Near Strangulation By His Collar!

[Guest sbennett]

Last night one my boys got his collar caught on one of the knobs on a base kitchen cabinet. He was trapped so tightly that it was all my husband could do to release the clip/button closure on his collar and free him. I shudder to think about the outcome if this had happened while we weren't home. In researching collars it became clear that many dogs die each year when their collars get hung up on an object or another dog's mouth while playing.

 

This was scary enough to convince me to order both the boys breakaway collars today. These will pop open if a certain amount of pressure is applied so that the dogs can't strangle. Until the new collars come, we are going collar-less in the house!

 

S Bennett

Who is sharing life with Jay and Boon, after the privilege of living with Eddie I, Harriet and Eddie II.

[TheFullHouse]

Oh my gosh, I'm so glad your DH was able to free him! We switched from wearing martingale's to tag collars with no loops here also.

[RobinM]

So glad that things are ok. That must have been so frightening.

 

it is also the reason we NEVER wear martingales in the house unless we are headed out but only break away tag collars.

[greytpups]

I'm so glad you got to him in time. This can happen outdoors as well so please don't let them out in the yard with martingales unless supervised. Once you get tag collars you may want to consider wearing them in the yard instead of a martingale. Remeberance will have an old thread about a pup who was strangled on their fence.

 

 

[Guest sbennett]

Actually, these were just their tag collars with the buckle release, not martingales. Hubs was able to reach under Jay's chin and unbuckle it, otherwise I guess we were looking at trying to cut the collar off a panicked dog. So sorry that someone else had a similar experience that ended tragically.

 

SB

[Guest boondog]

I'm so glad your boy is ok. That must have been so scary.

 

I have a Boon, too! His racing name was Bad Boon.

[Guest lanielovesgreys]

I read a similar story and stopped with the martingales inside immediately. How terrifying.

[Time4ANap]

Only a breakaway tag collar here too. Glad you found him in time.

[Guest MyBoys]

So glad your pup is okay, that is scary. Just wondering where you got the breakaway tag collars??????? I am thinking I need to order a couple.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

I too just use a tag collar, but mine isn't a breakaway. It's ajusted so it is quite loose on her and will slip off exceedingly easily. She got it caught once and it slipped off beautifully. I'd had it ajusted even more loosely at first, but she flung it off during a good zoomie in the backyard.

[Guest KennelMom]

Any collar - martingale or otherwise - that does not have a clasp/buckle for you to undo is very dangerous to leave on a dog, especially unattended. If you think because you have a tag collar it will just slide off the dog if they get hung up, you might be mistaken. Dogs will squirm and twist to free themselves and a collar basically becomes a tourniquet at that point. Try unflipping a 50+ lb greyhound that's already freaking out. Heck, you'll have a hard time figuring out which way you need to twist the dog to undo it. When Scout got her 1" tag collar hung up on cabinet knob, all the collars came off.

 

I'm glad this story has a happy ending. Too many dogs die from their own collars every year. An idea for someone who doesn't want to go collarless or break-away would be the thick plastic track collars. They may not be pretty or decorative, but they would have a heck of a time twisting on themselves. For a while Tater had to wear a collar and that's what we used (came off when we weren't home or anytime she was crated).

Edited August 16, 2010 by KennelMom

[Guest K9Cookies]

Julie with Furry-Baby Fashions makes nice break-away collars. Here's her link- Furry-Baby Fashions- Break away collars

 

We bought a set a year ago or so. They were a little too "break-away" for us. We put a piece of Scotch tape around the break away section, and that solved the problem. Still enough give that they would certainly come apart if something happened to one of the dogs.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

If you think because you have a tag collar it will just slide off the dog if they get hung up, you might be mistaken. Dogs will squirm and twist to free themselves and a collar basically becomes a tourniquet at that point. Try unflipping a 50+ lb greyhound that's already freaking out. Heck, you'll have a hard time figuring out which way you need to twist the dog to undo it

 

I didn't think of that. Her collar does have a buckle, it's just not a breakaway one.

