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Dog Collars
Which One is Best for Your Dog?
With so many dog collars to choose from, how do you know which collars for dogs are best? Here are some tips to help you decide which collar is best for your dog!
Beacon from Greatest American Dog Show
Your first consideration is the purpose of your dog’s collar. What will you use it for? How large is your dog? Does he need extra strength in his collar—or not? Do you show your dog? Or is he a working dog? Do you dress him in fancy attire for special occasions? Will the collar be used for ID purposes? Or will you use it primarily to control your dog? Once you have answered these questions, you are ready to consider the type of dog collar that you need for your dog or puppy. If you have a puppy, you need to start the process of collar-wearing--slowly. Your new puppy has many adjustments to make to his new home and family. His new dog collar is just one of them…
Introduce Your New Puppy
to His Dog Collar
You can start working with your puppy the very first week that his is in your home. By this, I don’t mean that you should start teaching him to heel and walk nicely on the leash. It’s a lot simpler and easier at this stage.
Shitzapoo puppy by Chad Davis
Buy your puppy a nice lightweight nylon or leather buckle collar. Before you put the collar on him, let him smell it and mouth it to get used to the scent and feel of it. When your dog is comfortable with the collar, place it on his neck. When you fasten it, you should be able to comfortably put 2 of your fingers in the collar. You want the dog collar to be tight enough that your puppy won’t slip out of his collar, but loose enough that it won’t hurt his neck. At first, your puppy’s new collar will feel odd to her. She may scratch at the collar or roll around on the ground or shake her head, trying to get the collar off. The best thing to do is to distract your dog. Play with her. If she likes to retrieve (or at least chase toys), throw a ball or squeaky toy. It may take awhile (even a few days, depending on your dog), but she will get used to the collar. Getting your new puppy used to her new dog collar is important—not just as a prerequisite to
leash training,
but also because you will probably want to put ID tags on your puppy so that you will get her back if she runs away and gets lost. If your dog will be involved in agility training, you must always take her collar off during the agility sessions, as dog collars can easily get caught on agility equipment with disastrous effects. But this will come a bit later in your pup’s training.
Kinds of Dog Collars
Here is where things start to get a bit complicated. In order to start your dog leash training, you will need to purchase a collar and get your puppy used to it, as we discussed above. That part is fairly simple. The tricky part is deciding what kind of collar to get. Here are some of the many kinds available. I’ll describe each one so that you know the advantages and disadvantages of each one. Before you order a collar or go to the store to buy one, measure the diameter of your dog’s neck. The collars for dogs come in many sizes, and, if you’re like me, you won’t be able to guess the size of your dog’s neck when you are getting ready to get the collar. If you have done your homework and measured, you can easily get the right size!
Nylon Collars
These are great for your puppy’s first collar. They are lightweight and if this kind of collar becomes dirty, you can just throw it into the washing machine to clean it. Nylon collars come in a variety of cute prints—like bones or polka dots and lots of pretty colors. Some have plastic quick-release fasteners.
Cotton Collars
These collars come in all kinds of delightful prints and colors—even more designs than the nylon collars. They are machine washable and also very lightweight. Cotton Collars have the advantage of being cooler than nylon in warm weather. Some of them come with padding to make them softer. Cotton collars usually cost more than nylon collars. If you are buying your puppy’s first collar, a cotton collar could also be a good choice.
Leather Collars
Leather collars are very durable and can put up with a lot of heavy duty wear. As they age, they develop an interesting weathered looking patina. Rolled leather collars can be gentle on long haired breeds. Deerskin collars are particularly soft and gentle on your dog’s neck.Leather collars often have metal or rhinestone decorations and they can be quite the stunning decoration for your dog. There are even some collars made by Swarovski that have nickel brass dots and genuine Swarovski crystals.
Fashion Dog Collars
These collars come in a multitude of shapes and sizes and materials. They are made for special occasions like holidays.
You can get a collar for your dog with rhinestones or, if you want to go totally first class, with diamonds. The collars in this category are limited only by your imagination--and your pocketbook!
Martingale Collar
This is a specialty type collar, also known as a greyhound combo collar, that a lot of greyhound owners use. The advantage of this collar is that the dog can’t slip out of it. Usually I see this collar in nylon.
Monogrammed or Digitally Printed Collars
These collars are imprinted or embroidered with your pet’s name and your phone number on them. You can also get little designs like bones or paws on them as well. The advantage of these is that the ID tag won’t get lost—all the information is on the collar itself. And the collars are cute, as well.
Elizabethan collars
Your dog might have to wear one of these if he has surgery on his ears or head, if he has an ear or eye infection, or if he has ear mites. This collar protects your dog’s injured part from self-mutilation by scratching.
Photo by Toad Huffman
Usually a dog will have to wear one of these for a few days to a few weeks, depending on the situation. If your dog needs to wear one of these, you can be sure that he won’t be happy about it. But it is important to make sure that he keeps it on, because the purpose of this collar is to protect your dog! It does this by becoming a barrier between your pet’s scratching paws and his ears and face. Sometimes the vet will sell or give one to you. However, you can also make one from a heavy paper or plastic plate and tape. Just cut a slit in the plate to the center and cut out a central hole for your dog’s neck. Tape the plate together so that it stays in place on your dog.
Flea Collars
Flea collars contain chemicals that repel fleas. This kind of collar is worn, in addition to your dog’s regular collar. Some flea collars are more effective than others. And some have stronger chemicals than others. More recently, there are some natural products that appear to be safer for your dog than the originals with strong chemicals. If you are considering using a flea collar with your puppy, make sure that you read the instructions carefully. You need to make sure that your puppy is old enough or weighs enough to use the collar that you are considering. Some of the chemicals used can be too strong for a puppy and can sicken or actually kill a puppy that is too young for the collar.
Break-away Collars
These collars look similar to regular buckle collars, but they have a safety mechanism that allows the dog to break free of the collar if excessive force is applied. If your dog will be placed in situations where his collar could get snagged and he might be strangled, you might consider getting one of these collars for him.
See at Night Reflective Dog Collars
If you let your dog out by himself at night, you might consider a reflective dog collar (shows up when light hits it), a lighted collar (actually has little lights and a battery on it) or a pet blinker, which is a flashing strobe light that you can attach to your pet’s regular collar. You can see the flashing strobe for ½ mile.
Good Dog Collar
When I first saw this kind of collar I thought it looked pretty nasty. However, it has a number of advantages and it is quite humane. The collar has numerous jagged looking parts that gently squeeze the dog’s neck, giving him a mild pinching effect—much like what a mother dog does to discipline her puppies. Your dog will react positively to this kind of “discipline”. The Good Dog collar is safe, and it works well with puppies that constantly pull on their leash. I decided to use this collar with Skipper because every time I take her out on her leash, she acts as though she will strangle herself. If your dog’s neck is large, you can add links to make the Good Dog collar bigger.
Stud Collars for Dogs
These are leather dog collars that have points or studs that point outward. They have traditionally been used with working dogs (such as sheep herding dogs) who had to defend themselves against predators like wolves. The collar serves to protect the dog’s neck, as many predators kill by biting their victim’s neck.Stud collars are still used for the traditional purpose occasionally, although not as much as they used to be. Today, these collars are used mostly for ornamental purposes.
Choke Collars
Choke collars are used for training. If the dog pulls, the collar tightens. Most of these collars are metal, although some are being made with braided nylon. The problem with these collars is that, if not used properly, they can actually break a dog’s neck. If you have a young puppy or if you do not know how to use this collar safely and correctly, this type of collar should NOT be used. There are safer and more pleasant ways to train a puppy—especially if you are new at this!
Shock Collars
This kind of dog collar is used as a training collar. Other names that you might see are remote training collar, electronic collar, hunting collar, or e-collar. A shock collar works by delivering little shocks or electrical signals through contact points on your dog’s collar—similar to the contact points when you have an electrocardiogram done. By delivering the little shocks, you can help your dog understand which behaviors you want.
I know that this is quite a list of dog collars to choose from. You might want to start out simply with a nylon or cotton collar when your puppy is still small—and then decide what you want to do when your puppy is a bit older. Once you have your puppy’s first collar, and he has gotten used to it, you are ready to start dog leash training. This is all pretty basic at first. As your pup matures, you will start to work with him more intensely and in a more focused fashion. For more information on training and treats that you can make, be sure to visit
Puppy Care.
With so many choices, it can be a real challenge to pick from the many dog collars that are available.
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