bite History + Pit Bull). Why? Pit bull owners’ aversion to anything that may make these lovely dogs look dangerous makes people hesitant to use this simple, inexpensive safety device for the small subset of pit bulls that need it. That’s all.
I repeat: I don’t think all pit bulls need muzzles!
I recommend muzzles only for reactive dogs with a history of damaging bites (all breeds, not just bully breeds) for times when they may be brought into close contact with other dogs. For example:
- Trips to the vet.
- Living with another dog (a couple moves in when both have dogs, for example, and the dog in question only fights with dogs he doesn’t know).
- Evacuations (fire, flood, earthquake).
The muzzle isn’t a substitute for training, it just adds safety to the process. And of course you can’t just put a muzzle on a dog and throw that dog together with her new “friend.” For dogs that need them, I recommend muzzles during the last part of a slow, careful introduction process. It also takes careful planning to get a dog used to a muzzle, so that would have to be done in advance.
At the risk of giving too many details, but not enough, here’s a quick overview of when I’d use a muzzle in an intro: It’s used after they’ve already done work on lead at a distance, worked up close with a fence in between (unless there’s barrier frustration), done parallel walking, etc. As a precursor to letting them off leash and free together, I have them do up-close sniffs on-leash and muzzled (unless the leash is causing trouble) and then if all goes well, off leash but muzzled. Then, on leash and unmuzzled for another walk (or many), then off leash, unmuzzled. Sometimes the full process takes months.
Let me repeat here, in case you’ve forgotten: I don’t recommend muzzling all bully dogs, by a long shot, just for “dog selective” ones, and only in certain situations. That’s a subset of a subset of a subset. Plenty of dogs can get growly and scuffle and not harm another dog at all. If a dog is reactive, but has gotten into lots of shouting matches with no injuries, then the muzzle is probably not necessary. If a dog, of any breed, has a history of damaging another dog, or the owner isn’t sure, I recommend using a muzzle for part of the process.
I think that if a dog has already done damage, it may well do so again, so people probably shouldn’t introduce their dog to another dog without professional help. So why do I include a short discussion of muzzles whenever I talk about reactive dogs? Because these introductions invariably DO happen. And I don’t trust people, with our slow human reaction time, to pull or call them back before trouble starts, especially if they haven’t been trained in dog body language.
Intros are bound to happen. I want them to be as safe as possible, because I love dogs. I think sometimes we get so caught up with the idea of fighting the media frenzy that we lose track of the fact that, as with any other breed, sometimes we need safety devices.
Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, SeattleLiked This Article? Please Bookmark It!
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May 1st, 2008 at 9:06 am
I agree. I think this is really a discussion about safety equipment versus politics. Of course I don’t want people to perceive my bully dog as dangerous. But if I have the ability to use very inexpensive safety equipment ($13) to prevent an injury to another dog while doing a dog introduction, I’m going to do it.
I’m also not going to cut out the seat belts of my car, for the same reason. I’m a good driver, have over 30 years of experience driving, and have never been responsible for an accident. But I still wear seat belts. I don’t worry about other people seeing me wear them and thinking, “hey, she’s wearing a seat belt, which must mean she’s an unsafe driver”. It’s safety equipment - designed to prevent a costly injury due to what….what are we really worried about? Answer: AN ACCIDENT.
Are we so vain that we believe we can control 100% of the elements that go into a dog introduction? Can we guarantee that we’ve done enough pre-work? Are we able to predict, with 100% accuracy, the behavior of our own dog, of the other dog, of the handler of the other dog? And of the environment? Of course not.
Are we so overly confident, that we are saying we NEVER make mistakes? Do bridges not collapse? Do planes not crash? Are hospital patients never given the wrong medication? Do we sometimes, even surprise ourselves with our OWN behavior?
While these probabilities of disaster are small, they still happen, and we still should take steps to prevent them. And although I may have worked for literally months on getting my dog ready for a close up introduction with another dog, I’m willing to put a piece of plastic on her head that costs me $13 to prevent an accident. This is really all we’re talking about. Safety equipment to prevent accidents. Plain and simple.
I’m not disabling the air bags in my car, or cutting out my seat belts, or removing the smoke detectors in my house…or after spending many, many weeks working on gradually introducing my dog to another dog…going to stop using my muzzle as a way to guarantee 100%, that an accident doesn’t happen.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I myself attended one of Grisha’s Bully Breed Seminar and I found the seminar to be extremely informative. We were provided with a wealth of information about the various responsibilities involved with owning such a dog. Grisha discussed topics which included training, exercise, socialization, mental stimulation, aggression, management and safety. She did discuss the use of muzzles in certain situations as a safety measure, but in no way did she ever state that all bully breed dogs require a muzzle. Her emphasis was the option for the proper and appropriate use of a muzzle on certain dogs. Not on all dogs.
Grisha also discussed leashes, collars, crate training, training tools, etc. Muzzles were not the emphasis of the seminar. Personally I was impressed that she was able to pack so much information in a reasonable amount of time.
‘Pit bull’ owners have to be more diligent and responsible than the average dog owner, that is a fact; it’s not fair but still a fact. In order for us owners to bring about a more positive perception of these wonderful breeds we need to know and learn everything we can to take of these great canines. That includes keeping us educated about proper diet, training, socialization, and the proper use of various tools – including muzzles. We all need to talk, the more we talk, the more we can learn. Personally, the more I can learn about the needs of my bully mix and the needs of the many bully breed dogs I’ve fostered for the last 3 years – the better I can provide a higher quality of life for these beautiful dogs.