collars or not

newbie · collars or not

How many of you keep your dogs collars on when they are off lead ? I take mine off them just incase they get caught on something, this happened to a friend of mine that got a puppy from me a few years back she had them out the other day and the pointer got caught by her collar on a fence she found her hanging after about 20 mins, tongue hanging out swollen and blue luckily she came round and is ok now, so what do you all do ?
Kerry

Greyghost

I keep a flat collar on just in case I lost her somehow as it has her tag and details of chip on. She won't swim so not too worried about that and I rarely let her range too far away from me to miss her for that long.

I walk her on the flat collar and the half check chain. The half check I always slip off especially if she is playing with other dogs.

I know somebody who let her dogs out to play in the garden and when she recalled only two came back. The other was dead Crying or Very sad

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BritAnnie

Is it not the law that a dog must wear a collar and tag bearing the name, address and telephone number of the owner when in a public place?

countrygirl

Yes it is the law but mine never wear collars except if we are travelling a long distance in the car incase of accident and when we are away on holiday.

Caz

josie

It's the law that dogs have a collar with the name and address of the owners on it, when not on private land or working. (Tel number is optional.)

Mine wear collars all the time when out and sometimes around the house. I've never seen a collar get caught on anything and I'm usually the first person to worry about anything. Even if I was worried, actually, I would probably get the breakaway collars which snap open so the dog could still wear a collar and tag.

BritAnnie

What are these, Josie? Not the straightforward quick release ones I assume, since if they broke open the dog would no longer have a collar on.
Annie

countrygirl

I used to make collars and leads for a living, the normal snap togeather plastic fittings arnt designed to come undone without you pushing the side in otherwise if your dog was wearing one with a lead attatched and it pulled it would undo and you would be walking with a lead and collar and no dog Shocked

I have heared several reports of dogs hanging themself in half chokes and of a vizziy puppy getting caught up in a cage by it name tag and dying before the owners found it.

I suppose that as mine dont wear a collar when they are out working and that I walk them in woodland and they are always in the undergrowth is why I have got out o the habbit of them wearing one

If the local dog warden wants to pull me up in it so be it but I would think they have better things and worst owners to worry about

Caz

josie

No, not straight forward snap up ones. They are designed to come undone if the dog gets caught on something, yet to be secure on a lead. There are many different makes, but here is one to give you the idea:

http://www.petsafety.co.uk/

The main reason I make sure mine wear them is in case they get lost. I know that our dog warden doesn't carry a microchip scanner as a matter of course - she has to go back to the office to get it - and some vets still don't have scanners, and members of the public don't have them either. Far quickest way to get lost dog back is if my phone number is on the tag.

windem bang

It is very rare for me to put a collar on a dog. I do sometimes put a flat buckle up one on a puppy rather than take the chance of worrying it by grabbing it by the scruff.

My dogs never wear a collar out working . I've seen two dogs hung up by them. One of those dogs strangled to death. I really felt that tragedy for I'd bred that lab bitch.

Bill T.

weima

The only time mine have collars on is when they are at a show & only for been benched or sometimes when on holiday otherwise they never have them on. Mine are rarely on leads hence why they are bad on them Embarassed

The collars I have are the flat 1/2 check ones. Mine are chipped & I just hope that should they get lost they will be scanned & the chip is still in the same place it was inserted Wink

Pitbull

I have to admit, mine don't where collars. Once they have grown out of there puppy collar, It goes on my right wrist as a leather strap, I suppose like a bit of jewellery along with the raptor jess. I know I should for safety reasons have a collar on when out and about, as you never know whats going to happen. But I don't.

sako75

I don't use collars very often and never when out shooting. There is something not quite right in my mind when I see a gundog out on a shooting day with a collar on - it just does not look right IMO. It is actually frowned upon on a few of the shoots that I have been on , especially in the beating line where there is a very real danger of the dog being snagged up in some brashings etc. Slip leads and no collars for me !!

Barry.

Lisa

Mine wear collars when they are in the car, incase of an accident and when we are at the playing field for 'normal' walks. When at working tests, training or at home they don't wear a collar.

guy

collars - a bit like seat belts - don't do much until needed!

Blue

good thing you lot don't live in the States...gotta have the e-collar the gps collar and the flat collar all on at the same time Wink

windem bang

Do you breed dogs with longer necks to take them all ??? Laughing

Bill T.

Blue

Blue

josie

Ahhh, remote-controlled-dog!

cressy

Mugi rarely wears a collar in any circumstance as he is a very obedient lad.

Chase does not wear a collar training in my safe areas but anywhere I don't know or he doesn't he wears a standard collar and tag training or not. He does not wear a collar in the house.

Brice the deerhound wears a collar nearly all the time as he has been bitten and wearing a collar means I can snag him easily.

Freddy has worn a collar 24/7 for a few years and even when in the bath it doesn't come off cos he is my escapolgy bog-off merchant. His tag has reunited us a number of times as has his micrchip.

Barb

Lexi wears her half choke or flat collar on walks but not around the house & garden and we only use a slip lead when gundog training, no collar.

guy

interesting to see how the gps unit carries - as i have been tempted at times to purchase one.

The handler carries the main unit and it has a display which tells you in which direction and how far away the dog is, also records its path. Apart from knowing where your dog was when in thick cover and on point it has a feature where you can save the location of the dog is at anyone time - so if out counting every time you find something press teh button - I think you can add a note to that as well (words not music). At the end you can download to your computer the results plotted on a map.

http://www8.garmin.com/astro/

Plover

Plover doesn't normally wear a collar except in the car. However, I was working away from home last week and was staying with my parents. I put a collar on Plover so that my parents could control her around the house i.e. to take her off the sofa if she wont come off when told. I normally take it off for walks but I decided to leave it on one day as I was just going to a grass field at the top of the street. Once out, I recalled Plover from the field which involved jumping a low fence (about a foot and a half high). I could see as Plover took off that she had jumped too early. She hit the fence and then flipped over the fence and landed on her back. She started struggling and I realised that her collar had got caught on the fence. It was easily released and she wouldn't have hanged herself. But she could have damaged her back by flipping over the fence like that. That was it for me. From now on she will wear it in the car if we are going on a long journey and that is it. I would much rather get fined for not wearing a collar than see my dog injured.

Blue

Guy, I think you'd be wasting your money. How large are the hunting grounds you use? How 'big' do your EBs run?
In North America a hunt may cover miles of ground, and 1000 metre Pointers aren't uncommon so it's not a bad idea to be able to walk toward your dog instead of miles out of the way trying to find what and where it's pointing Very Happy

guy

Blue - the bit that caught my attention was the ability to record coveys - something that is quite useful here for game management. But as you say it is a lot of money - and I have a raft of other things i would like to buy first Smile

Blue

Yes, I see your point and that would be useful. It may even prove useful for training purposes, seeing just what your dog is doing and how he's covering ground.

Problem is they all end up looking like that tribe in Africa that puts rings around their necks Laughing