Leaving a colar on 24/7

    • Gold Top Dog

    My cairn wears a flat collar with his tags 24/7.  He got out of our yard once and was gone for over an hour.  A kind neighbor a few blocks away had seen him, put him in his yard, and then called us.  I might have never gotten him back if he didn't have his collar with tags.  I cannot risk that.  He likes to use his collar as a "signal".  He shakes himself when he wants to go out into the backyard.  We hear the jangle of the tags and let him out.  When he wants in he taps the door with his foot, and if no response, he barks.  He figured all this out himself.  If he shakes himself in the middle of the night I know he needs to go out.  Works out very well for all of us. 

    • Gold Top Dog

     I use my martingales for the girls on walks only.  Around the house they each wear a flat collar.  Maggie's is also a safety collar since Z likes to chew on her neck and I think it's a great compromise between always having tags on and risking strangulation or having no collar to eliminate the hazard but risk having a loose dog without ID.

    I've used the Premier quick release collar and Ruffwear's Knot-a-Collar with success.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Luke only wears a collar when we go on walks & he has to wear a leash.  I stopped leaving his collar on 24/7 about two or three years ago because it caused a stupid looking indent & broken hairs around his neck.  I keep a spare collar for him in my car in case I ever need it for whatever reason.

    Kaiser wears his collar 24/7.  He goes out on leash at work, so it's easiest just to leave it on him.  Truthfully, I could take it off at home, but it hasn't crossed my mind.  I pretty much just take his off for baths and whatnot for now.  His collar has an ID tag, but it wouldn't do much good if he got out because I know nobody would be able to get that close to him to read it.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Both of mine have breakaway collars with boomerang tags.  The collar danger was really sent home for me when I was at the dog park recently and someone told me about 2 puppies that were playing.  Both had buckle collars and the pit puppy got his lower jaw caught in the doxie pups collar.  When they started to struggle and yelp, of course, everyone thought the pit pup was attacking the doxie.  Luckily there were a couple of burly strong men and one had a knife so they were able to stronghold the stuck pups while another cut the collar free.  Yikes!   I also test mine before I put them on when I first get them.  Some are very stiff and don't exactly break away that easily. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    www.breakawaycollar.com

    $14.95 plus shipping

    • Gold Top Dog

     Rascal wears a very small one with one of those teeny tiny cheap-o plastic buckles. I know from experience that with a bit of pressure, the prongs in those buckles snap right off, especially if they're as small as his. When we walk, he goes in a harness - the collar is just for ID tags. Though honestly, if he got loose, he would not take kindly to someone grabbing at his neck to look at his tags, so.... Confused Then again, the chances of him getting loose on his own are pretty slim since we're on an upper floor of a huge apartment building with double-doors to the outside. And a doorman with a box of dog biscuits at the front desk! Big Smile

    • Gold Top Dog

     Mine don't wear collars, either. At the last dog show, though, Emma leapt the ex pen and was running around the travel trailer, looking for me. I had just stepped inside for a minute. Someone PICKED HER UP and brought her back. I was in utter disbelief, but it turned out the lady was a Cairn handler, and knew how to deal with terriers.

     

    She won't be outside if I'm inside, again, at a dog show, and she has a tag she'll be wearing at the upcoming show. I'm thinking about putting it on a cat collar, though. She has a little plastic snappy collar, too, but it's not specifically break away. I wouldn't feel safe with anything that wouldn't break off.

    • Silver

    Monkey doesn't wear a collar when we are at home. On our walks or when I take her for a drive, she wears a harness and I do have a tag on it.

    The tag has her name, nothing like being called by the wrong name, my cell phone number, cause if she's lost that's the phone I'll have with me, and the city I live in, in case we are on a roadtrip, whoever finds her will know just how lost she is and if at home the locals will know it's my Monkey Dog!!

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    I always put "reward" on my dogs tags.  It might motivate someone who otherwise wouldn't bother and I want to reward someone if they find my dog and keep it safe until I can get it!

     

    • Gold Top Dog

     Ben wears a flat collar 24/7, but that will likely change with the addition of a second dog.  I won't risk the hazards of them wrestling and collars getting snagged, even if I'm only in the next room.

    For now, collar and tags always.  I love the look of him collarless but just don't think about taking it on and off.  When the next dog arrives I'll switch to martingales which are easier for me to slip on and adjust quickly.  

    • Gold Top Dog

    Max wears a flat collar 24/7.  He's the only dog here, and there really isn't anything for him to get snagged on. Having the collar on gives me something to restrain him by if I need to pull him in close for whatever reason.

    Joyce

    • Gold Top Dog
    JackieG

    I always put "reward" on my dogs tags.  It might motivate someone who otherwise wouldn't bother and I want to reward someone if they find my dog and keep it safe until I can get it!

     

     

    Lex always wears his tags. I also have reward written on his tags (cats too) I would def reward someone if they held onto him if he got out.He is very friendly, he'll walk up to anyone. He is also chipped.  In the house he wears a rolled leather, on walks a martingale and when we go to the lake he wears his tags on a harness.

     I am gone 10 hours a day and I just can't take one chance that he will get out and not have any tags on. DH is very good with him, but I can't risk it!  Tongue Tied

     


    • Gold Top Dog

     Varies for mine some wear a collar 24/7 and others usually don't have a collar unless they go out/are being walked.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Shailer wears his collar all the time. He has too, a couple of months ago the town's sheriff checked the dogs in town to make sure they were vaccinated and well contained. If they didn't have their tags you were fined $25 I think and the second offense was $50 or something like that.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Ours wear flat collars 24/7.  They are sperated when we are gone and when we are home they are supervised during rough play.