Wearing Collars
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This is from another list, but it really hits home. So, for anyone that leaves collars on their dogs…. please read.... Obviously it is a double edged sword to take off or leave on... but I have had this happen at shows, but I was right there, still had to cut the collar off..... but it is the reason that at home mine do not wear collars.
This is from the person that imported the Lukuru Basenjis
My four native imports are totally house dogs. They have free run in the house and yard as a pack (at night and during meals they each have a crate). Many of you know that when we moved to Ohio, we were very lucky to get an acre yard that I immediately fenced in with 6-foot high fencing and extra precautions to make it "basenji-proof." In the first months of settling in, Amisi managed to escape two times. He LOVES the children across the road and sits at the fence crying when the school bus passes in the afternoon. Both escapes were to get to the children and play. They love all the dogs and I am vigilant about watching (well, obviously wasn't enough early on to catch his break outs). Anyway, each time he escaped we took extra measures and made added levels of security. Out of fear, I have been keeping collars on all four of them, with their tags and ID firmly attached. They are all microchipped. The girlz have chewed off each others collars in play. But, I think that replacing them is a small price to pay for my mental comfort. Anyway, this morning -- just about an hour ago; I'm still shaking -- I heard the most God forsaken, soul wrenching screams coming from the family room. I was sitting in my office working but knew instantly from the sound that there was a serious problem. It was one of those very cellular-response reactions of immediacy. It was sort of the reaction in my gut that comes when you hear the crunching of metal associated with a very serious car wreck.
When the kidz play, they jump, twist, spin, wrestle, hold, dart, etc.
When I reached the family room, I could see that Lema and Mopaya were somehow locked together and freaking out! I immediately held them and calmed them down until I could assess the situation. Mopaya was having trouble breathing ... that was my first concern. From the fear in her eyes, I could see that Lema was in the grips of pain. As I felt around and figured out what was going on, I found that Lema had somehow twisted her jaw in Mopaya's collar. Each time Lema moved to try to free her jaw and get out of the lock, the collar twisted tighter on Paya and cut off her airway. You could tell that all four of them were absolutely terrified. I couldn't reach the fasteners to release the collar. So, I had to slowly work Lema and Paya out of it. Lema and Paya immediately went on the defensive. So, I had to sit with them and talk them through the crisis moment. Everyone is still tense but everyone is fine. No one is wearing a collar now. Play has resumed in full .... -
Yep, my Zest had her mouth caught on Mucha the malinois' collar - TWICE in the span of about a year or less. I'm a slow learner and thought the first time was a fluke. Luckily Mucha's collar was a quick release snap and I could get the collar off quickly. My dogs are never together unsupervised, but I do know someone who came home to find one of her dogs dead from this sort of thing. Of course Mucha (who has since passed) came from rescue and one of the requirements was that she always have a collar on. :confused: I do, however, have collars/tags on my dogs when we travel AND i have an info sheet on each crate about that individual dog.
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Collars….such a touchy subject. A day doesn't go by where I don't worry about our two b's. We have had our boy tattood with his AKC number and I plan on doing the same to our girl.
We keep martengales on ours but anytime I try to add tags they will try to chew them off and end up getting their teeth stuck in the tag which is not a good thing. Its hard since you want your dog to be ID'd ASAP if they run out the front door.
I wish there was a Basenji tracking device that you could keep on your dog at all times that way if they accidently get out, you could find them on your own. -
There is a gps tracking for dogs. You can login to their website and track their location on the map.
http://www.zoombak.com/products/pet/
http://www.petsafegpslocator.com/product.html -
Those are great but way to big.
Maybe too big to keep them on continuously. But not big at all for safety sake. Duke and Daisy have electronic collars on when they go out and play, but not on when they're inside for the night. I'm more concerned at the fact that the electronics they wear are $200 each. So far, they've not been ruined.
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Collars….such a touchy subject. A day doesn't go by where I don't worry about our two b's. We have had our boy tattood with his AKC number and I plan on doing the same to our girl.
We keep martengales on ours but anytime I try to add tags they will try to chew them off and end up getting their teeth stuck in the tag which is not a good thing. Its hard since you want your dog to be ID'd ASAP if they run out the front door.
I wish there was a Basenji tracking device that you could keep on your dog at all times that way if they accidently get out, you could find them on your own.Are they chipped?
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First of all, I am so sorry you and yours had to endure such a terrifying moment. Secondly, thank you for the warning.
I don't keep a collar on Mya unless she is outside - attended. I've been keeping Evie's collar on all day, all night (she's 13 wks. tomorrow). I just took Evie's collar off of her.
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First of all, I am so sorry you and yours had to endure such a terrifying moment. Secondly, thank you for the warning.
I don't keep a collar on Mya unless she is outside - attended. I've been keeping Evie's collar on all day, all night (she's 13 wks. tomorrow). I just took Evie's collar off of her.
If you need something so that she gets used to wearing a collar, fashion one out of elastic… that way if it gets caught on something... it will stretch and come off.... I do that with all my pups... make little collars out of elastic material... works great....
