Easy To Basket Muzzle Train For Dog By 3 Steps

What it takes to train your dog?
Properly sized basket muzzle.
Dog Training Treats: Squeeze cheese or peanut butter (other options: shredded cheese, hot dogs sliced lengthwise, squeeze bags of wet dog food—anything that can be fed easily from the front of the muzzle)
Optional but highly recommended: tag word or clicker for your dog
Optional: a snack bag to store snacks and keep your hands free.

LET’S DO THIS EASY AND QUICKLY NOW!

STEP 1: Introduction to dog personality (mental state)

The first thing you need to teach your dog is that muzzle predicts amazing things. We do this by pairing the look of the muzzle with their favorite things, such as a high-value treat or even their favorite toy or game.

Place the muzzle of the gun out of the dog’s sight, such as behind your back.

Display the muzzle so your dog can see it. When you show your dog the muzzle, pay attention to how close the muzzle is to your dog. Some dogs may shy away from new things, so be sure to keep your distance so as not to disturb them. Other dogs are initially more curious and confident, which means you can keep your dog close to them.

Then give your dog three to four high-value treats in a row, keeping the dog’s mouth in sight. If your dog really likes to play, you can throw their favorite fetched toy or play tug of war instead of giving them treats.

Remove the muzzle, stop giving treats or stop playing.
The muzzle must come first before or at the beginning of feeding. Watch me and my dog demonstrate this step in this video:

STEP 2: Guide Your Dog to Put Snout in the Muzzle

Every trainer does this step slightly differently, and the method you use depends on what works best for your dog. In the video below, you’ll see me first work with my dog to bait the muzzle with chicken to entice him to stick his nose in it. I like this because it encourages the dog to eat treats from inside the muzzle and allows the handler to practice eating treats from the front of the muzzle – this can be tricky and takes practice!

Place a high-value treat around the edge of the muzzle so your dog can easily eat it.

Then begin moving the treat further into the muzzle.

Finally, start feeding through the front of the muzzle.
Watch me and my dog make this together in this video clip (using boiled chicken breasts as a high-value treat for him):

Once the dog is more comfortable putting his nose in the muzzle for treats, I like to quickly switch from the treat bait/bait inside the muzzle to marking with a “Yes!” (Clicker if your dog is clicker trained) When the dog puts his nose into the muzzle of the basket on his own and then gives the reward.

In this video clip, see how I transitioned my dogs from food bait to shaping:

STEP 3: Guide Your Dog to Keep Their Snout in the Muzzle

Now that your dog is happy to see the muzzle and is happy to stick his nose in it, it’s time to establish duration. This means getting your dog used to having his nose in the muzzle for longer and longer periods of time. This helps set the stage for step four, as you’ll need some time to clamp the straps tight.

Be patient and persist for a period of time. This is a fun and fulfilling action. I hope your dog will like it and quickly learn to wear a dog basket muzzle.

Find a Certified Trainer/Behaviorist

There are a lot of options when you’re looking for trainers or behaviorists (higher degree education). If you’re experiencing severe behavior problems with your dog I would highly suggest finding a Board Certified Behavior Veterinarian to help you start your behavior journey. Find an Animal Behavior Consultant Find a Karen Pryor Academy-Certified Training Partner.