I don't get it, is there a bill trying to be past about all dogs wearing muzzles? Why would Tupac be different because of his looks?

of course it does
... but to say that it would be you that looses out on the companionship off dogs

Theres another thread in here at the minute about people not walking their dogs. I would hazzard a guess that if it became law to muzzle dogs in public, there would be a very big reduction in dogs being taken out at all

if the situation is so bad that you cant trust your dog or control your dog without resorting to muzzling him/her then I think its time to seek help

the worst possible scenario is out with your dog muzzled, it gives off at someone who has 1 or 2 larger dogs who break free & attack yours who has absolutely no way to defend
itself. It doesnt bear thinking about........

not that i know off... but its the sort of thing that i believe could happen with everything being so antidog at the mo.

you might not think he is scary, but people are scared of Tupac and some scream when he hasnt even lifted his head up to look at them.

OHH, had plenty of that, next ones getting laughed at very loudly or politley told if they have dire rear they can buy immodium over the counter

Once had that about 5 times in 30 mins while he was on lead walking next to me in the street.....the first few got ignored, the next couple quite funny but by the next day..start to get fed up with the silliness of it all.

That would be my fear.

Somebody that lives near us has a large breed dog that has injured dogs, twice i think, whereby they needed vet treatment. The wife sometimes takes the dog out and if he sees a dog she is unable to hold the lead.

I had Polo out on the field off-lead and heard a shout. I turned and my heart skipped a beat as this dog was running towards me and Polo just a few yards from us. Polo hates the sight of this dog. He approached it with his tail up and I did a sharp turn and walked away from the dog and called him. The other dog had squared up to him and thankfully Polo fled after me and is faster than the other dog.

Had Polo been on-lead and muzzled he would have reacted and it is quite likely this dog would have had a go and I dread to imagine what this dog could do to him in such a vulnerable position.

It is interesting to think about what other people's perceptions would be if you walked your dog muzzled?

Do you think they would be LESS likely to let their dogs charge yours as they realised you have an aggression problem rather than a "I'm on a lead because I don't come back when called" problem?

I used to muzzle Cherry when working off-leash at agility class. She has always just headbutted other dogs that got into her space when out walking but I wouldn't take the risk. A child at our class was terrified of Cherry because she was muzzled until I pointed out that Cherry was actually the safest dog there (in theory anyway as she couldn't bite!).

Although Cherry is fear reactive she is fine 90% of the time. The problem comes when other owners let their dogs charge at her and she doesn't know them. Why should I muzzle her when their dogs are the ones behaving rudely?

They then have a go at me and say I shouldn't bring my dog out if she is scared of other dogs, but she is only scared when they charge her-she would walk past and ignore if they were calm.

I have seen a muzzled Rottweiller at a dog show go for a Whippet puppy at its first show and pin it against a wall-it was terrified and hurt so dogs can still damage other dogs even when muzzled. However, I did wonder why the owners brought it to the show as they stood in the entrance where all the other dogs had to walk past it and it was lunging and growling at them all. Perhaps they were using the "flooding" technique but not really fair on the other dogs and owners in my opinion. My point being that just because your dog is muzzled doesn't mean it is necessarily under control.

However, if I had a dog that was severely aggressive in that it would bite another dog/person should we happen to turn a corner and "bump" into them then yes I would think it my responsibility to muzzle it.

Real interesting thread.

I use a muzzle with Tom in certain situations.

If I am walking him and Bella on my own locally as there are many off lead dogs I use the muzzle , some of the off lead dogs have excellent recall and are no problem whatsoever and we can pass them peacefully but a handful of owners will not put the dogs on lead or even call them back when we are approaching even though Tom is giving warning signals and some who do try and call them are ignored by the dog who is coming charging at us.

If Tom gets frantic in this situation I can hold onto him and get his attention but I will not take the risk. It does take a lot of pleasure out of local walks but I choose my route carefully and try to enjoy my dogs and let them enjoy their local walks.

When Tom and Bella run in the field together they are muzzled but this is simply to prevent injury due to the speeds they run round the field at.

I get varied reactions to Tom being muzzled but I have got to the point that my priority is my dogs and the safety of others, rudeness exists in out society in whatever we do and that plays a big part in the dog world too.

If its me and my OH walking then no muzzle for Tom and he can have fun with his ball, his recall is good (I worked extremely hard and so has he to achieve that !) and when there are two of us there we have a plan if anything adverse happens and in our opinion despite Toms possible reaction he is in control.

Criteria for being in control of your dog seems to be a matter of personal opinion !

Yes you must do what is best for the dog and your own safety.If the dog in question can be a bit nastie well it maybe best that you do put a muzzle on him.

Under control?
If the dog is on a lead, its under close control, so you can put it out of the way if nessc.

i dont agree with winding DA dogs up & worse by tight leads etc, but training in a basic saftey position, will give you control in such situation.

If you pop a dog A dog in a muzzle & then just letting it react, thats doing it no favours at all