collars

hi everyone im sorry if this sounds like a silly question but when your dogs are indoors do they wear a collar ? ive read that they should have a rolled collar and ive been looking at a few but wasnt sure , molly has always worn a collar even when im not taking her for a walk one of the blingy ones but i dont want to if i shouldnt be letting her wear one ,teddy has one at the moment but thats mainly just to get him used to it (he wont be allowed out for a couple of weeks yet) any suggestions welcome please ...oh and by the way they are getting on so well ,cant believe how well really as i thought there might have been more fighting ,they are playing at the moment and i havent heard one growl yet well apart from when teddy went to mollys food bowl but she hasnt done it lately so she must be getting used to her being here , teddy is completely different to molly ,he just wants cuddles and lays next to me all the time ,as soon as i move hes with me ,it hasnt changed molly which i was hoping it might ,she still likes to lay on her own most of the time and still doesnt want to lay on our laps for longer than 2 mins if that..lol but if shes happy then thats fine ,teddy has been sleeping next to our bed and last night it was so funny we went straight to bed and he really started crying (this is the first time since we have had him ) we couldnt make out why ..anyway i said jokingly maybe its because we didnt put the tv on for a while first ..and guess what ..we put the tv on and he stopped straight away and settled down..lol had the tv on for 5 mins ,turned it off and he didnt make any noise til 7.30 this morning ,lol ive been so lucky with them both at bed time ,as for toilet training ermmmm teddy is really good but molly seems to be going backwards but i suppose its all new to her having another puppy here so they will both get there in the end and im enjoying every little minute of it xxxxxxxxxxx

While the rolled collars are supposed to be less damaging to their coat ( and I did use these on my Yorkshire Terriers ) I have been told by a dog trainer they can act a bit like cheese wire and cut into the neck .Some training clubs discourage their use and ask that you get a flat collar, padded if you prefer. So I guess you do what you think is best for your dog . Tuppence has her collar ( a flat padded one ) taken off at bed-time when we have a grooming session and it is replaced when we go for our morning walk the next day. Glad to hear Teddy is getting on well with Molly

Mali & Tasha have never worn collars. But I think maybe while teddy is likely to get under your feet and get trodden on you could put a bell on a collar so you know when he is close to you.I personally have never agreed with collars unless they are out walking etcetera, even then mine always have a harness rather than a collar. I started with an Ancol harness but Mali could get out of hers given half a chance. I remember when she was tiny going to the cashpoint to get some money and she slipped her harness and ran off down the high street I had my card in the machine and wondering do I leave the card there and go after Mali or was Mali more important in the end I got my money and ran off screaming to anyone 'catch that dog' I laugh now but was horrified at the time. luckily a young girl got hold of her and held on to her until I got to her.Now they have the Ezy Dog harness and they are much more substantial and they are safer in the car because I just clip them into a seat belt extention. As for Teddy being more cuddly Mali is a real lapdog where as Tasha is definately not. It is great they are getting on so well. My two absolutely adore each other.

I am not taking any notice of you Tasha you are just being rude.

Mine wear collars, I don't find they interfere with the coat at all. Even thouugh they are micro chipped I like the fact they have my name and telephone number attached to them at all times.

I would much prefer to use a harness for comfort....but I would have to clip her coat. And I wont sacrifice her lovely coat, I can't, she looks so lovely. I quite agree Tracy its nice to know they have their ID tags on them when wearing a collar you never know what might happen.

Tasha is clipped now but it was never a problem wearing a harness before when her coat was longer. We live far out in the wilds of Wales in a very secure garden, so I have never felt the need to put a collar on them at home.

My two have never worn collars either they both wear harnesses when we go out walking and they are both in full coat, they have ID tags on the harnesses and they are both chipped if they ever got out but we have a very secure garden they would have to get out two gates before going anywhere they dont wander far even if I am in our front garden gardening they just lay next to me x

thanks everyone ..lovely pic by the way tuppence , molly has a bell and ive only just realised when i read that i must of left it down the caravan ,i thought it was a bit quiet..lol ill have to get a couple more because i do like to know where they are and what they are up to although Teddy normally follows me everywhere and Molly follows on after xxxxxxxx

I am so glad that Molly and Teddy are getting on so well, it really sounds like they are going to be the best of friends, which is great for you and them. The fact that they are both different in temperaments can be quite nice, but you may find that Molly will realise that Teddy is getting lots of attention and start coming to you for more cuddles in time, you can never tell!

As for collars, Simba has a rolled leather collar with an identity tag and 'I am chipped' tag on, and he has this on apart from when he is being groomed or having a bath. When he goes for a walk he has a walking harness on, because it is easier to use that when he has been in the car with the car harness on, than mess around taking it off and putting it back on again at the end of the walk. Also my Westie slipped his collar once, so I never trust just a collar alone, but it is personal preference to be honest.

What sort of harness is the best ...as those I have tried ( which have belonged to some-one else at the training club ) have always knotted her up in her armpits so I gave up.

