An anti-barking muzzle for dogs and its short-term effects on behaviour and saliva cortisol concentrations

Abstract

A commercial anti-barking muzzle for dogs was tested during winter on Australian Kelpies at a commercial breeding kennel, to examine the effects of the device on dog behaviour and welfare. The trial involved 16 dogs (paired on sex and age); one dog per pair was allocated at random to the Muzzle Treatment (MT) and the other to the Control Treatment (CT) (not muzzled). The dogs were penned individually with pairs housed in adjacent pens. Muzzle Treatment dogs wore the anti-barking device for about 43 h. Muzzles were removed for about 30 min on day 2 of the treatment period while dogs were fed. The behavioural responses of dogs were recorded over 4 days, from before application of muzzles (pre-..