Good Muzzle for a Dog Playing With Tiny Dog?

Question

I don't have a dog yet, but I want to ask this question for future use.

In my country (Japan), the majority of dog owners have teeny tiny toy breeds, but if I get a dog, I have chosen a male Kai Ken. (will neuter him after 1 year of age)
The problem is that Japanese breeds tend to be very rough and teethy during play, and I am concerned if this would cause a problem if my dog were to play with -for example- a 1kg Chihuahua.
I do know that obedience training your dog is a must, but no matter how much you train, a dog will nip when playing. And that nip may not be just a nip for the fragile Chihuahua.
PLUS there are so many dog owners in Japan who are ridiculously protective of their babies, and over-react to stuff that are totally natural dog behaviour. *rolls eyes* (Of course, I would avoid these neurotic sissies as much as possible.)

So I have decided that when I meet a person who isn't too sure about my Kai Ken (Japanese breeds have a bad reputation among toy breed owners like how Pitbulls have a bad reputation in the US), I'll put a muzzle on him to avoid "accidents".
But now the question is: What TYPE of muzzle is good for playing?

At first, I thought the regular plastic box-type muzzle is best because your dog won't be able to bite but still can breath and pant freely. But then if my dog were to rough house with, say, a Yorkie, won't the plastic act like a club? Ouch.
So then I thought about nylon muzzles, but I am extremely concerned how they don't allow much mouth movement for panting, which may cause overheating. Plus they can still nip anyways which kinda takes away the purpose of a muzzle.

So the final question is:
Is there any other kind of muzzle that is soft but allows the dog to breathe and pant?


Please, no "obedience training"(duh, I will obedience train, but some breeds just don't listen to commands like a GSD) or "play with bigger dogs"(I would do so as much as possible, but come here and see for yourself how many tiny breeds there are in this country -whether I try to avoid them or not, avoiding encounters with them is virtually impossible) answers.
I still have lots of time to decide on how to deal with teenie dogs and fussy owners.
I just want to know about the muzzle.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long question. X3

Answer 1

(will neuter him after 1 year of age)



You don't need to wait a year to neuter the dog. It can be safely done at 8-9 weeks.



You don't need to muzzle the dog, that's just being lazy. You simply don't allow your dog ot play with smaller dogs, that simple. They have high prey drive, why do you want to let a dog with high prey drive play with a small dog that it will consider prey? That'ts just bad ownership.



Its a simple as just keeping your dog away from theirs and not letting it play with small prey animals.

Answer 2

A muzzle probably wont help, as a dog is much more likely to hurt a smaller dog by knocking it over, pawing it or jumping on it than biting.

I have a Great Dane and she is allowed to play with small dogs, but she is always supervised and will return to me if I say the play has got too rough.



If you get a muzzle I would suggest a leather basket type, this way the dog can still pant and drink.

Answer 3

These types of muzzles are the best to use:

http://www.petproductadvisor.com/buyers-guide/italian-basket-dog-muzzle-how-to-choose-an-italian-basket-dog-muzzle/64/page1.aspx

No matter what type you use, you want your dog to spend as little time in it as possible but the nylon muzzles that actually hold the dog's mouth shut should never be used for more than a few minutes at a time. They are for the time spent in a vet's exam room or things along that line.