You’ve decided to get a dog muzzle for your furry family member. You’re choosing between basket muzzle, occlusion muzzle, or short snout muzzle depending on your intended usage. Now it’s time to correctly measure your dog’s snout. Finding the right size muzzle and the best dog muzzles for your furry friend will ensure a comfortable and secure fit. Below are four steps that will help you determine the right size dog muzzle for your furry friend.
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Step 1. Snout length
Find out the length of the snout. To do so, measure the distance from one (1) inch below the eye base to the tip of your dog’s nose.
The eye base is the middle point between your dog’s tear ducts. The eye base is used as a reference point.
Step 2. Circumference of dog snout
Use the same tape measure and starting from one inch below the eye base, wrap it snuggly and fully around your dog’s snout, under his mouth, and back to where you started the tape measure at the 0-inch mark. Make sure your dog’s mouth is closed when you’re doing this.
Step 3. Height of snout
Measure the vertical distance from the top of your dog’s snout to the bottom of her snout starting from the reference point of one inch below the eye base. If you’re getting a basket muzzle for your furry friend, make sure to measure from the top of your dog’s snout to the bottom of your dog’s snout with her mouth a little bit open since the basket muzzle allows your dog to open her mouth a little bit for panting and drinking water. If you’re not getting a basket muzzle for your dog, make sure her mouth remains closed during this step, and measure from the top of your dog’s snout to the bottom of your dog’s snout while her mouth is closed.
Note: For accurate measurement, do not measure at an angle or curve your tape measure. While measuring, make sure there is nothing in your dog’s mouth and that she isn’t chewing on anything.
Step 4. Width of snout
Finally, find out the width of your dog’s snout. Below the eye base, measure the widest distance from the left side of your dog’s snout to the right side of your dog’s snout.
Note: Keep the measuring tape in a horizontal straight line. Try not to curve the measuring tape.
How Should A Muzzle Fit?
We’ve included a dog muzzle sizing chart to help you determine the right size dog muzzle for your furry friend. Once you have a properly fitted dog muzzle, you can start muzzle training your pup. Learning how to put a muzzle on a dog should be fun because it’s important that your dog has a positive association with wearing the muzzle.
| Dog Muzzle Size | Dog Muzzle Width | Circumference of Dog Snout |
| XXX-Small | 3.5″ | 7″ |
| XX-Small | 4″ | 8″ |
| X-Small | 4.25″ | 9″ |
| Small | 5.25″ | 10″ |
| Medium | 5.5″ | 12″ |
| Large | 6.25″ | 13″ |
| X-Large | 6.75″ | 15″ |
With over five years of specialized experience as an animal writer, my expertise lies in dog nutrition, health, behavior, grooming, and training. I am dedicated to delivering helpful and informative content that caters to the well-being of our furry friends. My primary goal is to empower pet owners with knowledge and ensure our canine companions thrive in health and happiness. In my free time, I love volunteering at local dog rescue centers.
