Dog Information

Dog collars?

What type of collar do you use for your dog? Do you leave it on all the time? Or just when the dog is out of the house? (Obviously it's not safe to leave collars on dogs in crates.) Is there any collar you refuse to use, or hate when other people use? Now that microchipping is becoming so popular and affordable, are collars becoming obsolete? I usually leave my dogs' collars on, with the exception of my standard poodle. I worry that his fur could get matted with the collar rubbing on it all the time, and so I leave it off a lot unless we are going somewhere. I was just wondering what everyone else thought about collars. :) To clarify, I don't mean collars obsolete as in not having a dog on lead, I meant it more as 'for identification' purposes. Obviously dogs should always be on the leash when not in their yard/home. You people can be so nitpicky sometimes. :P

Public Comments

1. The only time I use a collar is when I take my little guy outside..
2. i use a harness its better for them because it does not choke them while u r walking them
3. all of mine wear LUPINE. it's gauranteed forlife even against chewing. and i use the combos, so once they're on, they're on. except for the 2 that are crated. for now they have the regular Lupine with the clips.
4. I will always put a collar on my dogs. It is just one more way that people can identify my dog if, God forbid, they got lost! I leave their collar on all the time and it is just for their ID and loose leash walking. I used a Premier "Gentle Leader" when training my dogs to walk and not pull! The collars I use are by Premier also, as they are softer than most collars and don't feel stiff or wear down my dogs fur as much around their neck.
5. Fred has a variety of collars.. the main ones I use for him tho is cotton or fleece collars. He is hairless and nylon and leather irritate his skin if left on more than a few hours. His collars are off when he is in the house, because he has acne on his neck, and wearing collars all the time seems to make it worse. He has a few leather, pleather, and even a suede collar for "dress-up" events. During the day, I use a wide cotton courderoy collar that I snap on him to walk for potty breaks. I like it because I can also wash it to help prevent breakouts on his neck. He has a thin fleece collar that his tags are on.. he only wears it when we leave the house, so he has his ID on him. I remove the tags and throw this collar in the wash now and then also. Fred also has some "harness vests" it doubles as clothing and a harness. I use these for taking walks, so he doesnt pull and put stress on his neck.
6. my dog wears a leather collar most of the time... when we go on walks, i put a harness on him, cause he gets kinda crazy when we pass by big dogs. (he thinks he's like a giant 100 lb dog instead of the 12 lb dog that he is) my dog likes to wander in this empty plot of land next to my house when i let him out to use the bathroom, so i like keeping his collar on even though he's microchipped. his tags bumping into each other makes finding him easier cause the guy that owns the plot of land only cuts down the jungle next door twice a year. and it's also so that i know where he is when he's running around the house. he's a chihuahua/dachschund mix, so he's pretty small.
7. I just use a regular collar, and keep it on my Chow/Lab mix all the time. If I take it off and leave it somewhere, she will pick it up and bring it to me! I think she likes her collar. My dog is micro chipped, but some people do not think about the microchip when they just pick your dog up. So no, I don't think that collars and ID tags are going obsolete.
8. Collars will never be obsolete because dogs should be on leash 1. if they are not 100% reliable with their recall, 2. if they are dog/people agressive or 3. if you have leash laws. Our male has a collar on with his rabies tag on it. Our female doesn't because it rubs the hair off of her neck. They both wear choke chains when we go outside to potty because they are easy to slip on and a quick jerk gets instant attention/diversion usually. I hate when people use prong collars or shock collars. Both are very dangerous if misused and can kill a dog.
9. Not every one that finds a dog is going to take time to take it in for micro chip check. And if killed in street I doubt city clean up does either. . They may keep it or sell it . It may get discovered later on with another owner. Tags help return dogs faster if honest person finds it. That just happened to me with my little escape dachound. She followed my granddaughter up street and got lost. We had not even missed her yet. Depending on dog and situation I change collars. If two fingers fit easily under it it wont hurt dog. I agree to remove if in crate. Leash are the law if off your property most every where Ive been. *mamatx
10. The best collars are "rolled leather" as they cause less rubbing or chaffing. I certainly wouldn't rely on the micro chip, as too many people that might find a dog, wouldn't think to take a dog to the Vet, to try and locate the owner. Also, a collar is the first indicator that the dog is someone's pet.
11. I use a collar with a snap that will come undone if she hits the end of the leash hard enough to hurt herself. I use a harness for walking, so this isn't going to allow her to escape while on a walk and if she gets caught on something she can free herself before she suffocates or injures herself. I've used this design ever since a scary incident when she was a pup. I didn't have a harness yet, and the 30 ft leash was hooked to the collar. She was playing with another couple dogs and a kid. Snowy had reached the end of the leash and had the leash taught when the kid tripped on the leash. It pulled so hard that the snap came loose and I'm sure that if that feature hadn't been present, she would have been injured, especially being such a small little thing at the time. And as far as the microchips making collars obsolete, there are still a LOT of people, especially in hicktowns like what I live in, that are barely aware of microchipping and assume any dog without a collar is probably a stray rather than a lost dog. I wouldn't recommend going without a collar.
12. We only use a collar when going for walks and car rides. Regular collars except one that pulls to much and we use a no pull harness.
13. our local spca says we have the cleanest little animals because we always just gave the babes a bath and forgot to put collars on them before they got lost i leave my collars on all the time because i had a fine for not having his rabies tag on him when he supposedly bit the neighbor the fine was 250.00 or 6 days in jail i chose the jail time his fine was 150.00and 10 days in doggie jail even though he had rabie shots i couldn't get him out of jail and procecuter didn't prove he bit neighbor look for the rules of your county before forgoing collars
14. My dogs only wear collars when outside of the house. I don't like rolled leather collars and have found that nylon collars rub the hair on the neck if left on. I also prefer snap closure collars rather than buckle collars. They are easier to get off if the dog gets hung on something. I've had bad experiences with collars and don't think they are safe to be left on in the home. And need to be pretty tight if they are. Once, my dogs were rough-housing and one got their jaw stuck in the others collar. It scared me to death and I've heard that it can do serious damage. I HATE choke collars, especially when people leave them on. They are extremely uncomfortable and can damage the dogs windpipe. I prefer pinch collars. I've put both on my thigh and the pinch was MUCH more comfortable than a choke and IMO are a lot safer. Still not safe to leave them on unless you are actively using them. Collars are not obsolete, they should still have tags with the adress on them. It is the best method of identification. I don't let my dogs in the backyard without supervision so I don't worry about them getting out. If for some reason they ARE in the backyard, without me watching them, they wear their collars with tags.
15. collars shouldn't be on dogs unsupervised as they can catch on pretty much anything including fences, branches, chairs, etc. and strangle. not to mention, become uncomfortable if left on for too long. microchipping is a really great way for your dog to have id and it seems collars have become more decorative than anything else. microchipping is relatively inexpensive and permanent. whenever you are out or around other dogs it is very important to have a collar on (e.g. in an off-leash dog park where your dog is running free) in case you need to restrain your dog and don't have time to clip a leash on or put a choke chain on. regarding collars that have function, such as for walking, it is up to the owner. the important thing to remember is a collar, slip-lead or harness is just a tool, what is important is the message behind it. halter leaders might be effective for dogs who pull a lot and have an owner who isn't very strong, whereas some people do well with slip-leads or choke chains for small corrections during a walk. i strongly object to harnesses as they actually can tend to encourage a dog to pull. while it does give you more to pull back on and keeps people from worrying they are strangling their dogs with collars or slip leads, harnesses promote a dog to pull (think of sled dogs) and you end up with less control.