What Is A Well-Fit Muzzle
What is well fit or not, for the most part will depend on your dog and the muzzle being used. A muzzle can be well fit for a regular pant but doesn't allow for a full pant. This page goes how a muzzle should fit, regular vs full pant fit and much more.
If you haven't yet I suggest reading over Why Size Matters to learn why you need to ensure your muzzle does fit correctly for what you need whilst also keeping your dog safe.
Make sure you get to the 'back to top' button to ensure you don't miss anything important.
For the most part, a muzzle should allow your dog to full pant without being overly tall. It should fit over the snout without being snug on the side of the snout, the length should be very similar to your dog's length and sit away from the eyes and off the nose. The cheeks and chin of the muzzle should not be tight or restrict their pant.
The Exceptions
There are some exceptions on fit, depending on the dog and use. Firstly, if someone only needs the muzzle to fit the dog's regular pant then the muzzle is not going to be well fit for a full pant but instead well fit for what you need. Secondly, the width and length of the muzzle can actually be slightly big or even small on the dog to start since most muzzles can have their length and width modified. Some members also prefer their dogs to have a bit more height room than needed, whilst we do not recommend over sizing too much, this can help with dogs who are growing or have bigger pants in the summer.
Muzzles Will Look Big
One struggle many members have before learning about the fit of the muzzle is understanding why some dogs muzzles look so big, most of the time especially if they sized using our info, the muzzle will need to be big for the dogs large pant. If you see a big muzzle you can almost always assume the dog has a big pant to fill it. If not then the muzzle may actually be too big. But as explained in the sections below, you can't properly judge the fit of the muzzle without seeing the dogs pant first.
Very Small Muzzles
A small muzzle is pretty easy to spot when the dogs mouth is fully closed inside, cheeks pushing through the sides or the dog has rub marks/ breathing issues. Spotting a muzzle that is too small is much easier to do since anyone should be able to see if the dogs breathing/full pant is being restricted because there will be no room at all.
The Uncommon "Perfect" Fit
Some people get really hung up on finding the exact muzzle that will fit perfect, with no mods and no resizing. Unfortunately this is just not possible for some dogs, it is even harder if sizing yourself but it is not impossible. Dogs that have shorter noses or very large pants are a few that can struggle more with finding a well fit muzzle.
This has become much less of an issue since we have made JVM available worldwide as it has many sizes that 'fix' the limited options CHOPO/JAFCO have. An example would be someone who has a medium dog with a very large pant, by length, width and closed height they may suit medium muzzles but the same medium muzzles won't have the height room needed for the extra large pant on some dogs, this means going taller on height but with most brands, they'll also get wider and longer.
Another thing to add is it's really uncommon to not have to modify your muzzle in some way, this is explained more in the Modifying section of the website.
Below is an example from a member, before JVM (right pic) was available the CHOPO 15F/29C was the only muzzle that came close to fitting their dogs face and pant. While this muzzle did not fit perfectly it left a lot to be fixed, it was still useable since there was literally no other options aside from custom but clearly the shape was wrong and length too long. Now with a new brand they have the best example of a perfect fit.
Muzzle Fit Examples
WELL-FIT:
These pictures below show well fit muzzles. I will go over why they are well fit even if they aren't the 'finished fit' (eg still need mods etc)
INCORRECTLY-FIT:
These pictures below show well Incorrectly fit muzzles. I will go over why they are not well fit on each individual photo.
Tongues In Muzzles
A common question we often get is should dogs tongues hang through the muzzle. The answer is yes; a tongue hanging through does not mean the muzzle is incorrectly fit or not bite proof. We suggest making sure your dog can hang out, especially if they have a large tongue that can take up needed pant space.
If the tongue is not fully extended, this can cause the airway to stay semi-restricted, though it depends on the dog and situation. Enclosed muzzles like vinyl may restrict your dog's long tongue from fully extending, but whether or not this is an issue depends on your dog and situation.
MTT do recommend using wire muzzles if your dog has a long tongue, just to be sure it has enough room to full allow for unrestricted panting too.
