The three muzzles, side by side
Every value below is read from Company of Animals’ own US product pages on the date recorded in our registry. Where the brand publishes nothing, the table says so rather than estimating.
| What matters for scavenging | Baskerville Classic | Baskerville INVISA | Baskerville Ultra |
|---|
| Anti-scavenging guard | Yes — guard layer included | Yes — removable guard insert | Not published |
| Published uses for the guard | Food and wildlife scavenging, rock eating, coprophagia, post-surgical licking | Food scavenging and licking | — |
| Pant and drink while worn | Yes — “at all times” | Yes — brand adds treats and vomiting | Yes — pant, drink and treats |
| Treats through the basket | Only with the guard removed | Only with the insert removed | Yes |
| Sizes | 1–10 | 1–6 | 1–6 |
| Material | Improved TPR, padded nose piece | Transparent TPR, 360-degree padded basket | TPR, heat-shapeable |
| Heat-shapeable | Not published | Yes — one minute in hot tap water | Yes — two minutes in hot tap water |
| Security straps | Neck strap; no headstrap published | Neck strap + collar loop; no headstrap published | Neck strap, collar loop AND headstrap |
| Price tier | Budget | Mid | Budget |
Why the Classic is the pick for a dog that eats everything
Two features put the Baskerville Classic first, and both are published by the brand rather than inferred by us. The first is the guard: Company of Animals describes an additional anti-scavenging guard layer and names the exact problems it is for — food and wildlife scavenging, eating rocks, coprophagia and post-surgical wound licking. That is the list most people arrive on this page with. The second is the size run. Ten published sizes instead of six is the widest fit range in the Baskerville line, and the brand explicitly recommends it for German Shepherds, Dachshunds, Greyhounds and other longer-nosed breeds — which covers a lot of the dogs that scavenge hardest.
The rest of the build supports that. It is an improved thermoplastic rubber the brand calls lighter and four times stronger than its older plastic design, with an improved padded nose piece and a secure, easy-to-adjust neck strap, and a basket that lets the dog pant and drink at all times. For a muzzle that will be on for the length of a walk, every one of those matters more than it sounds.
Now the honest costs. With the guard fitted you cannot feed treats through it, which is why we tell you to train with it out. No headstrap is published, so the neck strap and collar loop are the only security — fine on most dogs, thin if yours actively works at it. Ten sizes means ten chances to order wrong, so measure nose length and circumference before you buy. And the guard manages the behavior rather than resolving it: a dog that eats rocks still wants to eat rocks.
Why the INVISA is worth the step up for some owners
The INVISA is mechanically close to the Ultra — heat-shapeable TPR, sizes one to six, pant, drink and treats — with two differences that matter here. It has a removable guard insert the brand says prevents food scavenging and licking, and the basket is transparent, which Company of Animals describes as making the muzzle “less visible on the dog”. It also publishes a 360-degree padded basket and, unusually, says a dog can vomit while wearing it.
We rank it second rather than third because of a real-world effect worth being honest about: the most common reason a dog that needs a muzzle is not wearing one is that its owner cannot face the looks. “Less visible” is an appearance claim and not a performance one — a stranger who looks twice still sees a muzzle — but a muzzle in a drawer protects nobody, and if transparency is what gets it onto the dog, that is a genuine functional benefit by a side door.
The trade-offs: it sits at the top of the Baskerville range on price for the same size, no headstrap is published, the removable insert blocks treats the same way the Classic’s guard does, and the molded shape relaxes over time and needs redoing. The removable insert is a genuine convenience though — guard out for training, guard in for walks, one product.
Why you might buy the Ultra first anyway
If your dog has never worn a muzzle, the Baskerville Ultra is the best thing to put on its face first, even though it does not publish an anti-scavenging guard. It is the design Cornell’s Riney Canine Health Center actually names among the basket muzzles to look for. It is heat-shapeable — two minutes in hot tap water and you mold the basket to your own dog’s nose, like a mouthguard — so the fit can be made right rather than merely accepted. The brand publishes that the dog can pant, drink and eat treats while wearing it, and it is the only one of the three with a headstrap as well as a collar loop, which Company of Animals strongly recommends using while a dog is still learning.
In other words: the Ultra is the training muzzle and the Classic is the working muzzle. Plenty of owners will end up with both, and that is not a failure of product selection — it is a reasonable 25-dollar insurance policy on getting the dog to accept the thing at all. If you only buy one, buy the Classic and remove the guard for the training weeks.
Using an anti-scavenging muzzle without making things worse
Four rules, all of them from the veterinary sources rather than from us.
Fit it so it cannot come off, with the clearances intact. Cornell’s guidance is a one-to-two-finger strap fit, adjusted so the muzzle cannot slip over the head. VCA’s fit criteria are that the muzzle is sturdy enough to prevent a bite, roomy enough for panting and treats, and clear of the soft nose flesh, nostrils and eyes. Those two checks together are the whole fitting job.
Never leave it on an unattended dog. Cornell says this outright, and Company of Animals’ own pages tell you to supervise the dog while it is worn and not to leave it on for extended periods. A scavenging muzzle is walk equipment, not house equipment.
Build wear time up gradually, and take it off before the dog minds. VCA describes building wear time up over sessions; the SF SPCA says to remove it “well before your dog becomes uncomfortable and paws at it”. A dog that learns the muzzle means a long unpleasant stretch will fight it next time.
Do not use it as a substitute for the vet conversation. Persistent non-food eating — rocks, fabric, metal — is worth a veterinary look rather than only a hardware fix, and a dog that has already swallowed something is a medical situation, not a shopping one. The muzzle is how you stop the next one while you sort out the cause.
Our bottom line: the Classic for the dog that eats everything, the INVISA if its appearance is what has stopped you so far, and the Ultra to train in. Take the guard out for the training, put it in for the walk, fit it by nose measurement, and remember what the muzzle is actually buying you — a walk where you are not watching the ground instead of the dog.
