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.