Lacey's fur under her neck is wearing very thin, almost a bald spot. I'm looking for recommendations for a better collar that will not cause hair loss.
Hi @Mary Lily, you could try one of these Hemp collars, they are totally 100% organic, soft and can cope with all that a Labrador throws at it x http://pawfectpetwear.co.uk/vibrant-and-bright-hemp-dog-collars.html
Our collar problems were solved by the ruffwear hoopie collar - http://www.ruffwear.co.uk/best-sellers/hoopie-collar We've never had any problems with it rubbing off fur, and it washes beautifully. Jess's still looks like new.
My dogs don't wear collars around the house, only when we're out on walks. This prevents the problem of the collar wearing. It's also safer.
Mine go naked except for walks and use soft collars some velvet lined ones. Salt dogs do then and scufts. All collars get washed regularly so theres are no hard edges and when they are wet i wash again so no hard edged or wear edges develop.
I've been told that rolled leather collars don't rub the fur but have no personal experience as my dogs don't wear collars now. Lucan used to wear a soft webbing collar until a little incident with a fully loaded dishwasher drawer. It's now a good 3 - 4 yrs since he wore one yet you can still clearly see a line around his neck where the fur has obviously been damaged despite several moults.
I love the Spiffy dog collars, they are made of thin material very lightweight yet very sturdy and easy to wash and dry very quickly!! Highly recommend. Just look for Spiffydog.com.
Rubs the hair on my sister's English Shepherd. Not right off but Bonnie is a heavy coated ES, like a rough collie, and there is a definite groove worn in her coat. I leave the collar off in the house now too. How old is Lacey? She looks like a puppy in your avatar and in my experience it takes a long while for the collar to wear hair right off to "almost a bald spot." Maybe it's too tight? Are you letting the collar and her neck dry thoroughly after swimming? Not drying out in that area can lead to an awful smell and infection in bad cases. Maybe her skin is sensitive to the stuff it's made of?
My first Rottie had more delicate fur than Brogan (in my avatar) and I used a lot of the super wide, velvet or fleece-lined sight hound collars on him. They were Martingale-type but I slipped them out so there was no "choke" aspect, just flat buckle, if that makes sense. Not sure that would be appropriate for a puppy though (too wide) but maybe an idea for when she is older. Plus there are some beautiful designs in sight-hound collars. An example I found online (I haven't ordered anything from there personally but it looks like they make fleece-lined flat clip bespoke size puppy collars).
I don't use leather collars as have seen quite a few dogs with their hair rubbed off around their neck. Does your dog wear their collar in the house? My girl doesn't wear a collar in the house as it could get caught on something and there isn't a risk of her escaping the house / garden.
