Collars

[Ooky]

Odin wears his all the time, mainly because I like to *know* I have something to grab on to. For pretty large male BC, he is surprisingly slippery and noodle-y and hard to grab unless I want to yank his tail. Which I'd rather not. It rarely comes up, but occasionally I have to grab him for some reason and physically prevent an action like lunging at a child or dog-shy person, running off or out the open door, chasing rather than playing with a small dog, whatever. I find that these moments are rare but usually unexpected (or they would never happen in the first place), so I like to have the collar on at all times. It is loose enough to slip over his head in a pinch, but an effective place for me to grab him easily. He is still somewhat of a teenager, though.

 

On an interesting sidenote, though, I took off his collar tonight and he acted all cowed like he does when it's grooming time. Hid behind the table and everything until I put it back on, further loosened (you guys are very convincing about the dangers of hanging!). Weirdo dog.

[Ace]

My dogs keep their collars one, Bear's is pretty secure, Rush's collar is VERY loose. VERY. like no effort at all and it slips off. I think maybe it might be beneficial to take their collars off at night, but I am afraid one of these days they are gonna get loose outside, and someone is just gonna pick them up as strays. I cant see either dog running away I just feel more comfortable with the collars on.

 

Maybe when I live on my own I will be more comfortable with it, but for now my family kind of does what they want and I dont have my eyes on my dogs 24/7, especially when other people let them outside. It just makes more sense to keep them on to me.

 

Diane

[gypsyridge]

Mine always have them on. When I do remove them on occasion I find my dogs want them back o. They will come over and try and slip their head back into the collar. I think they actually feel strange without them.

[RuthBelle]

Don't know if it's a throwback from my "don't leave halters on pastured horses" days or what, but Belle's collar comes off when we're at work or we're in for the night.

[lrayburn]

Collars stay on unless dogs are crated. I have had playing dogs hang their teeth up in collars and and have known dogs that hung themselves up on shrubbery but I still feel that the greater risk is that a dog will get separated from me without their collar and information. Nellie, at the age of 7 and highly reliable, got loose and ran off in a thunderstorm and her collar tags got her home within two hours.

 

Working with animal rescue, I understand how important a collar is to getting a dog home quickly. All of my pets are microchipped but I consider that a backup, not a primary line of defense. Many people will help a dog with a collar before they will one without. I know that personally, I'll stop and call someone if I see their dog running loose and he has a collar with tags on. If he doesn't have a collar, I'll leave him to run (if he's not in immenent danger) and hope that he finds his way home. Unless a dog winds up with animal control or at a vet's office, the microchip is functionally useless. And in many situations it can take days or weeks before that happens, even if the dog is taken in by a caring person.

 

Lisa

[MaggieDog]

Interesting story from work the other day:

 

Dog is picked up by animal control and scanned for a microchip (he has a chain collar on but no tags). Microchip is found and owners called. What's so odd about this? Well the owners we called hadn't seen the dog in *10 MONTHS*. They suspect that someone stole the dog, subsequently dumped him when they realized he was neutered, and someone else found him and decided to keep the "stray" dog.

 

It's a story with a happy ending, and yes a collar likely wouldn't have stayed on during the ordeal, BUT the second "owners" never bothered to scan for a chip, just assumed the dog was a stray. That's why my animals wear collars 24/7 unless crated.

[JaderBug]

Jade wears her collar most of the time, mostly because it's a pretty tooled leather Montana Silversmiths one . Anyway, she switches from collar to collar now and then... her leather collar has her ID and rabies tags on it and she wears that the most, and I have a nylon one for going to dog class (no tags for class) or when I think she's going to get all dirty. Sometimes she'll go anywhere from a few hours to a day if I forget to put one back on her when switching out or bathing or something.

 

My cat used to have a collar with a tag in case she ever tried to escape my apartment, but she keeps destroying them with her back claws. Little bugger.

[Lizmo]

Interesting replies about 50/50 . I don't understand the 'jingling' of tags. Meg has just one tag with her phone numbers on it. Do some of you need to have other tags as well?

I suppose it depends also on the size of your property and the possibility that the dog might stray into pastures new. I never leave her harness on as it is just for her seat belt in the car and the lady is not keen on it; she just tolerates it because it means a car trip.

