The Wearing Of Dog Collars

[Gretel]

Mine are all neked at home! A friend is looking after a dog for someone and the dogs collar went missing. It took a bit of a hunt before it was found on the other side of a small fence. Just lucky she got out of it....

[kiwioz]

The thread macka posted is the exact same one that convinced me to leave their collars off while at home.

At the moment, however, they are wearing collars 24/7, as I was a bit nervous moving to a new house and new area, until I was 100% sure the yard was secure, and until they knew their surroundings a little more.

This thread is reminding me though that its about time I took them off again.

[poodlefan]

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

Sadly, it's not the only thread of its kind. It was this thread and others like it that convinced me to take the dogs' collars off.

[dee lee]

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.

I remember in a thread a couple of years ago, a Doler left her 3 dogs home with their collars on and one of them got caught on another one's collar. The dog died (or nearly died? cant remember exact details) It was a sad and tragic accident.

Anyone else remember that?

ETA: Thats it PF!!!

Honey has her collar with id tag (with her name and both mine and OH's mobile numbers) on at all times.

She is inside when we arent home and has zero chance of catching on anything.

Mind you she is unlikely to ever escape either but I do feel much better knowing she can be easily traced to us if that happened.

Edited April 9, 2010 by ✽deelee

[poodlefan]

ETA: Thats it PF!!!

I take no credit. Macka found it.

The one I'll never forget (and apologies to the DOLer if this brings back bad memories) was the young Springer Spaniel found hanging by his collar from a pot plant hook.

[Jetty]

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

Sadly, it's not the only thread of its kind. It was this thread and others like it that convinced me to take the dogs' collars off.

ok I am never having collars on them when they are alone now. That has me in tears. How horrible

Edited April 9, 2010 by jettyjet

[WoofnHoof]

I am always having an internal battle with this subject, at the moment mine have their collars on I haven't gotten around to getting ID tags organised I'm trying to find a really little one for the Chi he hates anything hanging off his neck took me ages to find a nice light collar he tolerated.

My parents dog is here with me at the moment and the first day I had her here and I had to work she escaped and took off down the road, luckily the people down the road took her in and put signs up to say they had found her. Funny thing was that they told me they took her to the vet to get her scanned for a chip and the vet DIDN'T FIND THE CHIP! I know for a fact she has one because she's escaped a couple of times from my parents place and they've scanned her and found the chip and as far as I know it's just in the usual spot on the neck between the shoulderblades.

So even though my lot are all chipped I am a bit worried that the chip may be missed

Like anything there is no perfect solution I suppose but I try to minimise the hazards around the house when it comes to objects they could get snagged on.

[Niques]

I had planned to keep his collar on him all the time as I was paranoid that he'd escape. But we've ended up keeping it off him most of the time for superficial reasons - he's had a scar on his neck since he was about 4 weeks old from being bitten by an older pup and the hair had just started to grow back in when he came home. The collar made the new hair come in even more wonky than it already was so the collar stayed off. He's also forever scratching at it when it's on. We don't consciously remove it though - if he's left home alone after he's had his collar on due to being cheeky (and wanting to be able to put him on leash quickly), or what have you, it stays on when we leave.

Theoretically, I'd like to have it on him all the time when he's older and has the full run of the house. He's an only dog and an indoor dog at that, so I'd like to think that the risks of catching it are reduced. But chances are we'll just never get around to keeping it on him full time.

[Katdogs]

Barker's sad death also sparked this long discussion about leaving collars on unsupervised dogs:

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=105495

Stevie & Jodie had a fight when rough play one morning turned into Jodie stuck in Stevie's collar. It was horrible and if it hadn't happened when we were home, I know that one or both of the dogs would have been dead. I'd rather find a breakaway collar in the yard or have a call from someone who has the collar in their hand, than face coming home to that.

I've also heard recently of a foster dog that hung itself on the hills hoist winder. Who'd have thought that possible?

[cointreau]

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

I would put a harness on Bert with ID just so the council can't say he doesn't have a tag if you are worried about a fine.

[perrin]

Collar only when out.

A few weeks ago my Mum and i were driving home when we saw a scruffer dog dodging traffic. We did a u turn and went back for him. He had a collar but no tags so i ended up driving back into town to our nearest clinic and they scanned him for a chip. Thankfully he had one and they were able to contact his owner.

I always thought you left a collar on so that you could put tags on it but if you aren't going to bother why leave it on at all. And if they were lost why not get a replacement from council.

