Vet/Soft Muzzles
We constantly have members coming here believing them using a vet/grooming muzzles is okay because vets do it. This is a really warped excuse as these soft muzzles are used in a climate-controlled and monitored environment and should not be used longer than a few minutes. We can give many safer alternatives and hope to see more vets and groomers using safer alternatives to tight cloth muzzles.
WHEN THEY CAN BE USED
We understand these have a valuable place in may vets and grooming salons and under the right conditions and supervised they are okay to use for short periods. Most are used for dogs first times so the owners didn't know they needed one. When you know your dog wears one of these muzzles you should be actively working to find a safer and comfy size for your dog. Relying on cloth muzzles alone is not fair to dog.
There have been cases of dogs dying with these muzzles on and whilst complete accidents in the right conditions it's not something we recommend risking. We strongly believe vets and groomers should work on moving to the safer alternatives we mention below.
WHY THEY WORK BUT ARE NOT SAFE
The only way these muzzles are bite proof and protect the people or dogs around is by having it so tight that they cannot open their mouth which anyone would know is unsafe and also cruel to make your dog tolerate. So yes they cannot bite in these muzzles as they cannot open their mouth, which also means they cannot breathe properly whilst wearing it. Whilst you should not feel bad if one has to be used in an emergency, just make sure you do more training to keep it positive and find a muzzle that fits well.
The tightness around the closed mouth is already so close to using tape, which would be seen as pure cruelty, but because these are cute colours and soft for us to feel a tightly shut mouth is fine. Some people will say 'oh but we don't have them as tight', well then they are not bite proof and you are putting everyone at risk.
ALTERNATIVES
There is a ton of alternatives to use to these muzzles, not only will MTT give big discounts if you ask on their muzzles because we just want to keep everyone safe but some of the other cheaper brands included are Baskerville Classic, Alfie plastic, Proguard 'soft muzzle', Greyhound muzzles, Kruuse Buster and more. You can also look into the sets of JAFCO sold or MTT does bundles for multiple sizes through the store too.
Check out Muzzle Options for all info or skip to
See image descriptions for names and info for alternatives.