 

Mine all have tags that state they are up to date on there rabies shots. I used to have all the dogs wear them when we went out, as a "just in case", I had proof they've had the rabies shot. Now, my dogs, only wear a tag that has my name, cell number, and address on it.

[powerfulgazelle]

Both the guys are collared all the time.

 

One adjusts to the jingling...it is actually helpful to keep tabs on them in a house with three floors...and alerts to things like cat-chasing.

 

Why they jingle? Required county dog license tag (which also has a handy automated 24h phone #...you call the number, punch in the dog's tag # and the computer voice will tell you the registered owner...has helped us return several lost dogs to their rightful place without turning them into the AC) + rabies tag + a tag that has the e-vet #/says they are chipped.

 

In an urban environment, where the dogs are not generally out without a leash and a human, I figure their greatest risk is from adventures they could find themselves on if lost. And, I agree---in a city, especially, folks are more likely to help a collared dog.

[BorderlineCollieaholic]

Bandit's collar gets taken off whenever he goes in his crate. Since he is crated every night, and whenever we are away from the house he gets enough freedom from his collar that it doesn't mess with his fur. I always make sure his collar is on whenever he is outside, mainly because I am worried he'll wander off, and I hate the thought of him winding up in Animal Controls holding facilities, even if its just for a few hours. Also, since most of my neighbors have livestock I feel safer knowing that if he ever got curious and went to investigate, the owners would know he wasn't a stray dog looking for a meal(Bandit's collar is bright red w/reflecting pawprints and very visible).

[BC-Liz]

All of mine wear their collars all the time. They have since they were puppies and they seem to either not care or actually like them. They're all lose enough to be able to slip over their head and they're the safety collars. We can't stand the jingling either so they're microchiped and their collars all have their name and our phone numbers embroidered on them, but no tags. I just don't see the need in taking them off. They don't care one bit and when the collar comes off, there's no mark from it being there (I notice this when we bathe them).

 

I've never heard stories about dogs getting hung up on their collars like that, that's pretty scary stuff.

[desertranger]

I've never heard stories about dogs getting hung up on their collars like that, that's pretty scary stuff.

 

I lost a BC that way. And it's more than scary it was a nightmare. I've become very leary and careful about where and when they wear collars. Only at work, only under supervision. They only thing they wear out of sight is fur.

[FoxgloveBC]

My BC usually has her collar on, and my Sheltie doesnt wear one. Though Foxy has a weird "quirk." I have boughten several different pink colored collars for her and one camo collar (lol it was to match all the Labs at DockDogs) One day I set the camo collar down and a pink one and sent her to go "pick" which one she wanted to wear. She went straight for the pink one. A few months later, I attempted to have her wear the camo collar... EVERY day she would slip out of it when outside..finally it ended up getting chewed on. She has NEVER slipped out of her pink ones or messed them up in any way... can we say I have one "girly" dog????

[DeltaBluez Tess]

My dogs wear collars. To stop the jungling of the tags. I scotch tape the tags so the metal is not hitting the metal.

 

I had a couple of dogs climb over a 6 ft kennel and dig out of the barn during thunderstorms and were returned by the info on the brass tags on the vollars. They had AVID chips too.

 

The collars are not snug so they can slip off if they get caught. When I tie the dogs to the fence, I just tighten the collar more.

[RaisingRiver]

All collared, all the time. Not worth the risk to me to have unidentified dogs and don't really have anything they can get caught on (except each other - but mine don't seem to play that way). No jingles since they only wear one custom steel hangtag that has only the dog's name and my cell number on it. There's also a Boomerang on the collar 'tag' that includes their county number (which keeps them in holding at the shelter longer then normal if found and also gives direct id to rabies info). All dogs are chipped.

 

I see no reason to take collar off or give them a 'break' ?!? I wear my wedding ring 24/7....

 

Rolled leather for appearance and safety.

[SoloRiver]

Mine are naked unless I'm taking them somewhere. They're not door bolters, and if they did end up outside they'd just stand around on the porch waiting for me to let them back in. Solo's the only one at any risk of bolting if startled (say, if fireworks went off) but he'd run back into the house, not away from it.

