Baskerville Ultra Dog Muzzle – An Honest Review

Is the Baskerville Ultra muzzle the muzzle for you and your dog?

I’ve often talked about the importance of muzzles, and included the fact that all dogs should receive muzzle training. I’m really open about that – but that’s going to be a blog piece in the near future!

In the mean time, I know we need to talk about specific muzzles. Muzzles come in so many shapes, sizes, materials etc, that knowing where to start, is hard!

So, I want to chat to you about the muzzle I started with – The Baskerville Ultra.

Baskerville Ultra: The Summary

These star ratings are subject to change as the scales are relative to the other muzzles on the market!

In short…

The Baskerville Ultra is a fantastic starter muzzle. It’s strong, it’s accessible and it’s a little bit more flexible than some of the other muzzles in the fact that you can heat it and reshape it to fit your dog just a little better than it did before.

I love the durability, even though it’s not biteproof, and people have said that it can break – I’ve owned ours with regular use for 3 years – and it’s yet to give out. So… Maybe it’s a case of a poor tool choice.

It is good to note that I wrap the top part because it chafes, and it’s good to note that I believe (no evidence except intuition!) that this chunky style of muzzle? Inhibits inter-canine communication. That’s a big problem for me.

In Detail

What Do I Love About the Baskerville Ultra?

It’s simple. It’s easy to source and it’s pretty reliable. I enjoy the fact that I picked it up easily, for some reason it being plastic made it seem less scary to me as a first-time muzzle user.

Its pretty lightweight at 182g (Size 5), and there’s a lot of material out there about the muzzle, Baskerville make it accessible with videos and it’s at a great pricepoint.

The treat deliverability was a huge reason for me choosing this muzzle. Please don’t get me wrong, it takes a little bit of time to pick up the pattern, and to get used to the flow and to help your dog to understand they need to move down onto the treat.

But once you get that little knack and have a few treats knocked out of your hands, then it becomes pretty simple and the ‘window’ for treats is a good size too. With proper fitting, your dog can chew, drink, vomit and take treats nice and easy.

What Don’t I Love About the Baskerville Ultra?

Since I purchased mine, they have changed the muzzle slightly. and the new clip that they have, instead of a buckle, I feel is inevitably less secure.

It’s also not biteproof. I really want to stress that. Your dog can nip, snip and with a little focus pick up things that you might be trying to stop them eating. So good to bear in mind!

It’s really dark. Solid and dark. And if your dog has a dark face? Or even if they don’t! I feel like it blocks a lot of dog to dog communication. Dogs don’t speak English or any other verbal language. They use their mouths for a lot of communication of fear, as well as their eyes, so a thick, chunky, dark muzzle?

This could easily be responsible for miscommunications between dogs and sadly create more issues when your dog is trying to learn as they can’t communicate their discomfort.

You’ll Notice Indie’s Isn’t “Standard”…

Indie’s muzzle is not a ‘normal’ baskerville, you’ll notice I’ve made a couple of modifications to the muzzle that suited our way to train and wear the muzzle. Here’s what we did to make the muzzle better and more suitable for our use:

• I purchased some fleece horse leg wraps – I wrapped the top where it touches Indie’s nose.
• I removed the strap between the eyes – partially because I didn’t like it? But also because it really made using the muzzle a real faff and we rarely had issues with the muzzle slipping down.
• I trimmed up the strap too, because I hated extra danglies straps and things! I like tight and tidy.
• In a similar vein, I snipped off the collar tie, because whilst it is extra security? It’s in the wrong direction.

I have also heard of people spray painting them too! Might be an idea if you’re feeling crafty one day!

Do I Recommend The Baskerville Ultra?

Overall, for an affordable low level muzzle that doesn’t need to be bite-proof, but instead act as a last defence? Then yes, this is a muzzle I love.

Make sure it fits, make sure it sits nicely and you’ve adjusted your dog to it properly, and it’s a muzzle you’re going to enjoy the security of, it’s suitable for most situations too, which is great.

However, if you’re looking for a muzzle to train for dog based reactivity? (aka your dog barks and lunges on the leash at other dogs…) then this one may make things just a smidge more difficult because they can’t communicate clearly to others.

If you’re looking to purchase one of these you can grab one right on amazon and get it delivered real quick if you’re on prime! Just remember, if you feel like the sizing is too tight? A size up is better than a size down.

If you’re struggling with your reactive dog, and you don’t know where to go? I’m right here. I mean, that’s the reason I train! Come join my Rebarkable Reactives course and let’s get you from Reactive to Rebarkable!

Thanks to depositphotos.com for the images!