Need some advice on dog muzzles

kharmata wrote: Patrick. One key factor in training most dogs is a pocket full of yummy treats. I trust you have tried this method of control/encouragement ;-)

Kevin, the problem with training Frankie is that she doesn't particularly like treats (unless it's a live chicken!) and she's not all that fond of "praise" and/or affection either. I suspect it's a husky trait, but whether it is or isn't, it's difficult to reinforce good behavior with a dog like Frankie who is SO independant.

With Frankie I find the best way to encourage good behavior and/or following orders is to NOT make her stand still. So for example, if she doesn't stop at the curb when I say "Wait", I then make her stand there for a couple of minutes to think about it. She doesn't like this at all.  However, the next time I say "Wait" she screeches to a halt at the curb and stays there motionless until I say "Let's go" (after making her wait only about three seconds or so).

Romeo wrote: You guys wouldn't believe who I have trying to get me to make a pass at her... I'll give you a hint: She's a waitress and her name starts with E (And ends with -mily).

Jeez, I miss one meeting and the poor girl loses all her senses.

Car-2-Lo wrote: Just curious, why after 10 years you're muzzling poor Frankie now at her golden years

Johnny, I covered that in my first post.

Patrick wrote: The problem lately has been that there are some small dogs (off-leash) in the neighborhood which have run up to Frankie while she is on-leash during a walk. These little dogs don't seem to realize that running up to a much larger dog and barking in the larger dog's face isn't the brightest idea. Frankie has made a mess of a couple of these dogs before she could be pulled off of them and my girlfriend is terrified that Frankie is going to eventually be put down by the city (if reported). It's debatable whether that would actually be the outcome (as these dogs are loose which is illegal in Vancouver and running up to Frankie who is on-leash), but the problem is that Anne's kids are now reluctant to walk Frankie as they're afraid to be the ones "responsible" if Frankie kills or maims one of these dogs the next time she's confronted.

I went for my second walk with the halti on Frankie and she is doing great.  I have to admit I'm very surprised how well she's adapted so quickly to this new harness. The real test will be when she sees something she really really wants to chase.

You can see in this shot that the halti strap around Frankie's muzzle is not tight (unless she tries to pull away), so having this type of harness on is not as bad as it might first appear.

For anyone not familiar with a Halti, the strap you see disappearing at the bottom of the picture actually has a clip on it which attaches to the dog's regular collar, and the leash then attaches to the metal ring in the middle of this strap.