Abstract

In France, dogs of specific breeds as well as dogs trained to
attack (police, security services, etc.) have to be muzzled in
public areas. A dog wearing a muzzle may constitute an
ambiguous cue for humans as it indicates that the dog is
potentially dangerous while at the same time that the dog’s
potential danger is controlled. The aim of our present study
was to determine whether a muzzled dog would induce a
greater fear response in humans than the same non-muzzled
dog. We were interested specifically in the German shepherd
dog as it is one of the typical breeds used by police and
security services, but also very popular as a pet.