Preparing for Bill 132 to Pass with Appropriate Muzzle

Although it seems that August 31st is still far away before the muzzling of pit bulls in Ontario becomes law, it's a good idea to plan ahead.
Muzzles come in a variety of shapes and styles. The latest ones that I have noticed is a nylon muzzle that goes around the snout of the dog, attached with a nylon strap that attaches behind the dogs head. Although they are not as noticeable and lack the menacing look of some of the other muzzles, your pet can slip them off too easily and uncomfortably hot during the summer months. You should be looking for a muzzle that is sturdy, yet comfortable and well ventalated for your dog in all types of weather. The muzzle you select for one dog, may not be of benefit to another, depending on the temperament of the dog. An example being; an aggressive dog towards other dogs would need a more secure muzzle than a dog that is sociable towards people, children, other animals, wild birds and critters like squirrels, rabbits, etc. included.
The cage muzzle, although looking very menacing, has minimal contact to the dog. It allows the dog to breath normally, plenty of air circulation, sturdy and lightweight. The down side is if you have a very sociable dog, it probably would keep people far from your dog. There are plenty of leather muzzles too. You have to check them out as some are not as sturdy as others and some, the dogs can remove themselves with their paws. Also depending on the dog, some can get chewed on and broken easily.
Most dogs do not like anything around their snouts and need to slowly be weaned on them with tons of praise given until the dog accepts it graciously. I found that getting Shasta used to a halti first really helps. She now gets excited when she see I'm getting her halti, as she knows that we are going outside for a walk or a bike ride. I give her the 'sit' command and she doesn't turn her head away from the halti like she used to at first, as she can see it to be a reward rather than an obstruction. Patience, praise and reward are key factors to how your dog will respond and accept them.
I plan on making Shasta her muzzle. I'm going to use comfortably soft, yet strong leather in a soft colour that goes with her fawn colouring...either a soft peach or a soft mint colour. It will be secured with gold plain round studs. Somewhat like the shape of a halti, but with an extra secure strap further down the snout. Then for added security so she isn't able to pull it off when not mobile, an additional strap that is secured from the lowest strap on the bridge of the snout, to the higher one and then up the face between the eyes secured to the strap that buckles up around her neck. I plan on using gold buckles that I can loosen or tighten depending on what we plan on doing. Obviously if she is running along side of me on the bike, I need to give her easier breathing room, yet more secure when I leave her outside a mall when I leave her alone in public. Also, she loves her flowers that I bought that were suppose to be used as hair elastics, but I cut off the elastics and use a strong carpet tape to stick it to one side of her ear. She loves it! So I plan on clipping one on her muzzle so she doesn't look intimidating. Then I can alternate them depending on our moods. LOL
While I'd rather not have to use a muzzle on her at all, once the bill becomes law, we will abide by the law. To me, it's far better to abide than lose her because I don't agree with the law. Not losing her is far more important to me, than taking chances and I love her far too much for that.