 

I got in the habit of taking their collars off when I lived in apartments and they would have had to go through four sets of doors to end up loose, and don't see any need to collar them now. I don't like the jingling, and I don't like the furrows that the collars leave in their fur. I keep the collars attached to their leashes, and put them on when we go out. This is when they'd be most in danger of ending up lost anyway, and in those cases they'd be collared.

 

If I had a dog that I thought might run or roam away from home I might keep that one collared all the time, but I don't have one.

[sandra s.]

I take them off at home. The very real plus in comfyness hugely outweighs the tiny risks IMO. I just refuse to live for the day when the house burns down.

Besides if it does burn down, I'll bloody well grab them by whatever part I happen to get. Same goes for any other real emergency - if they're close enough to grab them by a collar, they're close enough to grab them, period.

[desertranger]

I see no reason to take collar off or give them a 'break' ?!? I wear my wedding ring 24/7....

 

Rolled leather for appearance and safety.

 

 

It never caused an argument when I removed my wedding ring or all the other jewelery I wear when going out. The reason? Safety. I almost lost a finger on two different occasions because of a caught ring. I lost a dog due to a hung collar. When and where they wear collars depensed on the situation.

 

By dogs sont' bolt for the dor, not even Jin does that. And they are boundary controlled. Collars are more for legal and training reasons that anything else.

 

Question, Do any of you put a bandanna on your dogs? If so why? Just curious.

[theshine]

Mine are taken off in the house...we've had a couple of incidents, one with a crated dog getting caught by his collar inside the crate, and another time one of the dogs got his bottom jaw stuck under another's collar while playing...doesn't sound that scary, but it was, both were screaming and freaking out and I thought someone was going to get hurt before I could get the collar off. Turned out ok in both cases, but those two incidents, plus the tags jingling and the way they yank on eachothers collars during play, I just choose to take them off in the house and in the fenced yard.

[Caerus]

None our dogs ever bolt for the doors, so they don't usually wear collars inside. When they are outside or traveling they wear them 24/7 (except when crated). Of course, they are always outside with me except when pottying in our teeny tiny yard so I don't have to worry about them getting hung up alone. I could see it being a concern if you have acres for them to run alone. Also, when we first bring home a foster they keep their collars on until I can trust them, mostly with the cats.

 

The cats, however, wear their breakaway collars 24/7. They are strictly inside cats. One of them is a pita sometimes though, he learned years ago how to get his teeth around or inside his collar to trip the breakaway mechanism. Loses collars at least once every few months.

 

Question, Do any of you put a bandanna on your dogs? If so why? Just curious.

 

My foster wears adopt-me bandannas (or occasionally "vests") when we are doing shelter related stuff, but other than that, nope. Although somewhere in the storage closet is a bandanna my parents bought for D when he was a pup that says something like "Live Long and Pawsper".

[NorthfieldNick]

No collars, unless we're off the property (not counting my sister & BIL's farm, which is a second home to my dogs, not to mention fenced). Collars are always loose enough to slip off- Lu seems particularly apt to get her collar hung up on stuff outside. I also live on a relatively small island, so if my dogs get loose, they can't go that far.

 

For non-jingling tags, my dogs' ID tags are from Boomerang Tags. The collar tags slip over the collar, like a riveted tag, but easier to remove or change. The tags aren't as visible on a rough-coated dog, but I'd like to think someone would look at the collar for a tag.

[RaisingRiver]

It never caused an argument when I removed my wedding ring or all the other jewelery I wear when going out. The reason? Safety. I almost lost a finger on two different occasions because of a caught ring. I lost a dog due to a hung collar. When and where they wear collars depensed on the situation.

 

I agree it depends on the situation (never had a jewelry issue myself). My dogs spend several hours a day outside unsupervised but fully fenced - I'm in the house but not literally watching them. If they got out of the yard somehow, I'd want them collared. I also live in the the 'country' so an uncollared dog easily becomes some else's pet - you wouldn't believe the number of people who don't know or consider looking for a chip. I don't see how it's uncomfortable that my dogs are wearing a collar - so I don't buy that argument - esp when my dogs give me their heads purposefully to put the collar on when it's off for their baths.

