Safety collars

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

I have been using martingale collars on Zahra since I got her but after reading here that it is not recommended for all the time use I decided to start researching a safer collar for her to wear around the house and save her martingale collar for walks.

She also had a scary moment of her tags getting caught in the bottom part of the coffee table in our loft and luckily she was able to back out of her martingale which is another reason I started rethinking what she wears around the house.

I found this website for safety breakaway collars, has anyone ever used these or anything like them?

http://www.tazlab.com/TL_collars.htm

What do you recommend using?

[lvoss]

My dogs do not wear any collar in the house.

[Quercus]

Those are pretty cool. I wonder what they would do if two dogs got caught up together while wrestling? That is one of my fears. Seems like they might be so stretchy that they could get caught up more?

[Quercus]

@lvoss:

My dogs do not wear any collar in the house.

Lisa, do you worry about what happens if they get out? That is my only concern about no collars in the house. I love it when they don't wear them, and we go thru periods where I think the safety of being naked outweighs the risk of it..but then I really worry about if they get out/lost. I don't have faith that our local authorities would scan them for their chips.

[Ninabeana26]

I just started not leaving Dallas' collar on in the house, mainly because now with his county tag the clinking was driving me insane [working on getting some silencers] & I actually like it. He does look "naked" though I must say :p

[tanza]

Mine don't wear collars in the house either…. and while I do worry sometimes, what if they got out.. the chance of them getting caught up on something, especially each other is more of a worry... and when you have more then one and they play/rough house, that to me is a bigger problem... of course we are the house of "gates" and no kids, Ted is just as anal about knowing where the dogs are before we open doors that it works fine.
Then add to that that Mickii as a younger dog would chew off any collar the others had, made it a pretty easy decision....ggg

[WBL]

My guys don't wear collars in the house either. There is little risk of them escaping, in my Oklahoma house we exit the house through the garage and to get to the garage you have to go through two doors. Then our place in Germany is a top floor apartment, with that you walk into a community area before getting to your door, also I hook Tiggy to Reggie when ever we leave (if I'm not holding the leash) that way Tiggy can't run off with Reggie having a instant every time recall. Also our garage (even though shared) is enclosed, it has a door you have to go through before getting to you cars, and if the lights are on (motion sensor) I gather the leashes up, if they are off I let them in.

I think it's really up to the individual owner, there are collars designed to be just tag collars and for everyday use. With basenji's necks being small enough, you might even be able to use a large cat collar, the break away kind

[JazzysMom]

I use round leather collars on my dogs in the house. I would never go collar-less because I do fear them escaping. I imagine there are a lot of people who would not even take them in to have them checked for micro-chips, so I want visible ID on them.

We have a lot of kids, and there are always a lot of kids in and out of the house, which I thought was going to be my biggest problem. As it turns out, idiot adults are far worse than kids – TWICE I've had adults let them out, and NEVER has a child!

Collars in the house have never posed a problem. I've never had one get snagged, maybe because they are worn loosely? And I've never one chew the collars off the other, although Keoki does sometimes drag Jazzy around by hers!

[lvoss]

@Quercus:

Lisa, do you worry about what happens if they get out? That is my only concern about no collars in the house. I love it when they don't wear them, and we go thru periods where I think the safety of being naked outweighs the risk of it..but then I really worry about if they get out/lost. I don't have faith that our local authorities would scan them for their chips.

We really practice training to help prevent door dashing and have them pretty well conditioned that if they come to the front door we will give them treats or food when they enter. Actually, two weeks ago the gate didn't latch properly and both Nicky and Sophie got out the open gate. Nicky ran right up to Sam and as he was bringing him in, Sam found Sophie at the front door waiting for her cookies. I also don't worry about them not getting scanned for their chip by my local animal control because I am there 2-3 times a week volunteering. I know their routines and know that they do check for microchips and really go out of their way to find the owners or breeders when at all possible.

My dogs do wear their collars at all times when we travel and when they rough house, I do worry about them getting caught up in them. They are the play hard sorts.

[Duke]

I also remove Duke & Daisy's collars when in the house - because they are electronic and have - at times grabbed and "crunched" on them when rough-housing together. They are too expensive ($200 each) to risk. So far - both are obedient with the door now. They both unbelieveably "stay" with hand signal when I tell them. But, I do worry and will soon get them both microchipped. Thanks for the reminder.

[JazzysMom]

@lvoss:

I also don't worry about them not getting scanned for their chip by my local animal control because I am there 2-3 times a week volunteering. I know their routines and know that they do check for microchips and really go out of their way to find the owners or breeders when at all possible.QUOTE]

I worry more about people keeping them, than about the pound not checking.

I was just talking to a lady yesterday who's had a dog since last summer – she found it on the side of the road, had no collar or tags, jumped right into her car so she kept it!! She said it was as if the dog knew it was supposed to be with her. She didn't live in the area, was just passing through.

My thinking is that it is someone else's dog, it is used to riding in the car, and jumped in because that's what you do!

I wonder how long those people searched for their dog....If it had had tags, she would have called the owners. Crazy.:(

[hdolbow]

rocky only wears his collar outside.
mia, being a puppy still, wears hers all the time. its easier to grab her if shes doing something wrong. lol