could anyone tell me where i can find training pictures & information on safely collering my austrialian cattle dog/red heeler? a compassionate friend of mine said i had her coller too high & too tight , so the coller was loosened 1 notch. well, i said that was too loose & proved it by pulling the coller , & it slipped right off over her ears. i feel like the coller has to be high on the dogs neck= with 2 fingers snuggly slipping between . could someone please inform me on the proper technique? i do not want to be acused of choking or abusing my dog! i want her to be comfortable while she's in her pin , but i dont like the idea of loosening her coller when she's relaxing, then have to tighten it up when i leash her. what if i forget to tighten her loose coller & she slips out after getting scared or something? thank you for your response

Hello, there is very little point on putting a collar on a dog if they can slip their head out of it :-) It's a bit of trial and error as to how many fingers you can get under it,but I would have thought that two was the minimum. Have a play about in a safe area and see how many fingers you can fit under it without the dog backing out :-) Personally, only one of my dogs has a very loose fitting leather collar. The rest I use slip leads on. The only other thing I can think of is a 'half check' collar (don't like halti type leads). This will be loose when the dog is off lead and relaxed, but when on a lead if the dog tries to back off something, you can tighten it by lead action.

A half check sounds as if it might suit your dog. These should be put on so that when they are pulled tight there is only 1/2"-1" of chain against the dog.

I use them on my girls as their necks are about the same diamater as their heads and if I have a collar on tight enough not to slip over their heads then I feel it is too tight.

I rarely use the check part of it preferring to put the lead on so that it does not tighten, but if I was walking in traffic or anywhere I wanted to be sure they would not get loose I use the check.

Christine