I'm looking for advice on what the best type of collar is. I have a couple of different ones already for Penny but am possibly looking to invest in a decent leather one, what are your experiences? At the moment she has a fabric one with a plastic clip (from pets at home) which tends to be her 'water collar' as it's cheap and I don't mind if it's get ruined when she goes swimming. I have a fabric 'hunter' collar with a metal clip which I absolutely love but it's looking a bit tatty nowadays and she has a handmade fabric collar as a 'house collar' type thing, but it's not supposed to be used for clipping a lead on as it's just designed to look pretty and hold her id tag. She's a spoilt madam really and I'm a sucker for a pretty collar - and with her being a deep red it's tricky to find one that doesn't clash!! When I went to discover dogs last November there were a number of stalls selling leather collars, from the cheap to the good quality expensive. I wasn't in a position to get one then but I am going to Crufts in March and I imagine the stalls will be very similar, if I can find one I like I would like to get her one. So if you use collars (as I know some of you have working gundogs which wouldn't necessarily always wear them) which type do you go for? I don't want a martingale and although I love how the rolled leather ones look on her I wouldn't want to walk her on it as I think it would be too uncomfortable if she pulled on it.
Re: Choice of collar? I've always bought leather collars but I find they get so mucky especially with the weather we are experiencing and of course you can't wash them too easily. I am now looking to buy some nylon ones that I can throw in the washing machine. I always worry about the plastic clips snapping, but I saw one on Ebay that has a slide button that locks the buckle and only £8.00 and lovely patterns and colours. Like the sound of the Hunter one A nice dark brown or black would look nice on Penny.
Re: Choice of collar? I use the Orvis fabric collars - http://www.orvis.co.uk/store/product.aspx?pf_id=9X3Y I first bought them because of the option to have them personalised - I hate the jingle of tags! So I have Charlie's details on the collar. Now, I also buy them because they just come up like new after a wash. And I've been super impressed by the quality of the clip. I put them on my birthday and Christmas list, so have a little stack of them now, waiting to be used. I'd love a smart leather collar. But what with the fox poo rolling, and the general wear and tear, I'm better off with fabric. There was a thread recently where we all put forward our votes for fav leather collars....there were some great suggestions. Here it is: http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=3895.msg44881#msg44881
Re: Choice of collar? Thanks I'll check that out! The hunter collars are amazing and come in a huge variety of colours, sometimes they can be hard to get hold of because I think they're made somewhere like Germany with not many UK stockists, though I have seen the odd one on amazon from time to time. If you're looking for a good quality nylon collar they're definately worth the price - the only thing I would say though is don't let them wear it in the sea as the salt water plays havoc with the metal clip!!
Re: Choice of collar? The advantage of a leather collar would be that tan would look good with Penny's coat! Or a fabric one in green - except I have as yet been unable to find the perfect shade, despite a lot of time online... ??? Clare
Re: Choice of collar? Yes exactly! I would be wary of buying something online as you can't always be sure of the shade because it might photograph differently! Penny does look rather striking in purple or turquoise! And I had a tan rolled leather collar for her when she was younger but she grew out of it, I loved the way it looked on her but wouldn't want to walk her on it as I previously said.
