Collars?
Ok, something that's always confused me...
There are SO many different types of collars out there! Which do you guys use for your nihon ken?
Martingale? Buckle? Buckle-Martingales? Break~Away? etc.
Leather? Nylon? Cotton? etc.
I once read that the martingale types are best for Shibas, as they can easily slip out of regular collars. [ something about their necks being the same size as their head? ] If true, does this apply to all the nihon ken?
Do you guys walk your pups with the collar & leash or do you use the harness & leash? Do you have the collar on, even when they're in the house? [ I know not in the crate ]
Do the collars effect the dog's fur on their neck?
Sorry for all the questions & random thread, just been confused about this for a while. lol ~
There are SO many different types of collars out there! Which do you guys use for your nihon ken?
Martingale? Buckle? Buckle-Martingales? Break~Away? etc.
Leather? Nylon? Cotton? etc.
I once read that the martingale types are best for Shibas, as they can easily slip out of regular collars. [ something about their necks being the same size as their head? ] If true, does this apply to all the nihon ken?
Do you guys walk your pups with the collar & leash or do you use the harness & leash? Do you have the collar on, even when they're in the house? [ I know not in the crate ]
Do the collars effect the dog's fur on their neck?
Sorry for all the questions & random thread, just been confused about this for a while. lol ~
Comments
Toby just has a normal collar, he has a premier collar, with the black snap together buckle thing. ( and he has never slipped out of it )
He never goes on walks with his collar, he nearly chokes himself. He wears his collar, but he usually wears his gentle leader harness ( premier ) or his approach pack ( ruffwear ).
I use the harness for walks and potty breaks as Mika will take off running full speed after she poops and she also chases leaves while running full blast. She has gotten choked up in a collar doing this before so I felt the harness was the safest route. I hope this helps!
Depending on what kind of walk we go for will determine if we walk them on the collars or on a harness. Regular walks we usually just keep them on the collars. But for strenuous walks and hikes we put them on the harnesses.
My dad vow never to use it and instead rather to run with (or after) her when she pulls. Sigh.. she gets SPOILED when she goes to my parents house.
[ & Jenny, Pong's allowed to be spoiled!
Lucy and Joey both have nylon martingale collars (hope to upgrade to leather some day). Lucy's is 100% nylon and Joey's is a chain. They only wear them when we leave the house. I have both regular harnesses for them and easy walk harnesses for them. Joey's easy walk just arrived a day before we left town for the holiday's so I haven't tried it, but Lucy HATES hers and will make me chase her around the house if she thinks I'm going to put it on her.
I really do hate that the collar breaks her fur around her neck, BUT it contains so many tags that NEED to be on her in case of an escape, I'm willing to make that sacrifice.
If you show, the dog should wear a rolled leather and there are some rolled leather collars with fine chain link martingale features that I like. Ike wears a rolled collar, but he has slipped this very easily by putting his breaks on while I keep walking so he gets to wear a martingale in leash combo or show lead now if we are outside walking. This helps us avoid the "ring around the neck" that you would get from a heavier chain martingale or nylon buckle while still keeping him safe. Everything else damages the coat, but unless you show, the chain link martingale or harness or best I think.
When she was with me, Chloe wore a buckle collar and harnesses every single day. She slipped out of her regular collar in a microsecond one day so I put the harness on and never took it off. Except for naked time of course. I never felt comfortable with her on just a collar after that day.
Roxy wears a cotton/chain martingale. She jerks back and tries to shimmy her way out of the collar but she hasn't escaped. She also wears a harness during most walks and car trips. I like the cotton martingales because they have *some* give so when she jerks, she gets a tiny bit of slack compared to nylon.
With the Christmas gift cards we received, I got Tetsu a plain Nylon store brand harness since he pulls on walks enough to hack. He hates it, but for now he won't pull as much with it. When Tikaani is done growing, we are going to order a dual sled/ walking harness. The sled type harness has the cushioning and lower cut in the chest, so pulling is less harmful for the dog. the straps behind the armpits are also further back, so there is less chest irritation. We are in the process of giving verbal commands for loose leash walking, but when they see something they want, there's no stopping them.
Often times, you'll see Martingales on Greyhounds because of their neck to head ratio. From what I've heard, these collars are not used as correction, such as the use of the choke chain, but some will use it as such. They are supposed to be used to prevent slip off, but you have to be careful how it fits your dog as it might be harmful it not worn properly.
It's pretty cute.
I'm just going to add that proper leash training is vital or you will have a heck of a time walking a dog in a harness... think about it, naturally, they are going to want to pull... but I think for good long walks and especially hikes, a harness is the way to go.
Martingales are the safest method for a dog that is known to slip a regular collar. Pressed down neck fur is much more desirable then a lost nihon ken! Having said that, Hanzo is older and has the 3 legs so he doesn't ever try to pull out of his collar, he wears a regular buckle collar for pottying and a padded harness for walks.
All the equipment we use for walking is nylon
Also, both of my shibas wear a cotton slip on (no buckle) collar for their info tag 24/7.
See:
One more question, for when you guys say your pups where some sort of collar 24/7, does that include in the crate? I was always taught dogs shouldn't have collars on in the crate as it can catch & they can get strangled, is that true?
Oh & broken neck fur over lost nihon ken any day! lol ~
Honestly... I don't like to leave it on...
My kids love being Naked. They hate their collars, but Miso knows his harness means walk time so when that comes out he gets really excited. He sits and lets me put it on him but his whole body shakes while I am doing it because he is so happy. Sake hates her harness still.
There are "fur-saver" collars that aren't supposed to damage the fur at all. I don't know how well they work, plus they're the "choke" kind of collar. I'm thinking you could put a latch or ring on it to make it non-choke and have it just hold ID, then have a collar for the leash or a leash with a collar built in.
She got to spend a couple naked hours while I tried to get the darn tag attached... a few of those house were spent with her nose in my 'business'! Gotta love the lil peanut
SO helpful! I've learned something new now moihahaha It just means I'm that much closer