The Wearing Of Dog Collars

[poodlefan]

This is scarying me. I tend to make sure they have collars on when we are not home. I am afraid they will escape, however it is hard for them to do so with 6ft fencing. Jet's microchipped. Its on loose though.

I don't think the hazard is reduced by leaving a collar loose.. the chances of it catching on something because its not closely fitting are increased.

It's a risk management exercise. You balance the risk of your dog being out of the yard with no visible ID (mine are microchipped) against the risk of a choking. My decision is to have no collars on. Others may choose differently.

Breakaway collars are the obvious choice for those who want ID on but no risk of a choking.

Edited April 8, 2010 by poodlefan

[Snout Girl]

Sally only wears a collar when we are out.

Bert never wears one, he had throat surgery earlier this year and the specialist advised against him wearing a collar ever again.

I worry sometimes we will be stopped and fined for bert not wearing his council tag but I am willing to cop a fine rather than risk his health

[poodlefan]

Sally only wears a collar when we are out.

Bert never wears one, he had throat surgery earlier this year and the specialist advised against him wearing a collar ever again.

I worry sometimes we will be stopped and fined for bert not wearing his council tag but I am willing to cop a fine rather than risk his health

You can always attach the tag to his harness or leash.

[Snout Girl]

Sally only wears a collar when we are out.

Bert never wears one, he had throat surgery earlier this year and the specialist advised against him wearing a collar ever again.

I worry sometimes we will be stopped and fined for bert not wearing his council tag but I am willing to cop a fine rather than risk his health

You can always attach the tag to his harness or leash. ;)

ha would you believe i have never thought of that?

[persephone]

Our dogs wear leather or other strong collars continuously -we have never had any collar-related problem/injury.The dog's name is never on any tags.

[persephone]

Loose collars are dangerous, IMO. A collar loose enough to easily slip off is the one which will snag on something, or get a foot caught in it, or twist....Most of our collars are snug fitting- they cannot be pulled off.

[W Sibs]

Charlie is naked when he is home

It is not possible for Charlie to escape from home either.

Plus, I'm really obsess with keeping his records up to date too. Each vet visit, we always make sure that his microchip is still working and everything too.

[Snowball]

Our goldie has a collar with her name, and our mobile number on it, she is of course also microchipped.

Never really thought about the risk of strangulation. I suppose it is all a matter of risk v likelyhood v impact.....

During her goofy puppy stage, the collar at home is great as we can get hold of her, or put the lead on quickly for training, distracting etc...

Snowball

[LDR]

Timmy goes naked at home too, and even out only wears a tag-less harness / leash combo. Our yard is pretty much escape proof and the couple of times he's been accidentally locked out the front (after "helping" us garden) he sits at the front door step indignantly barking to be let back in.

I really worry about strangulation as Timmy gets himself into some tight spots (window bays, in between beds and walls, even just squished in the far end of his crate) to snooze throughout the day and the thought of him getting caught makes my blood run cold.

[keroppiyo]

Buffy wears a thin piece of ribbon with council and ID tags attached 24/7, and her collar is only put on when we go out. This was advised by her breeder. Even though she's microchipped, having my contact details on her tag would mean I could be contacted straight away, and would save the on costs of picking her up from the pound if she got out (I'm guessing where most lost dogs are sent).

Edited April 9, 2010 by keroppiyo

[Jake-K9]

My definition of 'loose' is not flapping in the breeze, but simply not so tight that the collar cant easily slide over the dogs head if pulled.

Most dogs (in my experiences anyway) seem to instinctively want to back out of things when they do get caught up.

edit to say - IMO microchips aren't the be-all and end-all... In a lot of cases having a phone number on a collar will result in the dog being returned much quicker, and often without council/pound involvement.

I have seen chips move around quite significantly in some dogs - a mate's staffy now has hers in one of her front legs, about 3/4 of the way down.

I'm also led to believe that there are several different chip registries? How long does it take to retrieve data?

Yes they are a good form of permanent ID, but I would not rely soley on them....

Edited April 9, 2010 by Jake-K9

[poodlefan]

My definition of 'loose' is not flapping in the breeze, but simply not so tight that the collar cant easily slide over the dogs head if pulled.

Most dogs (in my experiences anyway) seem to instinctively want to back out of things when they do get caught up.

Damn difficult if their legs aren't on the ground or the collar is wrapped around another dog's jaw.

[Diva]

Mine don't wear collars at home, they play in a style that would see a broken jaw or foot and a strangled dog one day. I wish they could keep them on but it's too dangerous given the way they rear up and mouth and paw at each other's necks in play. I do have high fences and padlocked gates, of course.

[Jetty]

I think next time I leave them I will consider either making the collars a firmer fit or having none on them. I have never thought about the choke factor. There is nothing in the backyard I would think would do something like that.

[Jake-K9]

I can completely understand why people with multiple dogs who aren't always supervised would not want to leave collars on. I am definitely not saying that all dogs should have collars on all the time. I just reckon they are a good thing - especially to hold contact details - if the dog is not at high risk of getting itself caught up.

*shrug*

[Diva]

I just reckon they are a good thing - especially to hold contact details - if the dog is not at high risk of getting itself caught up.

Oh I think they are too. It's just a risk management decision you have to make for your particular circumstance, neither decision is right for everycase. If I had a single dog or dogs that didn't play as much and in the style mine did, I'd leave them on.

[Dame Aussie]

Our two rarely wear their collars. I'm worried about them getting caught when we're not home and they're both microchipped.

[Dame Aussie]

My definition of 'loose' is not flapping in the breeze, but simply not so tight that the collar cant easily slide over the dogs head if pulled.

Most dogs (in my experiences anyway) seem to instinctively want to back out of things when they do get caught up.

edit to say - IMO microchips aren't the be-all and end-all... In a lot of cases having a phone number on a collar will result in the dog being returned much quicker, and often without council/pound involvement.

I have seen chips move around quite significantly in some dogs - a mate's staffy now has hers in one of her front legs, about 3/4 of the way down.

I'm also led to believe that there are several different chip registries? How long does it take to retrieve data?

Yes they are a good form of permanent ID, but I would not rely soley on them....

There are different registries but getting the details is only a click of a mouse away and all pounds when scanning dogs keep in mind (or they should) that chips move. The pound I worked at did. We would have contacted the owner only half an hour after the dog came in.

[macka]

This is the thread that made me change my mind about leaving collars on my dogs unsupervised:

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=105450

[Bluefairy]

Since my aunt and uncle had one of their dogs jump a fence and the collar got caught on the top of the fence, the dog died a horrible death, I am reluctant to leave a collar on my dog while at home. I have a collar that has all my info on the tag, and a tag that says she is microchipped, and this is worn when we go out. Other than that she wears nothing at home.

BF