Baskerville Ultra Muzzle Although muzzling dogs in the grooming parlour has been common place for years, clients are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of muzzling their dogs at other times too. With current legislation and litigation made so easy, a functional, comfortable, well tolerated muzzle was much needed. This is where the Baskerville Ultra comes into its own. The Baskerville’s best feature by far is the unique design which allows the dog to freely pant, drink eat and accept food rewards.
These features mean that the muzzle can be worn for much longer periods of time than some other muzzles. It has been extensively tested for safety and durability with some of the strongest and most aggressive dogs that could be found. The three point attachment system means it simply cannot be removed by the dog thus offering a peace of mind and enabling owners and handlers to be more confident and therefore less likely to inadvertently contribute to the dog’s behaviour. There are of course many other reasons why a dog needs to wear a muzzle, inappropriate ingestion of food and/or faeces, pica (ingestion of non food items such as stones), licking of wounds or compulsive self mutilation disorders. The Baskerville, along with appropriate training, dietary adjustments and possibly drug therapy, mean we can now offer solutions not just simple management. The following steps are easily taught to your clients whose dogs need to wear a muzzle.
It can take anything from a few days to a few weeks to teach:
Step one: Put some paste/pate/cream cheese on the edge of the muzzle and hold in your outstretched hand. Once the dog is happy to lick the paste off apply it further and further inside the muzzle until your dog will put his nose all the way inside without hesitation. A good rule of thumb is somewhere between 15-30 repetitions per session, one to two sessions per day.
Step two: Hold the muzzle in the palm of your hand with several small treats inside and allow your dog to eat the treats from the muzzle. Work on slowly increasing the duration your dog has his whole face inside the muzzle.
Step three: Whilst your dog is eating from the muzzle hold the strap behind his head for a few seconds. After 15-30 repetitions do up the strap and continue to quickly feed treats, then undo the muzzle and remove. Repeat.
Step four: Increase the amount of time the muzzle is worn with the strap fastened by about 10-15 seconds each session. The rewards can now be given intermittently as long as he isn’t trying to remove the muzzle.
Step five: Put on the muzzle and fasten then hold a treat out in front of your dog’s nose luring him into taking a few steps forward. Reward every few steps until he is happy moving about. Reward him every time he accepts the muzzle and ignore anytime he makes a fuss or tries to remove it.
Gradually increase the length of time between treats until there are several minutes between them. At this point you can randomly put the muzzle on your dog at differing points during the day for between 10 and 30 minutes at a time and also in different locations. This will teach him that it is now a regular part of life and not to be associated with any one thing (i.e. the groomer or another dog).
As a special offer to readers of Total Grooming Magazine we are pleased to announce that a pack of 6 Baskerville Ultra Muzzles (one in each size) can be purchased directly from The Company of Animals by telephone on 01932 566696 at the special price of £33.00. These would normally cost £67.44. Please quote ‘MBUPGroomer’and note the offer is restricted to one per order.