The Wearing Of Dog Collars

[shells]

Tonight on my walk I picked up a beautiful Australian Terrier who had escaped from home. He had a collar with a tag and phone number which I called much to the relief of his owners (and to the disappointment of my kids - he was a beautiful dog). It got me thinking that my dogs only wear a collar when we are out walking - at home they are collar-less and if they were ever to escape they would need to have their microchip scanned for us to be found.

Do your dogs wear collars all the time? Am I doing the wrong thing?

[cointreau]

My girl doesn't wear a collar when at home. I have a fear it might get caught when I am at work and she will hurt herself. I do have a locked backyard and another fence at the front which is locked so she isn't able to escape easily. My neighbours and the neighbourhood seem to all know my girl too I think if she did get out she would visit one of her dog friends and play with them until I return. Having said that my neighbour who is often home when I am at work says neither my dog or cat go out when I am not at home even though they have easy access to the backyard. I do keep my microchip details updated too.

[MavericksMission]

I guess it is a personal preference.. not really a right or wrong.

I make my boys wear their collars mainly for identification purposes, all the time, in the yard and out walking.

They are both microchipped, I guess it is just for piece of mind while I am at work

[GoldenGirl85]

I moved to Brisbane from country NSW in October, in November my parents brought my JRT with up to be with me. Tess wore a collar at first because she had never moved house, and is an escape artist so I was worried she would get out and not know where she was. Ive only just taken the collars off both my girls because if Tess hasnt gotten out before now it means she wont (Ive secured the yard pretty good) and I was sick of them having 'collar fur'

[rastus_froggy]

None of my dogs wear collars while at home, to me the risk they pose is greater than them not having one on. One of my dogs is a fence jumper so I worry about her getting caught if she tries to escape (she is penned unless I am in the yard with her, and even when I am in the yard with her she still occasionally thinks it is ok to go see what's over the fence, I am always hot on her heels when she does it though.). People say the breakaway collars are good but I have never actually see one.

[poodlefan]

Mine don't wear collars at home. I worry about the choke hazard.

[Bjelkier]

Mine never wear collars at home

[MavericksMission]

Oh

Maybe it is me doing the wrong thing leaving their collars on..

[tarope]

Mine don't wear collars at home either, if they go out it's a check chain.

[Red Fox]

My dog rarely wears a collar at home. I only put one on him if we have kids here and I might need to pop a leash on him quickly.

I have a fenced front yard so I'm not overly worried about him running out the front door and he stays inside the house when I am out so I am not really worried about him jumping fences or escaping. But if for any reason he has to stay out in the yard (practically never) I pop a breakaway collar on him just in case. The problem I have with the breakaway collars is that they work a little too well, if the dog escaped while wearing one and somebody tried to catch it by the collar it would simply come off.

We are going away in a month and taking Kei with us for the first time. I plan on keeping a collar with ID on him at all times however I wont be leaving him alone at all so it's not too much of a problem.

[Jake-K9]

I definitely would not say you are doing the wrong thing by leaving collars on your dogs! Having easily accessible and readable info attached to your dog can only be a good thing, IMO.

I would however suggest getting a break-away collar, or leaving a flat collar loose enough that it may slip over the dog's head if they were to get it caught on something.

The malinut wears a thin nylon slip collar (locked off with a clip) when he is at home, so I have something to catch him by if needed. I should really also work on getting some form of ID and phone number attached to it, but I don't want a metal tag that will rattle and make noise, and I'm not sure where to get custom plastic ones

[RallyValley]

My 13 year old wears a collar all the time, not that she is active enough to run away or get the collar caught.

My boys don't usually but this is only because I show Lincoln and don't want collar fur.

Edited April 8, 2010 by valleyCBR

[cointreau]

Oh

Maybe it is me doing the wrong thing leaving their collars on..

No you aren't doing anything wrong as you said before it is personal preference. My dog can stand and look over the pailing fence and the risk of getting caught outweighs the risk of her getting out.

On a more sinister note I think a collar with ID allows a stranger to call your dog by name and also gives them something to grab if they want to try and steal your dog. I know that sounds a bit paranoid but I tend to always think of the worst and work my way back, my friends think I am too safety conscious especially where my animals are concerned.

[Red Fox]

I definitely would not say you are doing the wrong thing by leaving collars on your dogs! Having easily accessible and readable info attached to your dog can only be a good thing, IMO.

I would however suggest getting a break-away collar, or leaving a flat collar loose enough that it may slip over the dog's head if they were to get it caught on something.

The malinut wears a thin nylon slip collar (locked off with a clip) when he is at home, so I have something to catch him by if needed. I should really also work on getting some form of ID and phone number attached to it, but I don't want a metal tag that will rattle and make noise, and I'm not sure where to get custom plastic ones

Try here http://www.boomerangtags.com/store/list.php?A=G&ID=2

US company but the postage is very quick and cheap and the tags are excellent.

[ish]

I would however suggest getting a break-away collar, or leaving a flat collar loose enough that it may slip over the dog's head if they were to get it caught on something.

The break-away collars are a good suggestion but I'd be very careful leaving loose collars on dogs who have other dogs for company while unsupervised. Dogs have been strangled by their collars being caught in the mouth of another dog and twisted during a game gone wrong

[shells]

On a more sinister note I think a collar with ID allows a stranger to call your dog by name and also gives them something to grab if they want to try and steal your dog. I know that sounds a bit paranoid but I tend to always think of the worst and work my way back, my friends think I am too safety conscious especially where my animals are concerned.

I was told never to put your address on them. Our yard is very well fenced (one side is our garage) and our gate is padlocked but I figured it was a case of never say never. As someone else said most people in our area know each others dogs so if they didnt know exactly where I lived they atleast know I am local and they are not a commonly seen dog in our area either.

[Rebanne]

no collars here for the greyhounds. I did have a couple of break away ones but seeing as how they got pulled off all the time in play I couldn't see the point in leaving them on. All microchipped.

[cointreau]

The malinut wears a thin nylon slip collar (locked off with a clip) when he is at home, so I have something to catch him by if needed. I should really also work on getting some form of ID and phone number attached to it, but I don't want a metal tag that will rattle and make noise, and I'm not sure where to get custom plastic ones

Do a google search for Bow Wog tags they make plastic ones I have dogs name and home number one side and vet details on the other, as far as I know you can order on the net.

[Shmurps]

Always have and always will. Never been a problem for 25 years or so. The amount of dogs that we have found that have had collars on with ID have been sent back home safely. Then there have been the numbers with no ID tags or microchip.

[MavericksMission]

I have there collars rather loose, easy to slip over their head if they get caught on something, but still tight enough that they don't just fall off.

Maverick is walked on a ezy walk harness and Hector is walk on a flat collar, so I just tighten his collar when going for walkies!