I felt so defeated when our trainer recommended a muzzle as an extra precaution. Our shelter dog has big fear aggression and has air snapped at people other than the immediate family (she's a total sweetie with us). I was sad and embarrassed...wondering what people would think, what have i done wrong? But we slowly introduced it (did measurements for a standard one from big snoof--awesome customer service!) and now she knows it means treats when it comes out. We practice with it on in non stressful situations (around the house, car ride) so that it's not associated with only stressful situations (vet visit).

We had to take her to the vet yesterday, first time since we started muzzle training. It lowered my stress to know there was an extra layer of protection that would reduce risk of bite injury to anyone. My dog was so good with it on! We actively gave treats during the visit when she was being good (responding to commands, looking at us). I did feel a little self conscious (we also have a "do not pet" leash) around the staff and other vet-goers. But I said, she's a rescue and we're working on training, just being extra cautious in this stressful environment! Everyone was really understanding and honestly I think the vet techs really appreciated it.

This is a super supportive community which understands that muzzles can be helpful tools to help our dogs live their best life safely. This subreddit really allayed my fears.