I up to recently had the Ancol Padded harness for Mali & Tasha but found I needed to get something better that could be used in the car, though they are well protected by lovely bean bag cushions, and a hammock so they don't come flying through to the front if we brake hard. So I looked into it quite a bit to see which one was best and decided that the Ezy dog harness was best. It is a cinch to put on and fasten it also comes with a seat belt restraint although I tend to use a seat belt extention to give them a bit more freedom. Here is the link to the Ezydog website and a lot of reviews.There is also a video if you scroll down the page.

http://www.ezydoguk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24

I can confirm they are great harnesses too!

Sorry not convinced it wont interfere with her long coat and mat her up like the others did ....I watched the video sands-62 but failed to see the conection between a dog harness and a ski slope. I would have liked to see it on a dog. One of the buckle lengtheners looked like it might pull her hair it was situated right by an armpit ( dogs elbow ). If I see them in my local pet shop I will ask for a trial run to check it out properly. Thanks for letting me know which one you use though. Much appreciated

tuppence wrote:Sorry not convinced it wont interfere with her long coat and mat her up like the others did ....I watched the video sands-62 but failed to see the conection between a dog harness and a ski slope. I would have liked to see it on a dog. One of the buckle lengtheners looked like it might pull her hair it was situated right by an armpit ( dogs elbow ). If I see them in my local pet shop I will ask for a trial run to check it out properly. Thanks for letting me know which one you use though. Much appreciated

I think what they are trying to say regarding the ski slope is that the harness chest plate spreads the load when those dogs are pulling a sled,and when they are in the car it would work the same if you were to brake hard.
Mali has long fur and I haven't found her to matt. How long would Tuppence have the harness on for.My girls can have theirs on for about three hours at a time and when Tasha was in longer coat up to last week she didn't matt either. Obviously every dogs fur is different. TBH I haven't seen these in a shop at all but then we have to go miles to see a shop anyways.There is a picture of the Ezydog on a dog at the beginning of the page allbeit a short haired one.Carol

Thats a shame if they might not be easily found in pet shops ( I'm not a shopper so I'm afraid I won't go looking ) I do like to try before I buy. She would only be wearing it out for walks so no longer than an hour I guess, Tuppence does mat easily.Good job she doen't mind being brushed

Mine both wear Puppia harnesses they do mat the coat a little under armpits if they are in them for a long time, if we are out for the whole day, but as they get brushed everyday anyway the mats soon get brushed out x

I will look out for both of the suggested harnesses and as I know from photo's that Wispa and Tuppence could be twins I might give them a try.Are the Puppia ones padded. Tuppence does a lot of off lead walking and running ( she's excellent at recall ) in a forest nearby so this may be what will cause a bit of friction and mat her up. Thanks everyone for your suggestions it helps to have an idea of which ones to look for.

I use the Ezy dog harness with both Biscuit and Kimba. Biscuit was having problems with a collar chocking himself, as he pulls on the lead and so I went back to the original Ezydog harness I bought when we first got him and it has solved the chocking but sadly not the pulling as one of my friends said it would.

Micheala ..dogs pull to get where they want to go ..and guess what we oblige. Make it a pleasure for your dog to be next to you. Encourage him/her with a titbit ( taken from their food allowance we dont want fat dogs ) At the start of the walk outside your house stand on the spot and let him pull, he will soon turn to face you to see why he isn't going anywhere, as he comes to you reward him then start your walk but if he pulls again stand still ...reward him for coming to you for guidance ( he wont understand why the pulling isn't working ). This may seem silly at first and you wont get very far on a walk the first few times ..but the rewards will pay dividends.Let him pull and he will take you for a walk. It is much more pleasurable to share a walk with a dog. Another tip is to change direction as soon as your dog starts to pull ( not a complete 180 degrees just about 45 degrees, and gently does it please ) this throws them of balance a little,and as they are no longer in charge they do not know when you might change direction again, so now he will be more focused on you .....but remember to reward whenever he is close to you he has to want to be with you. Try to be consistant or your dog will learn that what didn't work today will tomorrow so you must stick to it or dog will always pull, if it means no walk today then so be it and try again tomorrow. Hope this helps. Never ever be embarrassed to train your dog in public . Its more embarrassing if they dont behave.

Thank you Tuppence, I will try this method.

Your'e welcome it worked for me

I always take the collar off my Bichon and now Panda after their walk. It really does matt the coat and just makes life easier!

Sarah

I never leave a collar on mine in the house - it rubs the neck fur and causes knots... but that comes probably from needing to keep my coats in top show condition in the past - at the very least the coat wil be finer at that part of the body even if it doesn't seem to be making a difference

tuppence wrote:What sort of harness is the best ...as those I have tried ( which have belonged to some-one else at the training club ) have always knotted her up in her armpits so I gave up.

Don't know if this helps with matts since Danny had to be clipped recently (Fleas while visiting Grandma in Florida during Christmas Break) But Danny is a puller....so the Mgr at our local Petstore (where Danny went through "puppy boot camp) had him fitted with a Easy Walker Harness. This thing is AMAZING!

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=easy+walker+harness&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4644962787&ref=pd_sl_4srom0ar89_e

How did you get on with this harness? Biscuit is a puller and this harnes never made any difference with him. I still struggle so much with him on the lead. The training school we go to won't let us use harnesses as they say dogs pull more with them as they think they are working. So we use a collar but that makes both of mine cough and choke when pulling. Walks are no fun with either of my to.