What type of collar do you have for your dogs?

I bought one of those general cotton (I believe its called webbing, am I right) collars to start with, just a cheap one from Wilkinson's, and as it got scratched a lot (first collar) it went all fuzzy on the underside.  I then upgraded to a cotton webbing one with a padded underside from Pets at Home as I thought this would be better if she found the collar itchy, but she still itches it quite a bit.

Therefore I'm trying to decide whether to go back to the normal webbing one without the padded side (but a better quality one than the cheap one I bought before), or a leather one.

I'm going to Pets at Home tonight and haven't decided yet so I thought I would ask what type of collars you all have before I get there and have to make an on-the-spot decision.

Thanks!

(must go, Millie is currently gnawing great chunks out of the door frame while my back is turned!)

In my opinion the best collar is a rolled leather collar, however, they are hard to find and many of them are pretty flimsey.

Stacey

We use cotton ones, half checks so they hang losely.  Leather ones are proberly the best qulity but much harder to find and more expensive.

Roxanne

Used to use rolled leather, now seem to be using the material type. I have just been reading about how dogs can get injured when they play and collars get caught in teeth - has never happened to me, but i am considering going back to leather as they might be easier to cut in an emergency.

Lindsay

Thanks for this.  Have any of you found one type to be more itchy than the other?

I have nylon half checks for my lot.  I never leave them on in the house though.  Heard too many horror stories about teeth getting caught etc.

Helen

We use a leather half check bought at a Champ Show last year :)

We use a nylon half check too from pets at home with no problems, i also have nearly every collar that Pets at home have ever sold :rolleyes: For some reason i'm addicted??
I even bought her one of those burberry style ones sooo cool till i thought "No it's an imitation" so i bought a genuine one.
Don't even ask me about leads!

Go on tell me about leads!!!  I have 3 collars and 4 leads for a dog 5 months old so I'm just in training but I have the potential to be like you!

Can I also ask why a half check is/does?

A half check is a coller where part is chain.  The lead clips to the chain and it makes the sound that the dogs don't like to much of a check chain but its nylon/cotton/lether the rest of the way.  All my dogs have always had half/full checks but none are worn in the house.  this is because we once had two puppies playing together in the house the the teeth of one dog got caught in the other dogs collar.  Must say it frieghtend us all and the bitch had a bad neck for a while and had to be walked on the halti so not to cause tension.

saying that neither learned and played rough untill she went to her new home (they were about 8 months at the time of the incident)

Roxanne 

Just noticed my typo above 'why a half check' instead of 'what', sorry. 

My next question, lol, is what are the benefits?  Does it stop them pulling because they don't like the noise?

It doesn't auto matically make them stop pulling but I find it corrects them better.  Also they losen around the neck and only tighten when the dog pulls (it doesn't tighten to strangle them unless you make it too small!) They are better for walking then a full collar I find, but then I guess that there would be people on hear who disagree, as well as people who do agree.

I would sujest that maybe you look at them when you go shopping, it may even be worth getting one to try.  They cause no harm and unlike the full check people don't think its cruel!

Roxanne

P.S noticed your mistake but assumed you ment 'what' as 'why' didn't make any sense!!!!

Also because a dog can't back out of them.  This is why we will only ever walk our dogs on 1/2 check collars.  I cringe when I see some owners walking their dogs, the dogs are pulling and there's 3 inches of room between the neck and the collar.  All the dog has to do at that point is back up and it's free to run in the road and get hit by a car or get lost, or.........

Wendy

We use half check fabric too, had them for years but they do not wear them in the house or in the field only when out in the big wide world.

A half check is a collar with a ring at each end, through these 2 rings is another piece of fabric so when you pull on the fabric it tightens the first part or the collar so it fits tight to the dog, when you relax the lead it falls slack. The benefit is, when tight the dogs can't back out of the collar but it can't tighten any more like a full check collar, most normal collars can't be used so tight that the dog can not pull out backwards.

If your dog has a short coat, the padded back one might be overheating the dogs neck.  I found my shorthaired dog kept scratching when he wore his.  A webbing one should be fine if short coated, a rolled leather one is better for a long coated dog.
Sandra

:D :D :D I search alot of websites for handmade funky collars/leads i even bought 2 from America last year and we hadn't even picked up the pup at that point (she came 3weeks later) lmao, so that was the start of my obsession :rolleyes:
I wouldn't mind but she uses a halti so there's no need for a collar really apart from ID reasons, and my girl is a right bling bling with all the id tags (Gold, patterned, silver ;) )

Well I went along and was so blinded by choice, I decided to go for night time safety!  being a Scottie, we fall over her if we walk her in the dark so i went for the cotton/nylon whatever it is (standard run of the mill) collar with a reflective strip.  It has the plastic clip rather than a buckle (which my OH hasn't let her have before because he's worried it will come undone!) and she hasn't scratched once all night!  Sandrah, i think you could be right about the padding overheating, I will see how she goes over the next couple of days.

