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What You Should Know About A Dog Collar

andybrock | Jan 6, 2010 |

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The next time you visit a friend's house and his frisky spaniel comes bounding out to you take a good long look at his collar. That dog collar has come a long way since the very first one.

A dog collar is an immediate means to identify if a dog is feral [wild] or has a master. To see a dog without a collar about his neck should indicate an immediate mental alarm that the dog you see is either loose or completely untrained and unpredictable in regards to your safety. Remember that the next time you are out jogging or riding your bike around town.

The first historically recorded dog collars were used in ancient Egypt. The use of a dog collar was standard in the training of dogs. In ancient Greece farm dogs were known to wear spike-studded collars. Sheepdogs wore a leather collar called a melium that had short nails protruding through them. The spikes protected the dog's neck from wolves, as they would prey upon the flock.

A dog collar is categorized into two general types. They are basic collars and dog training collars. The breakdown of those categories is as follows:

Basic Collars

A basic or flat collar hangs about the dog's neck loosely. It is usually made of nylon webbing or leather, polyester, hemp, or metal. It is fastened with a buckle not unlike the one that fastens a belt. It also may have a quick-release buckle along with a 'D' loop that is used to fasten the leash to it. Generally the basic collar holds the dog's identification as well as his owners'.
Safety stretch collars have an elastic panel sewn into an otherwise flat collar that allows the animal to escape when presented by a hazard that may cause him to be strangled.
Break-away collars are similar to safety stretch collars except a safety mechanism is a part of the flat collar that allows the animal to break free is an unusually excessive force is pulling against the dog. Again it is designed for the safety of the animal to allow escape in the event of possible strangulation.
Spike dog collars are quite similar to the ancient Grecian melium with metal studs or small conical points attached to the collar. It is made to keep another animal from biting the neck of the protected dog much like the ancient sheepdog. Today's culture finds the stud collar more of a fashion statement than protection.

Training Collars

Slip collars or choke chains are a basic training aid. They are basically a length of chain with rings at either end that allow the chain to pass through but stopping where the rings are attached to it. The chain is just long enough so that when it is formed into a loop or collar it can just fit over the dog's head. The slip collar is designed so that the free end goes over the dog's neck and not under it. The leash is attached to the live ring to allow the trainer the opportunity to adjust or tighten the collar when needed to emphasize a point of training for the dog. At no time should there be long protracted tension on the collar, only a quick jerk and then release to allow the collar to adjust to a more comfortable length about the dog's neck. Never put a slip collar of any type about the neck of a dog younger than six months. These collars are sometime called slip chains or choke collars also.
Martingale collars are training collars made principally for Sighthounds due to the smaller size of their heads. A Sighthound can easily slip out of most any other type of training collar since its head is smaller than its neck. The Martingale collar is made of two loops with the smaller of the two used as the control that increases tension on the larger loop.
Head halters are similar to a horse's halter and are designed to apply pressure on the dog's head to force him to face the trainer.
E-collars are electronic training aids that utilize a mild electric stimulation through a signal, tone, or vibration through contact points attached to the collar. These have become quite popular in suburban areas and are accompanied with what is marketed as an 'invisible fence' to keep a free running dog from leaving a prescribed area of the owner's yard.

There are many interesting and fashionable collars available through many pet stores today. For pertinent information as to the proper dog collar you should use for your pet, contact your veterinarian for his advice.