[TheFullHouse]

Our tag collars aren't break away but there are no buckles or metal loops at all and all of our bottom cabinets have no handles. If we're going to be away from home, all collars come off.

Edited August 16, 2010 by JillysFullHouse

[Guest sbennett]

I ordered Premier Keep Safe breakaway collars. It looks like there are several on line sources for these.

 

Sharon

[Batmom]

Thank god you were there. I was just about to post on this same topic. We have the breakaways (www.breakawaycollar.com) and wear them in house/yard. If we had anything else -- including loose-fitting tag collars -- I'd be at the emergency vet or crematorium today. Three times in the last two days my dogs have been playing in the yard and one has caught a foot on the other's collar.

[Guest Energy11]

I ordered Premier Keep Safe breakaway collars. It looks like there are several on line sources for these.

 

Sharon

 

This is what we have, too. I believe in always leaving the tag collars on, myself. If the dog gets loose, it is their lifeline. Martingales ARE a no no, as stated above. They are just going out walking or traveling collars. No "naked" dogs in my house.

[maximum]

Oh my - that is *exactly* what Max did a few years ago - my boy now goes nekkid unless going for a walk, or if at someplace besides home, he has a breakaway collar that he wears(which I cannot recall the manufacturer of - RobinW on here has one as well; they do work awesome!). Pretty much anything besides a breakaway can get caught. I remember our husky-girl we had before Max got her regular flat collar caught on the tines of the bottom of the dishwasher rack (she was the pre-wash rinse cycle! ) and pulled the whole rack, fully loaded across the kitchen, completely freaked out, stuff smashing all around her - gawd, what an ordeal that was. I had to practically sit on her to hold her still enough so someone else could unhook her!

 

I am so glad everything turned out okay - it is a terrifying couple of minutes!

 

So, yes, nekkid or breakaway unless on a leash is the rule in our house...

Edited August 16, 2010 by maximum

[Guest kydie]

Poor pup, glad he is O.K.,,, no collars of any type are worn in the house,,, read a post long ago here on G.T. about a pup that strangled,,, it was heart wrenching,,, the owner had to go and cut the dead dog down from the post it had gotten chocked to death on,,,,, that was it for me,,, no collars in house

Edited August 16, 2010 by kydie

[Guest mcsheltie]

Has anyone had any trouble with the Premier collar coming off when you don't want them to? If they scratch their neck hard will these come off? While I want it to come off if something happens, I want a collar that is reliable and will stay on under normal living conditions.

[Guest sheila]

I had an issue that was not with the collar but the tags themselves. My dog was laying on the floor near a floor vent and the TAGS got stuck in the slots of the floor vent. He was stuck to the floor until his thrashing actually pulled the metal vent out and he was running around the room with the vent attached to his collar.

[Batmom]

My breakaways have never come off from the dog scratching. I've been using them for nearly 10 years. They will slide off over a sighthound head if you don't keep them pretty snug to the neck; I do, so I was surprised that Joseph managed to catch his foot in his sister's collar more than once.

[Guest mcsheltie]

My breakaways have never come off from the dog scratching. I've been using them for nearly 10 years. They will slide off over a sighthound head if you don't keep them pretty snug to the neck; I do, so I was surprised that Joseph managed to catch his foot in his sister's collar more than once.

So they have never come off other than when they got hung on something (or someone)?

[Batmom]

If you grab one other than at the break buckle and the dog is charging ahead, they will come apart (and mine have). So if your risk of dog running out the door is high, they might not be the collar for you (at least while you're home). After awhile you get pretty good at grabbing at the break spot. You can increase the break strength by using a little velcro one-wrap between the two rings, but you have to be careful with that -- more than 1/4" velcro stuck together is very difficult to break (BTDT).

[greytpups]

I forgot to mention earlier in my post about not clipping the tags on the D ring. Some tag collars have a D ring so the OP might not be aware of the risk for asphixiation