Am also going to think about the half checks, thanks all for the advice on them.  Millie doesn't pull that much, only when she's excited or really scared about something (those blinking bulldozers at the end of the road, grr!!!) and then she pulls like mad - fingers crossed she will grow out of both of these with time...we shall see!

Is that all you got?? Shame on you girl. :P I hope you didn't let me down and bought a matching lead too? :D :D :D

LOL!!!  Arrrrgh! It was a nightmare, there was a queue at the petrol station and we got there with 10 minutes to spare and one of the assistants came rushing over to play with her and I couldn't get to see the whole selection, then the birds started squawking and the dog started barking and the OH came over and stood there like a lemon and said "i don't mind"....so I just picked the reflective one for now and went to get dog food!

Considered the lead but as a black dog, her plain red one looks so pretty and the matching reflective one would have looked to sporty but thinking about it, it would have been a good idea for night time walks.....

They did have a lovely pink leather one though but the underside looked a bit suedey and cheapy so I might have to think about it.  Am hoping to go back at the weekend and have a proper look!  Just as well they are so cheap I would be skint!

They have a black lead there, very soft with i think it was blue or green edging around the handle which was padded by the way. I'm going for that tomorrow and the pup we have only has one lead so i think it needs another (It can't even go out yet roflmao :D )
I saw that pink one and it had a matching lead like suede effect but thought it was too girly.
My OH says "whatever" ;)

I'm feeling the urge to go and look at leads on Ebay now!

Do you have a clothes weakness to?  Millie has her own raincoat and 'Security' tee-shirt (which of course I would never have the guts to actually take her out in, they just get brought out for photographic opportunities!), and she already has an England Shirt ready for the EuroCup in June.  I deliberately bought it a couple of sizes too big so she it would fit when the time comes!

Iuse the rolled leather half check collars from here http://www.accoladeleathercraft.com/

My girl, have you seen the ones on the pucci petwear site?  http://www.puccipetwear.com/eshop/default2.asp

I am finding the rainbow one so hard to resist!

I use a rolled leather collar, having long coated dogs, as it does not snap the coat!

Kay

Pucci petwear site!! I'm on it all the time lol and clothes! :D So far the pup has 3 hand knitted jumpers and Dolly has 2 waterproof coats (which she won't tolerate).
Ebay! half my feedback is from buying doggy stuff :P
And don't even mention pet beds i have about 7 so far and a dozen blankets. I'm obsessed!

I use them too brainless.  Find that they're v. cheap too.

Sarah.

Ok

All my dogs wear normal collars at home, with their ID tags on.
On normal walks the terriers stay on these collars, and the collie rescue goes on a half-check.
In the show ring the teriers wear half-check collars.
When I'm training the collie at home she wears a full check.

HTH

Caroline x

tess wears a full check for id purposes, and i walk her in a slip lead, jack has a leather collar a nice thick one as he tends to stretch his collars (he had aspikey red collar before hand) he has a lead to match but i tend to walk him on a harness when on lead, bruce at the mo has a fabric snap buckle collar, nothing expensive at the mo will probably put him in a similar collar to jack when he is older, ive also got leather and brass half check, a half check with labs all round it, countless leather, fabric, chain and half check collars, leather leads, fabric leads, long lines, walkrites, haltis harness, coats scarves, flashing collars/tags, reflaective capes and much more and the best bit is i always walk them on the same ones, although All About Dogs is in a couple of months they tend to have some nice collars there and i am starting to get bored of the collars that they have at the moment ;)
tanya

Tanya whats all about dogs?

its a dog show that runs over two days, its organised by the essex dog display team and takes place at the training grounds in brentwood, there agility, heelwork to music, obidience, police dog trials, kennel club good citizen, companion shows, stalls, a sort of discover dogs and much more, its great fun i go every year i think this is it fourth year and it gets busier every year, oh and dogs are welcome too and can take part in the activities that are going on
tanya

Oooh I like the sound of that, I can get to Essex!

Me too!! More leads lol, I just been looking and there is a bark in the park in Liverpool near me is that similar do you know? or does anyone know?

http://www.allaboutdogs.org.uk/

heres a link for any on einterested

tanya

Ha Ha - Millie's groomer is going to be there as the grooming expert!! So THAT'S why I'm paying £21 a month to get her hair done when I can't afford to get my own hair cut!!!

My dogs have ordinary leather ones.  I did go to buy a half check for Tam but couldn't find one the right size.  They were either too big, too small or too thin.  Even my pup has a small red leather collar and lead set.  She doesn't scratch this one as much as she scratched the little webbing puppy collars.  She could get that collar off with ease too.  One minute it would be around her neck all tucked in and done up properly the next it would be in her mouth and her walking round proud as punch that she taken it off :)
They have one collar each and they are changed every 3-6 months.

I always use a -
long link chain put on choke then clipped back on itself so it's not on choke- mine is the CC21, 26 1/2" long,

And a 6ft soft leather plaited show lead :-)

Stacey x x x

whilst out on our walk in the woods today i lost tessas slip lead, didnt realise until we met another dog and couldnt find it, someone offered to go and find it but i said not to worry, tis an excuse to go and buy another :D
tanya