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So glad that Lema and Mopaya are ok! I don't keep collars on mine either, I don't want them getting hung up on things. Plus it usually leaves an unsightly ring around their neck. And I have a feeling it would just be one more thing for them to shred. lol
I chip the dogs, tattoo them, and do my best to instill good training. And if they do get loose and aren't already hit by cars, I would hope that most folks who would find them would have the sense to take them to a shelter or vet where they would be scanned. (That is if it's not neighborhood folks who probably know where the dog came from. lol) And if they think they might want to keep them I don't think that will last long! :)
Even when we travel, the collars pretty much stay snapped to the leads. I don't like them wearing collars in crates/pens and I know that they aren't bolters or escape artists. Now on youngsters and dogs that don't live with me, they keep their collars on usually for traveling, but that's it. For training babies they usually wear cheap kitty type collars that are loose fitting and they'll pretty much slip out of them anyways. And I only use them for a couple weeks or so.
Poor Linda lost a puppy soon after sending her to a new home because she got her collar hung up while she was in a wire crate when the owner left. There were even strict specifications to get a plastic crate! You have to be very careful about collars and crates.
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I read of someone on another site, whose dog got stuck on the backyard fence because the collar tags got caught when the dogs were rough-housing. And for those who have doggie dogs, the same thing can happen there. I suppose one could get those name tags that link around the collar itself rather than hang but then those collars need to be thick (usually leather from what I"ve seen) and that could cause problems when there are multiple dogs.
I guess nothing is fool proof and we just need to be diligent and take nothing for granted.
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If you need something so that she gets used to wearing a collar, fashion one out of elastic… that way if it gets caught on something... it will stretch and come off.... I do that with all my pups... make little collars out of elastic material... works great....
Well, the pup is finally used to her collar now. I'm going to get into the habit of just keeping the collar on her lead. However; for future reference, where do you get elastic - from a hobby store? Yes, I'm being serious….lol.
I used to keep Mya's collar on when she was wandering through the house so that I could hear her tags jingle and know where she was at all times. But now that she's trained we don't leave it on her anymore. Well, except when she's outside with us. She is chipped as well. Evie will be chipped too.
Also, what is tatoo-ing? Do all vets do this? Where does that tatoo go? Does it hurt? Sounds like a good idea.
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Well, the pup is finally used to her collar now. I'm going to get into the habit of just keeping the collar on her lead. However; for future reference, where do you get elastic - from a hobby store? Yes, I'm being serious….lol.
I used to keep Mya's collar on when she was wandering through the house so that I could hear her tags jingle and know where she was at all times. But now that she's trained we don't leave it on her anymore. Well, except when she's outside with us. She is chipped as well. Evie will be chipped too.
Also, what is tatoo-ing? Do all vets do this? Where does that tatoo go? Does it hurt? Sounds like a good idea.
Just regular old elastic material that you would use for sewing… cut a piece that fits comfortable around the neck and then sew the ends together.
There are a number of people that do tattoo's... Maybe some Vet Tech's do it... not Vets... the ones we have used were tattoo artists that did dogs.. and it goes on the top inside of the hind leg. If someone doesn't post a picture, I will try and do it tonight. Does it hurt? Well it is a real tattoo... but mine complained more about being on their back then the tattoo itself
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I used to always keep collars on. Then I joined this forum. I read, and read, and read and still kept the collars on. Then 2 things happened. First, I realized Katie and Ty REALLY needed to go on a diet. I stuck to it and the dogs lost weight. Second, the more weight they lost, the bigger the collars got. I still kept the collars on.
2 times while playing, they got their feet caught in the others collar. The 1st time, their cries of panic sent me into panic mode, and I released them and thought it just a fluke. The second time, that was it for me. NO MORE COLLARS IN THE HOUSE. I still have nightmares about what could happen in the house when I am at work (properly fitted collars or not).
Thank you forum friends and admin. I may be a slow learner, but with your help, I did learn. I think my day of epiphany came when I realized the professionals here posted in kindness, not standing in judgment of us pet owners.
Bottom line, we all love our Baseji's and what may help one, ultimately helps all.
(Just a reminder….the long cords raised of blinds/minilbinds present a stangulation hazard as well. Wrap them up out of the way.)
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snorky-
yea, the first time you think it's a fluke. me too. -
Just regular old elastic material that you would use for sewing… cut a piece that fits comfortable around the neck and then sew the ends together.
Also, most pet stores sell elastic cat collars that are designed to stretch over their heads & come off if caught on anything (since many cats with collars are outdoor roamers). Obviously, this would only work for small puppies, but long enough to get them used to the collar & without the work if you aren't craft inclined.
We stopped keeping a collar on Booger in the house for vanity reasons. It messed up the fur around his neck. The few times Lola has had a collar on when we're not walking her or at the park, she was crated & chewed the collars off!! She's just too expensive to keep a collar on her!
