Hi all Those who are not aware im going to be picking up my new pup in a couple of weeks now As I have never had a dog I wanted to ask about the collar,Do people leave the collar on 24/7 or just when I need to take him out? Im thinking that its better not to leave it on and only when I need to take him outside for his pee/poop and walks as leaving it on would be annoying no?
Hi there Pups do have to get used to collars, collars do usually annoy them at first. People differ in whether dogs should wear collars all the time - some people think it's a good thing to do for safety (always allows you to easily get hold of the dog), others think it's a bad thing (could get caught on something). Regardless, tiny pups are better off in harnesses rather than collars when they first start going for walks, much easier on their necks. My pup wears her harness and a light line inside when she is wandering around the house because she tends to harass my older dog and I find it convenient to be able to just pick up the line and lead her away. She doesn't have it on when I'm not supervising her though.
I always used to leave the collar on 24/7. Jet's was nylon, held water and got very stinky so quite often I'd have to wash it in strong cleansers. It did mar the fur on her neck, as it did with every other dog and cat I left a collar on. Now it's only on when we go out for a walk. Not to pee in the backyard. I suppose a freaky thing could happen and he'd get out of the back yard with no collar on but it hasn't happened in over 8 years. I have heard of another freaky things when two dogs play, one bites the other, gets trapped in the collar and they are stuck. I have read of the one being choked to death. Still, when we are out off leash and my dog plays with a new friend I leave the collar on. I do insist (as I did just this morning) that the other dog's leash come off, know for sure of a leg broken in two places when caught in a long line.
I'm in the camp of only having a collar on when going out. Naked at home I wasn't aware of the benefits of harnesses when mine was small, but do have one now for when I (rarely now) use a long line. If I were to have another puppy, ever, then I would be looking at a puppy harness for starters. That said, getting your pup used to a collar early is a good idea. Some puppies have the soft starter "collars" to mark them out in their litters and that may make them more accustomed at an earlier stage of wearing a collar.
Juno wore a 'starter' collar from 2 days old until the time she cam home with us at 10.5 weeks and has never been fazed wearing a collar. Once home with us I switched to one of the very soft puppy collars and leads and just attached the lead indoors for a little while for her to get used to it. As my garden was not secure se has never been allowed out by herself and always wears a collar when out of the house.
We just put the pups' collar on for meals for the first week, to give it a happy association. Then leave it on a while after each meal, gradually making the time longer. Never leave collars on in crates or pens. These pups have traditional leather collars and they are great. ...
We take the collar off at night and when in crate not supervised. Otherwise, collar is on in case she accidentally gets out of the house or yard!
I have had a collar on my boy since we brought him home - breeder had put a soft collar on him and I took a puppy collar with us when we collected him. I leave it on all the while apart from when he is bathed. He keeps his collar on even when I have him in his harness as it has his identity tag on - as this jingles I always know where he is if he is out of sight in the house!
I love naked ,they look all 'The Field' and we always take it off in the evening when we are all chilling and Dexter sleeps naked .He loves having his ruff rubbed when we take it off .Reading this I've realised that I don't take it off now when we leave him alone....I always did when he was younger and definately when he was crated ..
Ella also had a starter collar on as a puppy so we never had an issue from that perspective. Ella doesn't wear her collar unless she's home alone (in case she escapes) or out on a walk as it has her council tag and our tag with phone numbers on. We started taking it off at night because the tags are really noisy if she shakes or scratches in the middle of the night. We decided she looked really nice without it on so leave it off most of the time now.
Pongo has always worn his collar 24:7, except occasionally when I take it off to wash it or if he is scratching (he gets itchy skin sometimes). It does make a mess of the fur round his neck, and he looks more beautiful without it, but we usually have our doors open in summer and if he did decide to go chase a dog or human heading past the house I want to have something to grab him by! In winter when the doors are shut I often take it off when he's in the house. He also has a harness for when I absolutely have to have him on-lead for a long time and I know he is going to pull; but his collar stay on then too because it has his name-tag attached.
Coco wears his collar all the time. I'd hate it if he escaped without it - not that I'm not super careful, but so many times I hear of a dog being found with no collar/id - I'm sure they weren't meant to escape either - accidents can happen. Yes, he's microchipped, but Joe Public can't read it can they? He also wears a harness when we go out. When I take his collar off to wash, I put another one on - he has quite a wardrobe!
Saba is dressed at all times, and really rocks the harness/collar combo when we go out. Right now, he's a chocolate orange boy, with an orange collar, now slightly faded faded from wear and washing.
We took off Snowie's collar at night cos the jingling of his tags would wake us up when he walked around. He then got used to knowing that, when the collar came off, it was time to relax. Also, we didn't like it getting wet in the pool, so we'd remove it after a walk and before his after-walk dip. Now, every time he comes home, collar comes off -- he in fact stops inside the garden gate after a walk to have his collar taken off. He can't escape our property -- if he could then I'd definitely leave it on for id purposes. Another interesting thing with only wearing the collar out is that he would stop at the open garden gate if his collar was off knowing he was only allowed out if his collar was on. (He also knows he is only allowed out if we say "okay" -- after checking if there are cars driving by. But neither are fool proof -- if something exciting was going on outside and the gate was open -- say, we were at the open gate chatting to someone -- he'd slink past to get in on the action.) Collar on/collar off by association definitely helped us -- unintentionally and serendipitously -- with some of the basic training.
Hattie & Charlie ALWAYS go naked indoors since we had an horrific experience with collars that almost cost Hattie her life x Puppies and dogs should never wear collars inside a crate either. Many dogs have been strangled to death when their collars got caught
Mine wear collars out of the house but are naked on the house. I collect dog collars so the have their choice when they do go out they always look very dapper
Lucan hasn't worn a collar for about 3 yrs due to having a sensitive throat, he wears a harness with his id on when we go out. He used to wear a collar 24/7 and still has the mark on his fur even now.
