collar,should you take it off ?

[Ellen]

Hi,

Me again, now 10 days in and I haven't removed his collar and it doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

Although I'm being super cautious I'm worried that if he escaped out the door, firstly he would be harder to catch and secondly, although he's chipped it would be quicker for someone to read our contact  details on his tag.

Is it okay for his collar to remain on ?

Cheers

[MerseyGrey]

We pretty much always keep Buddy’s collar on. We’ve recently ventured into the realm of house collars since he had an accident with his martingale (caught on his food bowl, resulting in tightening of his collar, resulting in a panicked hound; luckily one of us is always home at the minute!). It’s better to be safe than to be sorry as you say, just in case he does slip past you at the front door

[Ellen]

Thanks'. at present he just has a standard leather sight hound collar as he is becoming much more settled on walks( lot of bribery involved) would you recommend a martingale collar though ?

[macoduck]

No one goes naked in my house. Tag collars stay on 24/7. You are right about it being hard to catch a collarless greyhound!

Are you attaching his tags to the metal D loop? Not good as it may interfere/catch the leash clasp.

Do you have heat/AC vents in the floor vs ceiling? If they're in the floor, opt for a tag collar using a flat rather dangling tag so it doesn't get snagged. http://www.houndstown.com/collars/tag-collars/

 

Editing to add that I've just seen your post above. Is your current collar called a fishtail design? They're okay, but I prefer a properly fit martingale for more security.

Are you in the UK?

 

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by macoduck

[Ellen]

Hi there

 

Thanks' for replying everyone

It is the fishtail design , and don't have any floor vents  and must admit I didn't know you could get flat tags. I'll also look into  the martingale collars.

I'm in Scotland.

Cheers

[BatterseaBrindl]

Our hounds always wear a flat collar with name /contact info tags. 

We only use martingale collars for walking. 

[MerseyGrey]

7 hours ago, Ellen said:

Thanks'. at present he just has a standard leather sight hound collar as he is becoming much more settled on walks( lot of bribery involved) would you recommend a martingale collar though ?

Most of Buddy’s collars are martingales but we are moving away from them a bit more. I don’t dislike them but am more cautious after the incident I mentioned, and since we now walk him using a harness I don’t think it makes a major difference as to what collar we use. Check out https://www.izzyandfinns.co.uk for a good selection of collars of different kinds. Buddy is also reactive to other dogs, and reading around the subject, I found a suggestion that this might be because he sees a dog, he pulls at his lead, his collar pulls on his throat, therefore he associates other dogs with that strangling feeling. I have no idea how true this is, but I feel better using a harness to control him (and I can lift him out of sticky situations more easily, if needed). I haven’t heard of/ seen flat collars but I shall be looking for some now!

[Ellen]

Hi,

I spoke to the greyhound trust and although they didn't say not to use the martingale collar, they thought the leather fishtail collar is the best for controlling a greyhound . I may look into a harness though as Ally is still quite nervous of other dogs, esp. tiny ones and will speed up to try and pass them.

Cheers

[HeyRunDog]

Grace wears two collars when we go out. A soft house collar with her I.D. tag and a fishtail which is attached to her lead. The fishtail is removed when we get back and the gate is shut. If you are worried about his I.D. tag getting caught you can get one that goes around the the collar and lays flat. Search for agility dog ID tag.

If you are still looking for a martingale collar Richard Skipworth has teamed up with the Hall Green kennels to produce a range of collars and other items  https://www.greyhoundtrusthallgreenonlineshop.com/richards-shop

11 hours ago, Ellen said:

Ally is still quite nervous of other dogs, esp. tiny ones and will speed up to try and pass them.

He'll get used to them. The best thing you can do is to ignore them and keep walking as if they are not there. Don't tighten his lead in anticipation or alter your pace. Remember he takes his cues from you.

[Banjoman]

Chancey greyhound wears a 1” house collar with address tag 24hrs a day and I use a Martingale when out walking. When I first got her and she was more than reactive to small dogs I found it easier to control her leaping 5ft into the air when I could have my hand holding the Martingale tight behind her ears.

Nutmeg (whippet lurcher) wears a leather fishtail collar with address tag 24hrs a day and I use a nylon half check or fancy Martingale for walks or going visiting.

All my previous whippets wore leather fishtails with tags as house collars.

[GreyKnight]

Sully ran out through the back gate when I wasn't thinking yesterday, it was only the fact that he always takes a very careful and dainty route across the gravel on the drive that allowed me to outpace him and get in front of him before he just ran on to the road.  Without his house collar on it would have been much harder to grab the opportunistic little tyke!

[Ellen]

Hi guys,

Thanks' for all the tips and advice. Your're  right, I do think I alter my pace when passing small dogs in anticipation. I will need to be more aware of my actions when walking him.

feel much happier now at leaving his collar on

 

Cheers

[keeperdean]

A word of caution about harnesses. If you have one that slips over his/her head and buckles under the belly, beware! The buckle sits just behind the front shoulder. Because Greyhounds have large shoulder muscles, if they turn quickly toward the buckle it will disengage the clip. This happened to me several times. At first, I thought it wasn’t buckled properly. However, after the third time, I figured out that was not the case. The large shoulder muscles on Greyhounds can easily compress the clip, disengage the buckle and he slips out of the harness. Luckily, I was able to react quickly enough to restrain my 75lb. Grey.

[Ellen]

Totally unrelated, do dogs not get stung by nettles ? Ally seems to find great delight in finding the largest clumps of nettles to do his business in

[MerseyGrey]

No, they delight in nettles and spiky bushes to rub against for sniffs and pees. I’m replanting a border in our garden and am purposefully looking for spiky things to go in it. Buddy did get stung by something recently and spent the latter half of his walk pawing his face, so I would respond by rubbing it. Then he gave up and just started rubbing his face on me when he wanted me to scratch his sting. My boy is adorable 😍 

[Legendaryfrank]

The collar stays on all day for my dog, then off when I go to sleep to give him a break.. Then right back on in the morning

[cleptogrey]

On 9/24/2020 at 6:34 AM, Ellen said:

Hi there

 

Thanks' for replying everyone

It is the fishtail design , and don't have any floor vents  and must admit I didn't know you could get flat tags. I'll also look into  the martingale collars.

I'm in Scotland.

Cheers

Love fish tale collars!!! They are a perfect design for GH and whippets. Leave it on if he is used to it.

[HeyRunDog]

Fishtails also let you explore your creative side using a rotary tool and acrylic pens.