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Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

© Lesli Richardson

It always astounds me that some people will spend months researching breeds, talking to breeders, doing all their homework and then they'll go to a discount store and put the first collar around their dog's neck that fits and is a color they can live with.

Gag me.

It just might gag your dog, come to think of it.

Rule one of dog ownership - the collar is OFF the dog when it is in the house. Period. I had one of my dogs get hung up on a kitchen cabinet handle in front of me. If I hadn't been standing right there he could have easily strangled himself. From that moment on, my dogs have never had collars on inside the house. (This includes inside the crate as well.)

Rule two - choke-style (training, slip, etc) collars are to never be put on a dog unless you are holding the leash attached to it. Same reason as rule number one.

Rule three - a dog collar must not only fit well and be a design you can live with, it must fit the purpose.

Let me clarify that.

My personal preference, because of experience and first-hand horror stories from other dog owners and handlers, is an adjustable nylon collar with a "quick-release" buckle. One disabled woman tearfully told an e-mail list I was on about cradling her dying dog in her lap, while her other dog, it's lower jaw twisted in the collar, choked it to death. It wasn't until the one dog died that she was able to get the collar off. (She didn't have the muscle strength to free it.) Fortunately, the other dog didn't sustain any permanent damage to its lower jaw.

Can you think of anything more horrifying for a dog owner?

If the dogs had been wearing quick-release collars, both would be with her today. Not to mention that an adjustable quick-release collar has the added benefit of having more "give" to it allowing you to loosen it faster if something happens.

Here's what my dogs wear: for just outside around the house on-leash, they wear their quick-release nylon collars. On this collar I attach their rabies and ID tags. The labbybrats, because of their enthusiasm and tendency to pull at times, also get a hybrid training collar, which is adjustable nylon webbing with a chain bridge that the leash attaches to. Works like a traditional chain choker without as much choking, and keeps them from slipping their collars. Sometimes, when the largest one is particularly energetic, I use a head collar on him. (Yes, I realize that if he didn't have the behaviors I wouldn't have to use the head collar on him at all, believe me, that's another column altogether.) It's power steering for dogs.

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