Muzzles

Muzzles can be a really useful piece of kit when you are trying to deliver first aid to your pet. You may think your dog would never bite you or anyone else. And of course, they would not be in a normal situation. But if they are very painful, or if they have a bleeding foot, for example, you need to get that bandage on, you need to stop that bleeding. So you can use a muzzle, and a lot of dogs actually do not mind them, they do tolerate them quite well. And it just means that you are safer, and it can actually help your dog relax a little bit. There are various muzzles that you can get. There are these ones that are mainly just used for first aid. They are not going to stay on for any prolonged period of time. It's just to put them on while you do what you need to do, and then you take them straight off again.

So you need to ensure that they are roughly the right size for your dog, that they are not going to easily be able to flip them off with her foot, and it's not going to be too tight that it's going to stop them from breathing. There's a time when you would never use a muzzle, and that's if your dog had a wound around their face or if they have gotten any kind of respiratory distress. Certain breeds are more prone to that, like the bulldog breeds or the brachycephalic breeds. So you have to be really careful with using muzzles in those breeds. But if your dog is fine, has no breathing problems and has no injuries around the head ends, then you can just use these muzzles just to do what you need to do.

They normally have a slightly short top and a longer bottom. It's this top part that needs to go over the nose. So slide that over the nose there, and then they will normally have this little clicker that you can easily change the size if you need to, or loosen it up, if necessary. So it should be tight enough that the dog can not flip it straight back off, and that it's not going to slide straight over the head. But not too tight that it's causing them a lot of distress. And then you are able to do what you need to do. There are these other muzzles that can be used in an emergency situations. And these are also muzzles that can be used for other things. So if you have a dog that you know is a bit of a scavenger when they are out on a walk, and they need to wear a muzzle to stop them from harming themselves, then this type of thing's a lot safer. They can breathe a bit better in this, it's not so tight, and it's more comfortable for them. So this is a basket type of muzzle. A similar type of thing. Slide over, the short end will go over the top, and you should just be able to attach that over the... Behind their ears. This one is a buckle instead of a clicker. If at any point your dog does seem to stress with the muzzle, you need to take it off immediately.

Then finally, you may not have a muzzle, but you might have a first aid kit with you. And so you look in there and think, What can I use as a makeshift muzzle? And something like this bandage would be fine. So you can just roll this up or fold it up, and as long as your pet is going to allow you to do this, you do not want to get them worked up, and you do not want to risk yourself getting bitten when you are trying to put this on. So just assess the situation to make sure it's safe for you to do this. But you can then pop this around and tie that like this, just to make sure that stays on. This would just be for a very short period of time. If you have a slightly longer bandage, you may be able to tie it, and then still attach it around the back of the head. But you make do with what you have got, and it just has to be a temporary measure while you do what you need to do.