Approved by the Holistic Grooming Academy: The Muzzle Movement Muzzles

July 28, 2025
Posted by Bev Kirk

We’re absolutely thrilled to share that The Muzzle Movement muzzles are now officially approved by the Holistic Grooming Academy (HGA) – a forward-thinking organisation committed to compassionate, force-free grooming.

🌿 Who Are the Holistic Grooming Academy?

The Holistic Grooming Academy (HGA) is a UK-based educational provider that offers accredited courses in:

🐶 Holistic grooming
🧠 Canine behaviour
🤝 Cooperative care practices

Their mission? To make grooming safer and more respectful for dogs, guardians, and groomers alike. The HGA stands for everything we believe in: handling with empathy, reading body language, and creating calm, choice-filled grooming experiences.

“Dogs deserve grooming rooted in trust, not control, comfort, not coercion.”

Through their programs, they empower professionals to:

Understand stress signals in dogs
Use low-stress handling techniques
Work collaboratively with guardians to reduce anxiety and build confidence

💡 Why This Collaboration Matters

At The Muzzle Movement, we’ve always believed that muzzles can be a part of compassionate care not a contradiction to it.

Yes, there are times when muzzles are necessary in grooming, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be introduced gently, positively, and ethically.

Together with HGA, we’re working to reframe how muzzles are seen in the grooming industry. Here’s what that looks like:

✅ Positive introduction with time, patience, and choice
✅ Comfort-first designs that keep both groomer and dog calm
✅ Support Confidence-building during handling, rather than suppressing behaviour
✅ Education and advocacy work with groomers to encourage muzzle use, advocacy and positivity with guardians, showing that muzzles are safe, not scary!

🧪 Tested & Trusted by Groomers

Before being approved, our muzzles and our Ultimate Muzzle Training Guide were tested by professional groomers trained through the HGA, and the response was fantastic:

“Thank you to The Muzzle Movement for a lovely crafted item. The measurement process is very easy to follow, and I like the larger shape, allowing Lottie to open her mouth. The straps are soft and do not bother her. Overall, she's happy wearing the muzzle, and we are trying longer muzzle training sessions now.”

“I love The Muzzle Movement muzzles as they are so pretty and customisable! They have so much support on their website for training your dog to use it successfully, and luckily, it was the perfect fit for my dog. I now have the tools to use it for other dogs who come into my salon and struggle, and it can be made fun, which will help the dogs build more positive associations with me at the same time.”

These stories echo what we hear so often: that comfort, clarity and consent make all the difference when muzzles are introduced thoughtfully.

📣 What’s Next? Speaking at the Holistic Pet Care Conference

We’re incredibly proud to be speaking at the upcoming Holistic Pet Care Conference this August, organised by HGA founder Stephanie Zikmann.

Our talk will cover:

🎯 Positive introduction techniques
🧷 Safe and secure fitting - find the right fit
💬 How to advocate for safe muzzle use.

🐩 A partnership built on shared values

This partnership is coming at a particularly exciting time behind the scenes as we’re currently working on designs for smaller breed dogs, something groomers have asked for and we can’t wait to share more soon!

This collaboration isn’t just about a product, it’s about progress. It's about showing the grooming industry that behavioural understanding, safety and empathy can all work hand-in-hand.

Thank you to the Holistic Grooming Academy for welcoming us into your community. Together, we’re shaping a more compassionate grooming experience, for dogs, guardians and groomers alike.

We’ll be sharing more soon, so be sure to sign up to our newsletter to stay in the loop.

We’re beyond grateful to the Holistic Grooming Academy for welcoming us into their community. Together, we’re proving that safety, behavioural understanding, and kindness can work hand-in-hand.