Will the use of a muzzle stop a dog bitting?

My son's Jack Russell has started lashing out and bitting members of the family. He has bitten 5 times now on the hand in the last 6 months but 1 week ago he bit my 15 yr old son on the nose cutting it and causing it to bleed.

With family members and extended family members ranging from 1yr to 84 yrs we are concerned that he could do some serious damage so where considering putting a muzzle on him.

Would this work?

 

I muzzle will stop the dog from biting WHILE he has the muzzle on. But it won't teach him not to bite and it may cause him to agress in other ways. It won't be comfortable for him either. I suggest using a muzzle in the interim, perhaps in situations where he generally bites, but seeking out a trainer who is an expert in these situations and teach the dog not to bite.

 

I agree with the poster above. It could help him stop biting while the dog wears it.
Better to get a trainer or expert on dogs that have such biting behavior. Better not to let the kids near him until the problem will be solved.

 

A muzzle is good to prevent him from biting while it's on, but you'll also have to make sure to train him to be less aggressive. Make sure he gets a stern no and maybe a tap on the nose when he even snaps at people. Slowly expose him to getting used to people as well (for now with a muzzle on) so he gets more comfortable around others.

 

My vet friend says that muzzles, although they work at the moment they are on, can actually make a dog be more aggressive later. Apparently just wearing it causes anxiety and later dogs react out of insecurity and lack of control with more aggression.

 

Muzzles cause more aggression later becuase the dog feels that it is dominated when wearing the muzzle. So when the muzzle comes off the dog feels the need to agress. I do know trainers however who use muzzles as training tools.

 

My dog trainer friend uses a muzzle when training Dobermanns. He doesn't use it to train the dog not to bite. He just uses to muzzle, which is actually more like a soft bandage bound around the muzzle, to teach the dog not to bark. So, what the use, you may ask, of a dog that doesn't bark? Ah, to know the answer to that, you need to come across an all-black Dobermann in the dark. One that doesn't bark.

 

A Doberman who doesn't bark? Pretty scary!
I agree that muzzle will just make the dog meaner. Imagine how excited your dog is to bite your limb once you release its muzzle.
Just like a child who gets too excited to lick the his/her favorite ice cream 'cause her mother didn't allow him/her to have one for a month.

 

The muzzle would stop the dog from biting as a reaction. In training situations to control the dogs impulses and teach the dog to self-regulate a muzzle is good. Most dogs don't just bite someone for the sake of biting.

 

I remember coming across a muzzled dog while I was walking in Thailand. It was an old dog. Probably it couldn't see very well already. So as a matter of reflex action, it probably would bite anything unfamiliar that came near.

 

If the biting is a new behavior, then a trip to the vet is in order, to determine if there might be a physical cause for the behavior.

 

Agreed, you want to make sure there is no illness, tumor or phyisical pain causing the aggression. After that is ruled out, then it's time to invest money into a good trainer that is able to deal with aggressive dogs.