Need some advice on dog muzzles

Many of you have met Frankie, our Siberian Husky. She's the sweetest dog... around people.

However, being a husky, she's not so sweet around small animals. (She'd also go after larger animals such as coyotes, raccoons, deer, etc if given half a chance.) Cats and chickens and chipmunks need to run for their lives if they're anywhere close to her. Small dogs are not a problem if Frankie is off-leash, yes off-leash, but on-leash she's much more aggressive towards any size dogs she encounters (which I understand is not too uncommon with many dogs while on-leash).

The problem lately has been that there are some small dogs (off-leash) in the neighborhood which have run up to Frankie while she is on-leash during a walk. These little dogs don't seem to realize that running up to a much larger dog and barking in the larger dog's face isn't the brightest idea. Frankie has made a mess of a couple of these dogs before she could be pulled off of them and my girlfriend is terrified that Frankie is going to eventually be put down by the city (if reported). It's debatable whether that would actually be the outcome (as these dogs are loose which is illegal in Vancouver and running up to Frankie who is on-leash), but the problem is that Anne's kids are now reluctant to walk Frankie as they're afraid to be the ones "responsible" if Frankie kills or maims one of these dogs the next time she's confronted.

So... that's why I'd like some info on dog muzzles. Info on types and sizing and how to keep the darn things on. I don't want some "macho" muzzle on Frankie. I'd like it to be as inconspicuous (and as comfortable for her) as possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

Capt Fiero wrote: If you really feel the need for a muzzle then get the mesh type, however a halti is probably more than enough.

Thanks Dave, you bring up some good points. I've heard of a "halti" before, but hadn't really considered it for this purpose. I guess my main concern is whether it would be effective enough when Anne's kids are walking Frankie.

I'll post some pictures tonight of various muzzles (and a halti) so everyone will know what we're talking about.

OMG !!!

Anne will just love that picture. Not.

Yikes...

Dawg wrote: Patrick, I think the "best" solution is get some professional training for Frankie.  There are some very good trainers out there.

I dunno, she's almost ten years old. You know the expression about not being able to teach old dogs new tricks.

Maybe we need the dog whisperer.

kharmata wrote: I love em all but huskey's (as magnificent as they are) can be very stubborn and shy of beating them in the skull, you won't win the battle.

And don't I know it! It's very difficult to tell a stubborn and smart dog what to do if they don't see any purpose in it. (Just to make it clear though, I have never hit her to discipline her and never plan to.)

I've learned with Frankie that if she's really interested in something else (like a squirrel while we're out in the woods) and I want her to come, I need to use dog psychology and simply walk away from her. She innately wants to stay with the "pack" and usually she'll come running after me (which always makes me feel good). No amount of hollering her name has quite the same effect.

I didn't bother with the Hannibal Lecter model that Johnny posted above, but I do have a variety of muzzles here to show.

A wire muzzle...

A leather muzzle...

Clynt sent me a link to show the type of muzzle that Sam (his favorite bulldog) wears when out on the town.

This type of muzzle would scare the hell out of the neighbors!

Something inconspicuous like this would be great, as long as it works.

And this is a Halti (that Dave mentioned), which is very similar to something called a Gentle Leader.

I couldn't find anything that actually stated that a Halti would prevent a dog from biting, but I got a kick out of This site as their husky obviously didn't enjoy modeling this type of harness.

And I'm not all that sure what to make of this, but I suspect these two are both a lot of fun at the parties that Tristan attends!

I always have a pocket full of yummy treats.

...It needed to be said.

kharmata wrote: Romeo wrote: I always have a pocket full of yummy treats.   ...It needed to be said. Dare i ask what or why?

Anyways, I don't know if you know, but my blind dog used to be a real a-hole (Would attack anything and everything, just for giggles). We found that a halti (As David suggested) did the trick just wonderfully. Attacking becomes far less alluring when you're straining your neck in the process. Now we don't even have to use the halti, he's been re-conditioned to not want to do that (Off-leash he's still a colossal prick though).