Freedom for reactive dogs

This is what Willow's freedom looks like.

Without her muzzle, without her leash, do you know where she would be? Home. Home while my human family and I enjoyed the hike without her.

Living with a reactive dog is probably not what you had in mind when you brought your dog home. But here you are. You work with what's in front of you.
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What's in front of me is a dog who will defend herself if charged by another dog. What's in front of me is not knowing when someone won't keep their dog on leash or keep their dog from running up to my dog, uninvited. When I can't control the environment in front of me, I keep control of what I can.
Willow is not depressed here, she is not being restricted by the environment. She's included in the adventure.
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Muzzles are not restrictive. They are inclusive.

​Living with and loving a reactive dog is incredibly rewarding. You get to be your dog's person. You earn your dog's trust. You see a side of your dog that many may not get the privilege to. You become your dog's advocate and you love them for who they are.
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But you probably desperately wish others could see your dog like you do. And maybe they will. In the meantime, what can you do? Isolate your dog, isolate yourself? Avoid the adventures? Hope that one day it'll be different? Accept your new reality, for the love of your dog? Sure. If you choose to.

But there is an alternative. It includes your dog, it gives your dog some freedom back, it gives you a chance to make some forward steps. I'll be real with you. Your dog's personality can't be changed. It just can't. Behaviors can be modified, emotional reactions to the environment can be altered, but innate personality? It's there for good. 

Like with our children, we do the best we can with who we have alongside us in life and we learn from them, we navigate life with them and for them. We parent them, we teach them, we love them, we protect them from outer harm and from their inner monsters. 

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When you choose to muzzle your dog, you are not restricting your dog's freedom. You are giving it back. you are protecting him from what you cannot control in the environment while also giving him the opportunity of experience. 

A properly sized and conditioned muzzle will bring new opportunities for adventure into your dogs life, while keeping him safe in the event that the unpredictable happens. A loose dogs runs up, a child runs past, a stranger isn't fluent in dog body language. ​

Your dog is not a monster. Your dog has some inner monsters. 

This is the muzzle pictured on my dog, Willow. 
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