I keep the tags on the collar and put it on when we leave the yard.

[macka]

Are council tags a VIC thing? Both of my dogs are registered with the local council but I don't think they do tags.

[Binx]

Are council tags a VIC thing? Both of my dogs are registered with the local council but I don't think they do tags.

How awful, both my whippets have collars with council and name tags on allthe time, they have to in our shire, they have microchips but the ranger here doesnt,,,,makes me feel sick to think they could be injured or killed by something that is meant to save them....Another dilema!

[Starkehre]

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.

With you Pers. If my dogs had to wear a collar at home when unsupervised, it would be reasonably tight or snug fit. Loose is very dangerous. I have seen feet and objects from around the yard caught in dog collars. The looser it is, the more chance of getting snagged on something.

On a similar note, though a little different, a young wild cat a neighbour of mine decided to keep and tame many years ago ended up having to be euthanased as it got a loose fitting flea collar stuck in it's mouth and could not get it out.

This was way back in the days when people used flea collars and let cats outside.

We tried to catch it for days but it had become almost feral again because it was so scared. We had the RSPCA out, and even they could not trap him. The collar was slowly poisoning him and cutting into the sides of his mouth. It was a very very sad time and we all felt so sad for this cat. It must have been absolutely horrific for the poor boy.

Eventually he became emaciated and in a weak enough state to be caught, but this was days later, and it was too late for him.

Anyway, my neighbour thought she was doing the right thing by leaving the collar loose.

Edited April 9, 2010 by dyzney

[skip]

I agree that loose collars could be more dangerous.

When I read about the dangers of collars being left on here I took mine off. Still off. The dogs did get out recently but they stayed at home near my yard. Not ideal but I am glad that they would not just go walkabout. I did always wonder if they would.

It is a hard decision as I know that if I find dogs wandering with tags I call the number. But where I live it is very normal to let dogs out to wander. So if dogs seem happy and wear no collar or tag I leave them. Never sure of the right thing to do.

[Tim'sMum]

I know some people are concerned about the rubbing of a collar on a show coat, or it catching on something and the dog strangling....but I think collars on all the time are a great idea.

Having been a 'Lost Dog Magnet' for years...it makes it so much easier to catch and return a lost or straying dog if it has a collar and tag.

Pound fees are so expensive and if you can save another dog owner some money, all the better...especially when it is an accident that the dog is out. eg: tradesmen leaving the gate open.

If there is no collar or no tag, I always take a dog to the Vet to be scanned...but if all the Vets are closed I have had to call the Ranger (and still ended up keeping dogs overnight).

[moosepup]

Besides the safety issue, I also prefer the collar-free look and I'm pretty sure the dogs prefer it from a comfort standpoint. Moose scratches at his if he has it on and we aren't out walking. I don't think I'd like wearing one 24/7.

ETA - If my dogs were outdoor dogs I might be more inclined to leave their collars on but as they are mostly inside and when I let them out I check the gates so the chances of them going missing are very slim.

Edited April 9, 2010 by moosepup

[kaywoman68]

Mine don't wear collars when they're at home either. They're both inside the house during the day so no chance of them getting out (well, unless they are super dooper smart and can open locked doors) which means no need for collars. I do get scared that they might get caught on something if they do wear them.

[sas]

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.

I remember in a thread a couple of years ago, a Doler left her 3 dogs home with their collars on and one of them got caught on another one's collar. The dog died (or nearly died? cant remember exact details) It was a sad and tragic accident.

Anyone else remember that?

ETA: Thats it PF!!!

Honey has her collar with id tag (with her name and both mine and OH's mobile numbers) on at all times.

She is inside when we arent home and has zero chance of catching on anything.

Mind you she is unlikely to ever escape either but I do feel much better knowing she can be easily traced to us if that happened.

That was the thread I took the collars off my dogs.

[sas]

Funny thing was that they told me they took her to the vet to get her scanned for a chip and the vet DIDN'T FIND THE CHIP! I know for a fact she has one because she's escaped a couple of times from my parents place and they've scanned her and found the chip and as far as I know it's just in the usual spot on the neck between the shoulderblades.

So even though my lot are all chipped I am a bit worried that the chip may be missed

Like anything there is no perfect solution I suppose but I try to minimise the hazards around the house when it comes to objects they could get snagged on.

My girls first chip no longer works so she had a 2nd one done.