 

I do agree they the collars could get caught and have heard of dogs getting stuck on each other's collars as well. I keep collars on for the getting lost factor, not the burning house one - but should the house burn and the dogs got out, they would indeed be then lost (front yard is not fenced). None of my dogs are bolters and all are trained to not supposed to leave the property, but I'm sure a very special lure or scare (fireworks) would allow that possibility should the opportunity present itself (ie. the gate left open, etc).

 

If I lived in apartment and my dogs walked on a leash all the time (mine rarely do) then I might consider leaving the collar on the leash. But just doesn't seem appropriate for my situation.

[sixx]

Interesting replies about 50/50 . I don't understand the 'jingling' of tags. Meg has just one tag with her phone numbers on it. Do some of you need to have other tags as well?

I suppose it depends also on the size of your property and the possibility that the dog might stray into pastures new. I never leave her harness on as it is just for her seat belt in the car and the lady is not keen on it; she just tolerates it because it means a car trip.

 

I always leave Seeks collar on. I take it off when i brush her, but she always gives me a confused look, like I'm trying to dis-own her. She has 3 tags on her collar. 1 is her name tag, 2 is her license, and 3 is actually quite strange... her microchip tag. Don't know why that one is on there, but it's easy for someone to know she is microchipped if they see the tag, ha! I might just go down to one, her name tag.

[juliepoudrier]

Sixx,

The nice thing about the microchip tag is that it has the microchip number printed on it (at least it used to), so someone wouldn't need a scanner in order to contact the chip manufacturer with the number and find out who owns the dog. I don't know how much of a problem it is any more, but just a few years ago when I lived in northeastern North Carolina, the local animal control offices did NOT have scanners.

 

My dogs wear name plates on their collars. The newer collars need boomerang tags, which I haven't yet ordered. All are chipped and most are tattooed. Out here in the country though, the main indicator that a dog belongs to someone is its collar (I consider the microchips and tattoos as backup and more proof of ownership than anything else). Many of my dogs have hunt collars (center ring) that are supposed to turn if the collar gets hung on something. As I stated earlier, all collars are fitted loosely so there's little chance of a playing dog choking another dog and even less chance the dog would hang the collar on something and not be able to pull free. No hang tags because the jingling tends to disturb the livestock and tags can get caught on things.

 

Here's an example of why I like collars on even when the dogs are out in the fenced yard. Kat (one of my open trial dogs) was out in the yard one day when a thunderstorm came up quickly. She is thunderphobic and at the sound of thunder she bolted and got through the gate. It was thanks to the nameplate on her collar that the neighbors were able to call and let me know Kat had showed up at their place. If she had shown up collarless, I doubt they would have bothered to take her in and look for a microchip, etc. We also walk on the unfenced back acreage of this property and I go to a lot of sheepdog trials where we end up walking in open pastures. If something were to frighten a dog and cause it to bolt in such surroundings, I feel more secure that someone will know that the dog has an owner and perhaps make a better effort to catch it if they see its wearing a collar.

 

J.

[Ooky]

I take them off at home. The very real plus in comfyness hugely outweighs the tiny risks IMO. I just refuse to live for the day when the house burns down.

Besides if it does burn down, I'll bloody well grab them by whatever part I happen to get. Same goes for any other real emergency - if they're close enough to grab them by a collar, they're close enough to grab them, period.

 

Hehe, in this thread it seems to me there are two ways to think about the hypothetical "burning house". While we've all heard of dogs getting caught, everyone has also heard of lost, collarless-but-beloved dogs too. They are both bad situations one would like to avoid if at all possible, so I guess you have to look at your own situation and decide which is most likely, or would be the worst in your particular case.

 

As for the looks (brought up earlier) and comfyness, those are interesting points! I have always liked the red line through Odin's full white fur-collar; I think it's jaunty. As for comfyness, I never considered his loose collar would be uncomfy. I wear certain jewelry all the time, even in the shower, and never notice it once it's been on me for awhile. I guess I thought my dog would feel the same. Something to consider, especially as his teenage phase winds down and he gets more predictable and well-mannered every day (so therefore less of a need to grab his collar).

 

Strange, I would have never thought a thread on collars would be this interesting of a read. I really *must* be insane - thanks for pointing that out, desertranger.