Is it ok to use a muzzle?

Question

I have a almost 5 month old yorkie/toy fox terrier. I know that being a pup she is still using her teeth to explore, but lately she's just gone up to people we've had over and just nipped their hands and doesn't stop even after we've said "NO BITE" and tried many techniques to try and teach her biting is wrong. We've tried the holding the mouth shut and saying "no bite", the "OWWW" technique, the standing up and leaving the room, the tap on the head and "no bite" (which I hate doing), even the finger holding down the tongue. None of them seem to work so is it ok/humane to get her a muzzle especially for when company is over cause it has gotten to the point where people don't like to come visit cause they know the pup will get nippy. She also likes to just nip me all the time, I have many cuts and teeth marks on my hands from nips. Is it ok to use a muzzle to try and teach her not to bite? What kind work the best and how long should I use it? Or are there other no bite techniques?

She has lots of toys! Probably too many for her to ever play with. Although she has so many toys she still finds it necessary to chew on me and people who come over.

Answer 1

Training is best but, muzzles are good aids. By the way I like your name. I don't think many on here will know where it came from.

Answer 2

You can use a muzzle but there are serious problems associated with muzzles. If you use one try the box style which allows the dog full use of her mouth while preventing anything larger then a treat entering the mouth.

Don't use a muzzle around other animals because it will make a lot of problems worse.

I am not sure what type of bite you are targeting. Start with only the hard bites and only progress when she understands not to cause pain/ injury. Use the Oww at the top of your lungs and redirect to a toy.

She is at an age where she needs to explore and learn but dogs learn through their mouths. You can't stop a pup from this, you might hurt their development, instead target her hard biting.

Ideally as an adult you want her to have a soft mouth which means she understands her mouth can cause injuries and how much pressure is safe. My dogs all understand the difference between bare skin, clothing and protective gear.

Keep her on leash and near you whenever company is around. If she bites you, go through exercise and then tell her to sit and praise as much as possible.

Don't hit her.

Be patient because it will be a few months before she is out of the stage of biting. Try offering ice cubes, frozen berries, soft chew toys and stuffed animals.

Any time you think she is going to be nippy grab a toy and get her to bite it.

*EDIT* Restrict her toys to one chew and one soft play toys at a time. Rotate through and leave the toys in the same place. Have one small special toy you can have with you to redirect her to. Eventually she will just go to that toy when she is excited.

She is simply over excited and a puppy who is learning. Keeping her on leash with company protects them and teaches her to stay with you not harass the company.

If she does bite you, you can tickle the inside of her mouth and say no/oww until she spits you out.

Answer 3

This will only frustrate her more and cause her to do more damage when the muzzle is off. Start by getting her toys to chew on. Flavored rawhides work very well because the flavor attracts them and the chew toy give them something to work on. As for biting anything else dry lifting her up slightly by the scruff when you tell her no and pull her away from what you are telling her not to bite. Remember training doesn't happen overnight and it may take several weeks for it to sink in that this action equals this reaction. Be consistent and she will learn.

Answer 4

I would highly recommend obedience classes specifically for her problem. A professional dog trainer would have more ideas and more experience at this, and could be much more effective than an owner.
Seems like you have tried so much that hasn't worked, and since a muzzle is obviously not an ideal solution, I really think you should try obedience training first. Obviously this is hurting her socializing with even you, so she needs to learn it's not acceptable in the first place.

Or instead of obedience classes, I would recommend hiring an animal behaviorist - basically a veterinarian who specializes in behavior issues - to come to your house. My friends hired a behaviorist as a last resort for their psycho cat - who would attack them for no reason - and the behaviorist worked miracles.

Good luck!

Answer 5

That is fine as long as this does not become a permanent fixture. She is young and testing her ground. She is probably also teething. Get her some sturdy chew toys. Ask your vet or pet store for a good humane muzzle, and some good chew toys.

Answer 6

It would be a good idea to put a muzzle on your pet if you have company over,but wouldn't leave it on the pet at all times,because if your pet should throw up,it would asperate and the throwup would go back into lungs causing fluid in the lungs.Just be sure and watch your pet very close when the muzzle is on

Answer 7

For the nipping try this. This method helped me allot. It has given me much better results than the many other methods I have tried. This was written for Corgi puppies but it applies to most all puppies. Once you get the web page up scroll down to were it talks about nipping.

http://www.honeyfoxcorgis.com/faq-leashbreaking.htm

Answer 8

Muzzles are fine to use or else they would not use them, but probably a muzzle would not be the best answer in this case. Your dog is a puppy and biting comes with puppies. She will grow out of the biting eventually. Maybe you could enroll her in puppy kindergarden. It would really help.

Answer 9

I think it is a great idea! Especailly since it has gotten so bad people don't want to come over! She will probably learn what your trying to tell her with the muzzle! And also you won't need it that long probably when she gets out of her puppy stages she will be a lot better! But Hey take a shot! Try it! Good luck :)

Answer 10

I used the water bottle and also said NO BITE, it really works after a while. Little puppies like to chew on anything and everything. However, it will pass.