This is the main problem I have with Scooby.He is little enough to attract people who like small dogs but big enough to attract those who like them a little larger, he also looks pretty happy when he's trotting a long and no one is bothering him. This means everyone we meet tries to talk to him, they all ignore my perfectly friendly GSD x in favour of the bitey terrier! I've got pretty good at going 'don't touch that one but you can touch this one'. The issue with Scooby is that if someone pushes it with him he will bite and he doesn't exactly hold back with strangers

I always think that. I have lived with Scooby for 3 and a half years and only in the last 6 months have I had to resort to the muzzle full time when out. His behaviour improved at first but now that his eyesight is going and his hearing is dodgy he has got a lot more reactive. I continue to socialise him and I continue to use reward based techniques to manage his behaviour but the muzzle is there to ensure that if something goes wrong then he con't do any damage.

Muzzling him doesn't have to mean I'm not training, I'm quite adept at treating through muzzles, it just means that when I get taken by surprise by a jogger or that group of children pass me on a narrow path everyone is safe and I can be more relaxed and confident knowing Scoob can do no physical harm.

Quite right! I think all too often the muzzle is put on as an alternative training. It's no wonder his behaviour is worsening with his eye sight and hearing going. Poor soul.

I agree it is too commonly relied upon to prevent the behaviour with little to no training to actually solve the issue. It's people looking for a quick fix

Scooby is 15 this year so he's doing well really and as it should be with him he is growing old disgracefully!

After my dog was involved in quite a serious punch-up with a submissive black labrador and displayed bullying tendencies to other dogs I started to muzzle him, I couldn't live with myself if he badly injured or killed another dog (or cat).

I practice BAT and LAT with my dog all the time but I'm not sure I could ever trust him with another dog offlead and unmuzzled.

I don't think muzzling dogs is common, in fact I rarely see it. It certainly was not an easy option for me and a step I didn't take lightly.

Hehe.

I once had a go at a woman whose dog attacked my friends terrier. Now my friends terrier was no angel but this collie sized dog shot out of now where and proceeded to repeatedly pummel my friends dog with the muzzle and rip at her with it's paws. The woman came sauntering over saying its ok she's muzzled. I went ballistic and said that it would still bloody hurt and the dog could still do a lot of damage! Her response was that her vet had said it would be fine to let it off with a muzzle on! I dragged her dog off and my friends terrier had lots of scratches and bruises and was absolutely petrified!

You are very sensible to muzzle you dog and it is the same as why I muzzle Scoob, the thought of him hurting someone turns my stomach. I have found BAT and LAT techniques work very well, they really helped my boy until he started losing his marbles.

I'm sorry I think I worded my post badly - I too do not see many muzzled dogs but when I do the muzzle is all too often seen as a cure when the dog is still actually showing all the behaviours it was previously but it can no longer bite. Unlike yourself some people just assume that by stopping the dog from biting everything's fine when the dog is still reacting badly and struggling to cope with the situations they are putting it in.

I've known a dog get quite seriously injured by another dog through a muzzle. That's why I keep my boy on lead as well, unless I can see for miles, just the act of a dog slamming in to the other can cause enough damage! It's not like the victim dog knows that the other one can't bite it is it!

Exactly. I hope the woman learnt her lesson.

Oh and my friends dog was screaming in terror so the woman had enough evidence to see the dog was petrified!

Poor you, I honestly don't understand people like that xx