Best Dog Muzzle For Barking: Barkless Adjustable Muzzle Review
Do muzzles stop dogs from barking? They can! If your dog tends to bark while you’re walking him, a no-bark muzzle may help keep him calmer. Your dog will still be able to breathe freely and pant his heart out. The muzzle will keep your dog from biting or eating items he shouldn’t.
The muzzle is lightweight and durable and is available in small, medium, large, and extra-large. You can also purchase it in brown or black leather. If you need a dog muzzle to stop barking, this could be an excellent solution for you.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Prevents dogs from biting, barking, and eating things they shouldn’t | Some dogs can wriggle out of it |
| Affordable | Sizes run too big for some dogs, often those with shorter snouts |
| Durable | Some users report having to punch extra holes in the straps |
| Adjustable | |
| Easy to put on and take off | |
| Made of soft, comfortable leather |
If your dog meets a new face or encounters a new situation, it may react with fear. Separation anxiety is a common issue in many breeds as well.
Interactive dog toys and puzzles can keep your dog occupied when you’re too busy to play. With plenty of exciting games to try, your dog is less likely to spend its free time barking.
Plenty of things can excite your dog to the point of barking. Even just walking through the door after work may be enough to trigger a reaction.
Most dogs learn early on that barking is the best way to get their human’s attention. Both negative and positive attention can encourage dogs to vocalize anytime they feel neglected. Body language may be happy and excited or tense and frustrated.
Older dogs may start to show signs of cognitive decline as they age, including forms of canine dementia. A dog with dementia may see or hear stimuli that aren’t there, leading to unwanted barking. Dementia-related barking often happens at night, though you may also hear it during daytime hours.
What Are the Different Types of Muzzles?
There are two main types of muzzles and by making sure you get the right style and fit, you will ensure safe and effective use. You can also make a homemade muzzle in an emergency if there is no other choice. Here are some options.
Basket muzzles look exactly like they sound, a basket strapped to your dog’s nose and mouth. They can be made of leather, wire, plastic, or even rubber, and can be bought off the rack or made to fit your dog’s exact anatomy. Their “prison bars” appearance may look like the least humane choice, but the opposite is true. In fact, many dogs seem more comfortable in basket muzzles than soft muzzles because their mouth isn’t being held closed. Most styles allow dogs to open their mouths to pant, drink, and eat. Some even have slits along the side so you can slip larger treats like sliced hot dogs through the bars for training purposes.
Usually made from fabric such as nylon or mesh, or sometimes leather, soft muzzles wrap around your dog’s mouth and hold it closed. That design is actually less comfortable for your dog than a basket muzzle and potentially more dangerous. Soft muzzles prevent your dog from panting, which is the only way he has of dispersing heat. Panting is the canine version of sweating so these muzzles should only be used for very short periods of time and never in hot weather. These muzzles also prevent your dog from barking, drinking, or eating. And if your dog can’t eat, it’s almost impossible to use treats as a reward during a behavioral modification program or when you’re training your dog to love the muzzle. You will have to rely on items like squeeze cheese that your dog doesn’t have to chew.
When there are no other options available, but you need to muzzle your dog, such as in an emergency or when your dog has been injured, you can make a muzzle from items you have at hand. This is only recommended when you have no other choice, and your homemade muzzle should only be used temporarily. You can find instructions online for improvising a homemade dog muzzle with a roll of gauze, a pair of pantyhose, or even your dog’s leash, but using materials such as these isn’t ideal. A better option is to keep a proper muzzle in your canine first aid kit.
Will a muzzle stop barking?
How many times have you observed this scenario? A dog gets excited and starts to bark. The owner begins to frantically yell at the dog, “No! Stop that!” Instead of becoming quiet, the dog begins to bark even more excitedly, and his master must now escalate his actions, and may ultimately resort to physical violence against his pet to try to achieve some quiet
The real problem here is that the dogs master does not understand the basics of dog language. To a dog, loud, short words like “No!” “Shut up!” “Dont bark!” and so forth sound just like barks. Think of it this way: the dog barks to signal a potential problem. Now you (who are supposed to be leader of his pack) come over and also bark. This clearly indicates that you agree that this is the right time to sound the alarm, so the dog moves his barking to an even higher level.
Many different techniques have been tried to stop dogs from barking. They range from staring directly into the dogs eyes in a threatening manner and shaking the dog to methods involving water pistols and squirt bottles, lemon juice sprays, muzzles, adhesive tape, rolled magazines, rattle cans and electric collars. Sometimes these work, but more often they dont. Even when they do work, such methods tend to be harsh and can damage the relationship between dog and master.
To try to stop barking you must first understand what it means. The dog is barking to communicate something that he feels is relevant to the pack. Usually he is warning his loved ones that he senses danger or something else that requires action. Imagine what goes through the dogs mind when his act of devotion is met by violence. Aggressive responses to communications that were meant to be helpful are bound to damage future relationships between the person and the dog. Furthermore, these “corrections” only provide a short-term solution to a problem that is easily solved if you understand canine communication patterns.
Wild canines, such as wolves, do not bark much as adults but they do bark as puppies. In the safety of the den area there is little harm in such noise; however, as the puppies grow older and begin to accompany the adults on hunts, such barking becomes counterproductive. A wolf puppy or adolescent who barks at an inappropriate time can alert potential prey that the pack is near, or attract the attention of other, larger predators. To stop this, a simple communication pattern has evolved. It obviously does not involve barking or any loud sound signal, since the goal is to stop noise. The signal also doesnt involve direct aggression since nipping or biting the barker is apt to cause yelps of pain, growls, or dashing around to avoid or counter the aggressors physical violence. This would be just as likely to alert other animals as the original barking itself.
The procedure worked out by wild canines to stop barking is quite simple. Namely, a more dominant animal places its mouth over the offenders muzzle, without actually biting, and then gives a short, low, breathy growl. The low growl will not be heard very far, and it is short in duration. The mouth over the muzzle is not actually inflicting pain, so there is no yelping or attempt to escape. Silence usually follows immediately.
Humans can mimic this behaviour to stop barking when the dog is nearby. With your dog sitting at your left side, slip the fingers of your left hand under the collar at the back of your dogs neck. Pull up on the collar with your left hand, while your right hand folds over the top of the dogs muzzle and presses down. In a quiet, businesslike and unemotional tone, you simply say, “Quiet.” Your left hand on the collar immobilizes the head. Your right hand serves the same function and communicates the same message as the leaders mouth over the noisy animals muzzle. The softly spoken “Quiet” mimics the short, low and breathy growl. Repeat this silencing manoeuvre whenever it is necessary. Depending upon the breed, it may take anywhere from two to a couple of dozen repetitions to associate the calmly stated command, “Quiet,” with an end to barking.
Be sure, however, that you only use this procedure to stop a dog from barking when barking is excessive or unnecessary. Remember that we specifically bred dogs to bark, so if your dog sounds the alarm at the approach of a stranger, or even at the sight of a cat outside of your window, dont correct him, just call him to your side and give him a quick pet or a rub, and maybe a quiet “Okay.” He will often stop by himself once you acknowledge the situation. By barking, your dog is only doing the job that humans designed him to do thousands of years ago. ■
Stanley Coren is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of many books on dogs, including How to Speak Dog and Pawprints of History. His website is www.stanleycoren.com