Your favorite collars?

If that Boxer were mine, I'd use an adjustable nylon Martingale with no buckle and a metal adjuster thing, not plastic.  Collar Mania makes custom Martingales like that.  A wide one, like 1.5-2" would look cool on a Boxer.

On Kenya, I prefer the very thin, black rolled leather collar.  Collars, especially patterned ones, don't look that good on her because she is sable, so she's covered in black ticking.  They look better on Coke because he is solid black and red and has shiny fur.   

Nick's Bluegrass collars are a favorite among Basenji owners.

http://members.aol.com/k9collars

Liesje

If that Boxer were mine, I'd use an adjustable nylon Martingale with no buckle and a metal adjuster thing, not plastic.  Collar Mania makes custom Martingales like that.  A wide one, like 1.5-2" would look cool on a Boxer.

I agree. No buckle. A martingale will tighten up as they walk so he cannot back out of it. I have one for Casey, although, he is sporting his Harley collar right now, I think it looks much cuter on him, his martingale is just plain red - we use that for walks, Harley one for his tags =]

What do you guys think of a buckle martingale? I'm a little wary because he doesn't pull on walks, he only pulls when, for example, he's tied to a chair a few feet away from the person he wants to go sit on. I don't want him to pull so hard he chokes himself, the big goof! 

I think martingales only tighten to a certain point.  So if it's sized right he wouldn't choke himself.

I don't use any collars with plastic parts and I use adjustable Martingales, no buckle.  Kenya's Marti goes on over her head.  When fully tightened, I can still slide fingers under it.  The Boxer should not be able to choke himself because you can adjust how tight you want it to be when it's fully tight.  When I am training Kenya (for serious, like a really formal heel), I tighten it up so it stays put right up under her ears and if she pulls hard, it will choke a little tighter than our normal wear.  If I were to tether her, I would make it looser, how it normally when we go for walks (I use the Marti for walks because she can slip out of her rolled leather collar).  However, since I do most training off lead anyway, it's usually on its normal fitting which like I said, I can slip off her head when loose (no need for a buckle) and can slide fingers under when totally tight.

 Why not just get a regular metal buckle collar?  The martingale sounds like overkill for what he needs and my dogs have always hated having the non-buckle ones slipped over their heads.

A Premier quick release collar has metal bypass loops for the safety part that should keep him in the collar when on lead or tethered and when not you'd have the safety feature. :) 

http://www.tackatack.com/DogCollars.htm

I like these synthetic leather collars- completely indestructible.

is it safe to leave a martingale on a dog without the leash attached?  I've always thought you were only supposed to use them for leash-walking. My guys wear the above collars with id tags riveted on and we put an easywalk harness on for walking on leash, or sometimes a martingale, depending on dog and circumstance.

Right now, my favorite collar is the one I bought last weekend. It's a beautiful, seamless, rolled leather martingale. I've never seen anything like it, before. It's not at all appropriate for leaving on without a lead, though. I think it's a show collar...? Anyhow, I got it from the folks at petfabulous.biz. I had a really nice time touching all of their beautiful leather.  

I don't think a Martingale is any less safe than a flat collar, as long as it's the appropriate style and fitted properly.  Some will argue it's not safe to leave a flat collar (or any collar) on a dog.  I would rather not leave collars on my dogs, but because we rent, we don't have a fence, the landlord could come and show the house and accidentally let a dog out, the dogs could get away somehow and not be returned if they weren't wearing tags, etc, etc I err on the side of caution and leave them on.  Kenya came home to us with her Martingale and wore it 24/7 for almost 3 months.  Now, I have her wearing the thin rolled leather 24/7.  I only take the Martingale off because two collars is a little bulky and makes her fur stick up after a while. Any collar, flat or Martingale, could get caught, pulled off, chewed through, or broken.  It's up to the owner to fit the Martingale how they want.  If Kenya were to get caught, her Martingale would not choke her like a slip/choke collar would because I don't have it fitted that tight.  I only use fabric/nylon Martingales though, I don't like the chain kind.

I'm going to have to say my favorite ones are the ones you can get from http://www.fidosfashioncollars.com     Of course these are the ones I make. I am also offering $1.99 through Dec 10th for the Holidays!  I have 1, 1.5 and 2 inch widths with many buckle options.  Have a look!