what do you think of this dog who needs a muzzle?

There's a dog who gets fearful and aggressive if other dogs approach it but when a basket muzzle is on he is completely ok, no signs of stress or aggression, and plays with other dogs. The owner said if she takes the muzzle off, he would go right back to fear aggression.I don't get it because isn't a dog who's dog aggressive wouldn't they act the same way muzzled or not? But I saw with my own eyes the dog played just fine with other dogs.

It could be that the owner herself has a high anxiety level that flows to the dog. Introduction to other animals is easier taught but, stress level of owner needs to be at a lower level.The dog has been taught that if it has a muzzle on, owner feels safe, owner isn't stressed and anxiety level is down. I really don't know how to explain this differently.

cuteeeeeeeeeee

I agree with the anxiety of the owner answer.Dogs are very in tune with us. they can sense when we are upset. Especially if a dog is very close to its owner.If the owner feels anxious about the dog biting someone, the dog will pick up on this anxiety, but not the thought behind it. The dog will feel the need to protect their human. Especially if the anxiety worsens around other dogs.Dog thinks other dogs are causing their owner to get upset, so he protects them from the other dogs, inadvertently doing the very thing that caused the anxiety, causing a snowball effect.But if the owner sees the muzzle as making the dog safe, they feel less anxious around other dogs, so their dog sees that as a good thing. Owner calm = good.Basically, the owner has to learn to be calm around other dogs with the muzzle off. If they can remove that anxiety, the dog will be fine and calm around other dogs with his muzzle off.