![]() So will you, and others who might need to handle your dog. The time will be worth it in the long run, as your dog will feel safer. It is important to realize that desensitizing to handling and similar experiences takes more time than just teaching your dog to be comfortable wearing a muzzle. If you have any remedial work to do with your dog in the area of handling, husbandry, or grooming, teaching your dog to wear a muzzle is a terrific way to desensitize common handling around the face and ears, before moving on to additional behavior modification for those sensitivities. ![]() The more puppies associate wearing a muzzle with a fun game, the quicker handling and touching exercises go overall, making it easy to make contact and reinforce touching other parts of the dogs' faces and bodies. Working on muzzle training produces the wonderful association between human hands and treats: "When hands come near my face, good things happen." With this motivation, puppies are quick to focus and learn to get their faces in the muzzle, and not to use your hands for teething. This training also teaches puppies to keep their mouths, and those sharp little teeth, away from you. Teaching puppies to accept a muzzle is a wonderful way to work on general touching and handling. Keep in mind that if your dog is injured or in pain, placing a muzzle on her before you try to move her or transport her may also prevent a bite to you or to anyone else trying to help your dog get safely to a vet. As a result, in most states your dog will have to be placed in quarantine for approximately 10 days, adding insult to injury. If your dog bites someone at the vet, even if your dog is in pain, that bite is usually reported to the local Animal Control agency. ![]() If your dog is ever injured or hurt, having her comfortable with a muzzle can prevent a bite to the veterinary staff members trying to help your dog. Play fun muzzle games with the muzzle, and the end result will be that your dog will not have to be manhandled to get a muzzle on her when she needs to be examined or taken to "the back" for treatments. When you teach your dog to love wearing a muzzle, you can bring your dog's muzzle with you to the vet. Start early and reap benefits for routine and emergency careīeing proactive and teaching your dog to love her muzzle before your next vet visit will minimize the handling, and/or the restraint by the vet staff. This experience and reaction could easily generalize to not only the vet staff, but to other situations that might feel threatening to your dog when people approach your dog's head or face. If your dog has never worn a muzzle or been made to feel comfortable with one, there is a good chance that having one placed on her face abruptly could cause future handling issues, and more terror, the next time she has to visit the vet. If a dog taken away from the owner shows any signs of biting, the dog is often muzzled-usually on the spot, and sometimes with a quick, but invasive, gauze wrapped around the snout. This is usually done to save you anxiety, in case your dog panics when handled for these procedures, and also to avoid bites. Is she nervous, worried, anxious, or fearful? Many times dogs displaying those emotions are taken "to the back," where they receive routine, care such as vaccines. Think about a typical vet visit with your own dog. ![]() Jeannie Brousseau, RVT (Registered Vet Tech), with the Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA, once said, "Muzzles keep a good dog good." One place to begin is with some insight from the veterinary community.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |