I know this has probably been done to death, but I'm going to buy new collars for my two so thought you might like to share your favourites. At the moment, we use padded Ancol collars, which do the job. They don't wear collars at home, only when we're out, if they're not on their harnesses. A new collar would have to be able to get wet, since they spend a lot of time in the water in the summer. I like that the Ancol ones are washable, and they do come up well. I guess a leather collar wouldn't need washing, but how do they cope with getting very wet? Any shopping suggestions?
Charlie only wears his leather collar 'for best' - which is mainly going to the pub . It was quite expensive, and I love that it looks rich and shiny and I want to keep it that way. So he just wears webbing collars for everyday jumping in mud, water, rolling in fox poo and dead fish. Then I throw a bundle of webbing collars and leads in the washing machine time to time and that's that....
https://www.biothane.us/ Betathane. Or Biothane. The first is solid coloured, the second is translucent. VEry strong and it's being used in horse tack for long lines, bridles, halters. It will not absorb water so will not get wet or stinky. It has a high tensile strength but it is not chew proof. Oban's has two wee punctures from play with another dog. It comes in fabulous colours and some dog collars makers that use it put different colours together. I think Dublin Dog uses it in some of their collars, there are others. Blaze orange hunting collars here are nearly all made of the the translucent orange biothane. Oban's is kelly green betathane and was custom made by a young gal who makes halters and things for horses. It turned out a custom make was the lest expensive option and that way I knew the buckle was sturdy. When Oban rolls in stinky muck that sticks to it I just give it a light scrub with my potato brush, wipe dry as I would a washed dish, and it's clean and dry. It's a bit stiff when I first put it on him to go out on a winter morning when the heat has been down in the house overnight but warms up quickly with his body heat and is flexible.
I've just bought a biothane dark brown lead, I like it. But I like very wide collars (as Charlie doesn't 'do' harnesses, I have to use a flat collar which I like wide to spread any load if he does pull - which is rare, but still) and I can't find a biothane collar that's wide enough....so far, anyway.
My two model the Ruffwear "no stink" waterproof collars. They are brilliant for the inevitable fox poo incidents, and as Tarka swims every day no matter what they avoid the wet collar smell problem. I've had mine for about 18 months now and they look new - I used to use Rogz collars but would get barely a year before they looked shabby/smelled dodgy even with regular trips through the washing machine. I never clip leads on them, the collars are purely for identification purposes.
I gave up on leather ones especially in the winter, they stink and become muddy go a little hard from the rain and need polishing. I think the Spiffy Airdry collars look good for the Labrador that loves life!! I am really tempted to by the Guatemalan hand woven ones from www.care4dogsonthego.co.uk they are made by women in Guatemalan villages so they are paid fairly for their work therefore helping to financially support their family and fellow villagers. I really like that These also can be worn for the dog with a zest for life, machine washable etc. they have beautiful designs, very unique.
I like the Wolter padded collars and they wash well in the machine and have matching leads available. For swimming trips Juno has a biothane collar which is going strong after a year and I have a matching lead for it. Only ever need a wipe over to remove and dirt.
At the moment Dexter's collar is from the perfect fit harness people. It's fleece and webbing, washes well and dries really quickly. I've been thinking about getting a wider one though.
This is the collar I buy for Maisie. It's super cheap in price, but is good quality, has a good clip and a D-ring. Swimming, beach, fox poo and general grime means it goes in the washing machine and comes out like new each time. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobby-Colla...26293&sr=8-1&keywords=nobby+dog+collar+orange
The minimum I'll buy is 1inch - these are easily available from loads of suppliers, I buy Orvis ones because I can have his details on the collar (I dislike tags). 2inch collars are a bit hard to buy, I find. They are either martingale collars (designed for dogs with thin heads) or often have studs and advertised 'for bull terriers' etc. But these people do 1.5 inch: http://www.miak9.co.uk/collections/pet-supplies-dog-supplies-collars?page=1 - I have one and quite like it, apart from the colour. They also do 2 inch collars, but with handles on. I see they have just introduced some without handles though, so I'll think about getting one of those.
Twiglet has a leather collar and lead - I like them very much. They dry quickly, I use leather stuff on them once a week. For Tatze I have Red Dingo collars. I have just ordered her a new one for her birthday .
I really dislike clip collars. The noise they make when they snap together grates on me, I'm always worried I'll catch a finger in them (from previous experience!) and I think that noise close to the dog's ears mustn't be nice for them, either. So a buckle is my preference.
Ella has a ROGZ collar on (a pretty purple one) that has her tags attached. I walk her in a Blackdogwear harness. I think this might be an Australian brand? I haven't found the ROGZ collar to be an issue yet but she hasn't really had it that long so we'll see how it goes.
Coco is wearing an Ezydog Double up collar. Bright orange webbing, with reflective stripes through it, washes well. It has a d-ring on either side of the buckle, so you clip the lead to each ring which means there's no strain on the plastic buckle. Well it would if I used it - he wears a harness to go out . Belle is wearing an Ezydog Neo collar - I'm not sure I really like these, they're a bit unwieldy, but wash well.
I prefer buckles too, I never quite trust the clip collars but they are safer if your dog gets caught like my two did a few years ago which was absolutely awful x
The collar I have from dog-games (the perfect fit harness people) has a buckle, they also have a vast range of sizes and colours. Dexter is outgrowing his and I'll definitely get another one of these. I prefer buckles as have caught my finger a few times in clip type ones, ouch.
