First impressions of a dog...

[SupermansGirl]

My boy is the most kindest sweetest animal I have ever owned. People judge him straight away and move away from him when they see him.

He has to wear a muzzle and be on a lead which does not give him a good impression but its because he is classed as "pitt bull type". He was taken from me at 6 months purely because his breed and then given back to me spaded, tattooed and 1million rules to be aloud to keep him.

What would your opinion be if you saw us in the park?

Not great if he's wearing a muzzle. Sorry.

I'd hope the muzzle was on tight. Sorry but certain breeds frighten me more than others

I'd think he could be possibly on the exempt list or maybe just a scavenger or maybe dog aggressive or maybe fear aggressive and you've put a muzzle on him to encourage people to avoid him (because most people are numpties and automatically assume muzzle = bad dog)

I find it most bizzare how people keep themselves and their dogs away from muzzled dogs but not none muzzled dogs

Dd2 would want to hug him. She adores Pitbulls. We holiday in Turkey most years and there is a Pitbull in her favourite bar, it's only her favourite bar because of the Pitbull.

I know the sweetest tempered dog that wears a muzzle, it was actually my suggestion and the owner agreed. Her dog used to eat poo bags and as so many silly owners dump them in the woods where we walk instead of using the bin just at the end of the path she sure had a variety to choose from. I saw her do it once and was shocked as just presumed she did not actually swallow them.

If I saw your dog in the park I would think...poo bag eater or an owner that has taken safety precautions rather than risk an incident. Larger dogs that run up to my dog tend to make me nervous as you never know what they might do. Better safe than sorry.

I'd give you a wide berth as ime most muzzled dogs are muzzled for a good reason. I wouldn't run screaming, though. Would probably idly wonder if he was dog aggressive or a rubbish snaffler.

I'd assume he was muzzled coz that was either the rule for his breed or that he was aggressive, I wouldn't move out of the way, I'd think I was safe as he was muzzled.

I wouldn't judge too quickly - as others have said, plenty of scavengers are muzzled, as are greyhounds. If he was walking calmly by your side and not reacting in a negative way to other dogs/people, I wouldn't think twice.

And to be honest, even if he was a bit twitchy, as long as you looked in firm control, I'd probably think, Well, at least the owner's being responsible about muzzling him, and trying to keep him socialised.

That said, if you were wearing elbow-length gauntlets, a protective face mask, and were walking him on a reinforced horse leader then I might be a bit more wary.

I'd avoid you...but that's because my muzzled rottie can be aggressive, lol.

I've noticed a definite difference since he's been muzzled - but anyone I'm interested in talking to has asked about it, people that run away I'm not particularly bothered about anyway - and I quite like that people don't just let their dogs run over like they used to.

Is feel safe because he was muzzled and presumably on a lead. Uncontrolled dogs scare the crap out of me!

I wouldn't avoid you. I would assume you had your dog muzzled for good reason be it fear aggression, scavenging whatever. I had to muzzle my big greyhound for first few weeks and people dragged their children across roads away from us. Hmm.

I agree with the majority of posters, I wouldn't necessarily think a dog is muzzled because they are dangerous. I've thought about muzzling my dog as he is a scavenger, not because he's dangerous!
I get more anxious about people who let their unleashed dogs run up to my boy, realise how big he is and start growling at him...and he's the one on the lead and under control.
Differnt people have different opinions tho, that's my two pence worth

I wouldn't avoid you, as in walk the other way or do a big detour to get passed.

I don't tend to judge muzzled dogs, as I'm aware of many reasons for muzzling that have nothing to do with aggression.

In no particular order, I would consider:

a) Perhaps it's a dog with some issues, but it's obviously with a responsible owner and under control, so I have nothing to worry about. If I felt this was the case I would probably either ask (if close enough) or watch the owner for signs of how they would like me to proceed, as if training/socialising I may be able to help.

b) The dog is a breed type that must be muzzled under UK law and again - is with a responsible owner who is just doing what they have to do. I would probably be able to judge the breed type and wouldn't assume the dog was aggressive.

c) The dog is a scavenger and the muzzle is purely to curtail it's penchant for eating all manner of foul and disgusting things

d) The dog is a sighthound and if so, the most common reason for muzzling is actually because they have a very ott and distinctive way of playing off-lead that tends to worry other dog owners - although some may be muzzled if not small-furry-friendly.

In every case, given their dog is also on-lead, I wouldn't allow my dog to approach them, as it's poor etiquette and could cause potential problems for either their dog or mine if I have misjudged the situation.

It's unmuzzled off-lead dogs that charge from one side of the field to the other to get to my dogs I'm wary of, not those that are muzzled and under close control - regardless of the reason.