Is it okay to use a muzzle on a client's dog?
PREFACE: I have 2 dogs of my own and 2 dogs I am sitting. I did a meet and greet well in advance with the client and her dogs, and everything went great; the dogs were getting along great so I agreed to do the sit. My dogs have never shown outright aggression towards other dogs or had other dogs display aggression towards them.
One of the client's dogs and my own get along swimmingly, but the other client's dog is behaving aggressively towards both of my dogs and cats regardless of what I try. I have tried:
- walks on neutral ground
- exercising her before retrying introductions
- conditioning
At this point, I have spent the better part of 3 days trying to integrate her, and I have even tried to let them work it out on their own. Alas, nothing has worked. I am afraid that she will hurt my cats or my smaller dog, but I am most afraid of her inciting a fight with my large German Shepherd mix which is much larger than her; he is not aggressive, but he will defend himself.
The client is hundreds of miles away and has no local contact. My question is whether it is okay to muzzle the client's dog, and if so, should I notify her?