I had a cross rottie who was agrressive when out walking, he was kept on a lead and muzzled, as other dogs would approach him and didnt want a dog fight. he could get on with other dogs but not out on walkies. he lived with another dog and you could bring another dog into the house and he was fine. apart from that he was a lovely dog.

Met a young guy with a young GSD going into the park today. He asked me which way I was going, then asked if it was usually quiet as his dog didn't like dogs or people. Said it was pretty quiet but if his dog really didn't like people he probably ought to get a muzzle.

Just an opinion though. I know I wouldn't want to walk a dog that was half pulling me off my feet if it didn't like people without one. just seems an unnecessary risk?

The dog I should say was fine. I was a person with a dog about 8m away the otherside of some stock fencing and while we were chatting paid us no mind at all.

I did say she seemed fine at the minute as I didn't want to come across as a big dog hater (and she was anyway)

"Yes but she won't be" he said.

He also wanted to know why I suggested a muzzle.
Gave the lame reason that if he came on someone unexpectedly and she nipped them they might complain.

Dunno.

If he had a muzzle he'd be less paranoid/nervous about people, the dog'd be less paranoid and reccon the whole walk the dog thing would be more chilled. Can't be fun constantly watching out for people.

Then again I know nothing so should have maybe kept my mouth shut.

I always work on the basis that if people have a dog that they know can be 'unpredictable', particularly large breed dogs, they they should muzzle when out in public places. I once saw an 'unpredictable' large breed attack another dog when it took the owner off their feet and was accidentally released as the owner was lying on the ground. The other dog was not a pretty sight by the end of it so yes to muzzling I'm afraid!

But how do you define unpredictable? Is any dog predictable? Should any breed with the stength to pull someone of their feet (and you'd be surprised at what smaller dogs can achieve) be muzzled as a precaution? If I knew that my dog would perhaps bite another dog (not that I think Casper would, but just a what if) if it ran up to my dog when I had him on-lead, should I have to keep him muzzled because other people don't want to control their dogs? If I have a firm hold of my dog (in Casper's worst reactive phase, I would have a double-ended lead around my waist and attached to him, as well as a seperate lead wrapped around my hand and held tight), why is that not enough control/precaution? Surely the fact that other dogs could run up to him is not my responsibility. Surely you can then throw your own argument back at them - if you know your dog is unpredictable in whether it will run up to on-lead dogs, it should be on-lead in public places.

I think your scenario with a dog that would immediately, viciously attack another dog if it got loose is quite an extreme and I would agree that it should be muzzled but many reactive dogs are "unpredictable" yet would most likely actually run and hide if the lead was dropped and I don't think they should have to be muzzled because other people cannot control their dogs in terms of not approaching other dogs.

My older GSD can be dog aggressive. He lives with my other dog and plays with my friends dog but if a strange dog was to approach me or him without being introduced he would growl or attack it.
He wont approach other dogs, he is indifferent and isnt bothered in the slightest by dogs playing around him or being near him, its when they physically touch him that he kicks off.

I dont muzzle him, if someone elses dog is out of control and runs up to him its their problem, why should I spoil his walks for other peoples stupidity and lack of training. If your dog wont recall dont let it off, I dont.
Another reason I dont muzzle is because the amount of times other peoples dogs have come up and attacked him is terrible, so yes, I want him to be able to defend himself at least.

Well I muzzle Danny and Jenny when we're out and Guinness when he's running off lead. I've had enough problems with Danny so I daren't take the risk. But on the other hand my hubby came home the other day after walking Jenny and Danny...he didn't muzzle them as it was late and not many dogs around at that time and also they were staying on lead. He was walking past one on the local pubs and the landlord's Springer Spaniel came running at them barking , growling and went to bite Danny on the chest. In fairness to my two, Graham said they remained calm considering but when this dog went for Danny, Dan was quicker and moved out of the way and tried to defend himself..then Jenny nipped it on the butt and it ran off. They immediately calmed down afterwards which shows that they have come a long way.
The landlord was apologetic and his dog didn't have a mark on it.
In this case I'm really glad they weren't muzzled. It was totally the Springer who started it and it would have torn a chunk out of Danny had my 2 been muzzled.

And in my experience muzzling can make this even more likely to happen. I carry a muzzle with me whenever I'm out with Rupert so that I can muzzle him if I feel it's needed but on leash he's unmuzzled most of the time. Off leash I muzzle him. Partly because of his aggression, partly because of his prey drive.

Yes I think dog aggressive dogs should be muzzled if they are likely to bite dogs that come up to them (which does happen in the real world, rightly or wrongly).

I think there is a certain unnecessary stigma attached to muzzles. I can't help but feel that the owners feel far more strongly about putting a muzzle on their dog then the dog itself actually does. Most dogs, provided they are introduced to the muzzle correctly, don't care about about wearing a muzzle. I know plenty of dogs that wear muzzles due to scavenging, etc., who are not traumatized.

Personally if I had a DA dog, I would be absolutely mortified if my dog (even if on a lead) hurt another dog because I chose not to muzzle it. For me it is a no-brainer.

choice if owner has FULL control as theres too many irresponsible owners otherwise all of the time

Have to agree with this. Rupert being muzzled doesn't interfere with his being able to sniff, eat grass, drink from puddles or enjoy the other things he likes to do while out. It doesn't ruin his walk in any way and he's never seen the muzzle as a bad thing.

For me it's a matter of weighing the risks. I have absolutely no problem muzzling Rupert here. There are no gangs hanging around with aggressive dogs, no idiots slapping my dog around the muzzle trying to incite aggression, nobody to try to kick him or to stamp on his paws or legs or pull his tail. Where I used to live I would absolutely NOT muzzle him because when I did that was the sort of thing that ended up happening. Never happened when he wasn't muzzled. We have a lot of people here who don't seem to believe in leashes but at least their dogs are friendly. Whether Rupert's wearing his muzzle or not I always have it with me just in case I see a need for it. Given that most of our walks are late night ones and we don't see anyone I tend to leave the muzzle off.