Different reasons for muzzling
Muzzles are beneficial for a wide range of dogs, not just those labeled “aggressive,” as they help prevent accidents during play or from ingesting harmful items, provide a clear signal to strangers to respect nervous dogs’ space, ensure safety during vet or grooming visits, and prevent potential conflicts when introducing new dogs or managing reactive behaviors.
Since this is a more complex topic, we wrote an article about the different reasons for muzzling and why muzzling isn’t cruel for those who are interested reading more on the topic. Our “What to do around muzzled dogs” poster is also available on this link for downloading.
While there are many different reasons for muzzling, some shouldn’t be among these - like to stop the dogs from barking. Unfortunately, there are still many muzzles out there using barking as a selling point, like the one we are reviewing now. We feel it is essential to clarify that muzzles shouldn’t be used to prevent barking; it is a dangerous and ineffective way to address this problem. If you want to learn more, check out our article on why not to use a muzzle to stop barking.
How to find the right size muzzle for your dog?
There are different opinions on how much room the dog should have in the muzzle. The only thing that everyone agrees on is that the dog should be able to pant to cool down while wearing it. However, what pant room means can generate great arguments.
If you are looking for an agitation muzzle, or the muzzle will only be used for short periods, you are okay with a muzzle that provides enough room for a half-pant, but in return, it stays on more securely without adding extra clips or attachments. If you use the muzzle for hikes or canicross, it is essential to have enough room for a comfortable full-pant.
The other tricky thing with sizing is that although there are great Facebook groups to help with fitting, different photos could make the muzzle look much bigger or smaller. If you look through the images in this review, it’s hard to believe they show the same muzzle, so be careful to judge the size based on a few photos. ;)
The sizing of the Barkless Silicone muzzle
The Barkless Silicone Muzzle comes in six sizes, which supposed to fit dogs from a Maltese to a Great Dane. Since this is a big scale, there are significant jumps between the sizes so many times one muzzle is too small, but the bigger one is too big for a dog.
Based on their sizing chart, we got a size 4 for Mia, which fits well more or less. It could be a little smaller, but size 3 would be way too small, so we compromised with this one. The big nose opening gives some flexibility with sizing because there isn’t another strap at the end that would rub the dog’s nose if the snout is a little shorter than the muzzle - like in case of Mia.
The design of this muzzle is similar to the Baskerville Ultra that we reviewed earlier. Both of them leave a big gap under the chin for longer nosed dogs, which makes them look bulkier on long-nosed dogs.
With or without the overhead strap, that is the question
Overhead straps are important for additional security to prevent the muzzle from accidentally falling off. If the dog is appropriately conditioned wearing a muzzle, they shouldn’t try getting it off, but it could still happen if they get into a fight or play rough with other dogs. Generally, this is a more significant risk for short-nosed dogs because they would have an easier time getting the muzzle off while a longer snout would “get stuck” in the muzzle if it is properly adjusted and is the right fit.
Another thing to consider is if your dog is a determined biter. In this case, you want to have an overhead strap even for a longer snout to say on the safe side - although plastic basket muzzles are not the best for high bite-risk dogs.
The Barkless muzzle comes with an overhead strap that attaches to the neck strap with a simple loop and a slider to adjust the lengths.
We ended up removing the overhead strap because it always slid to one side and was across an eye that Mia hated with these wide straps. Since the overhead strap only loops through the neck strap, it slides around a lot unless the dog has a deep stop and broad head (which Mia doesn’t). Unfortunately, this strap cannot be unbuckled to remove and put it back if needed because the part which goes through the muzzle is sewed together.
Barkless Silicone Muzzle Review
The Barkless muzzle has a great fast release buckle, which makes it easy to use. The straps also have reflective parts (the white sewing all around the straps), which is highly visible in the dark. The wide straps are excellent for keeping the muzzle in place, but they also get dirty and soak in the mud/water on a rainy day.
While we did love the big nose opening for Mia’s sensitive nose, it could be a little smaller on the front to be sure a dog with a narrow snout wouldn’t be able to nip through it.
The most interesting thing about this muzzle is the material itself. The soft silicone is excellent because it’s lightweight and is easy on the snout of the dog. Mia hasn’t had any trouble with chafing while wearing this muzzle even on full-day hikes, and I can imagine it would be easier to use this muzzle for training purposes than a hard plastic one. On the other hand, if the dog is a determined biter or scavenger, this soft muzzle wouldn’t be enough to hold them back.
As you see it in the photo below, it’s so flexible that you can fold it in half. This means that the dog can push its nose to the end of the muzzle and still bite or eat something through the wholes.
Summary
We used this muzzle a lot because Mia was comfortable to wear it. She isn’t a bite-risk anymore, so the softness of the material wasn’t an issue for us, but it isn’t recommended if your dog is determined to bite or eat something. We loved the wide and reflective straps that are even padded for additional comfort.
Bite-proof factor: basket muzzles are generally not the best if a dog is high bite-risk, but the soft silicone material makes this even less suitable for determined dogs. It is enough to prevent a nip but nothing more, they can easily bend the material and grab something while wearing the muzzle.
Prevent the dog from eating things from the ground: It makes it harder, but it’s still possible for the dog to pick up things.
Safety collar loop: it does have a loop at the bottom that you can use to attach it to a collar.
Overhead security strap: it does have one, but it only attaches to the neck strap with a loop, and you have to find a way to secure it by yourself if you want it to stay in the middle.
Where to buy
You can buy the muzzle on Amazon and you can also find it in many other offline and online stores.
Disclaimer: this review contains an affiliate link, which supports Dog Gear Review if you purchase the product after clicking on it without costing you anything extra. However, using affiliate links will never compromise us writing unbiased, honest reviews!
The collar on some of the photos was from BolDog - You can check out our previous review on them on this link.
Additional resources
If you want to learn more about muzzles, you can join amazing groups on Facebook, like Muzzle Up, Pup!, or follow The Muzzle Up Project. You can also check out the Muzzle Training and Tips website, browse our articles, where we discussed many muzzle-related topics.
