We have neighbor dogs. There are three, actually- I guess the other Golden wasn’t out on this particular afternoon. They sure do like to bark.
These are the same dogs that Skippy liked to think he could vanquish- I think some of the chicken wire fencing is still off to the right, where it was 100% ineffective in keeping him on the right side of the fence. Those were fun times.
Like Skippy, and Mulan and Emmett before him, Brody thinks barking right back at these guys is hysterical.
First he runs up to them.
After working them into a froth, he tears away.
Then he gloats.
He can do this happily for hours.
Fortunately for us, these dogs are all bark and no bite- no through-the-fence shenanigans, just posturing.
People don’t spend a lot of time thinking about collar-related injuries in dogs, but they do happen (gore alert!). Check out the canine mandibular avulsion fracture, if you’re not averse to some blood. Or just take my word for it- ouch. The other concern is strangulation, also terrible.
Breakaway collars for cats are very common these days, but similar safety offerings for dogs are harder to find.
The folks over at Tazlab sent us a safe-t-stretch collar to try out on Brody. There is no buckle, and the collar doesn’t actually break apart- between the two grey clips is a very stretchy piece of elastic that allows you to slide the collar on, and should the need occur, back off. (When you’re walking the dog, the leash clips together on either side of the elastic so it’s held shut.)
The collar certainly appeared sturdy and well-made, but I’m a skeptic, so I sat there and pulled over and over as hard as I could. I got a good 6 inches of stretch, which snapped right back to shut when I let go.
I’ve seen dogs get temporarily entangled once or twice at the dog park, and it’s very scary. Fortunately, none of those instances resulted in injury, but it’s very easy to see how it could happen. This is a great idea.
Brody surveys the land- a vast sea of entangling shrubbery and errant neighbor dog-jaws to stick his nose in. He can’t wait. And I can breathe a little more easily knowing I’ve reduced one more risk for him.
As an aside, my 3-year old inadvertently tested this for me this morning. He came up to me as I was getting out of the shower, holding up Brody’s collar. “How’d you get that?” I asked. “I tried to get him to come see my truck,” my son replied sadly. Like a gecko shedding its tail in the jaws of a predator, Brody easily eluded the unwanted attentions of his human kin. Ha!
On February 17, 2010 at 5:39am, wikith said...
Hmmm, but the reason I always figured dogs did not have safety collars is because we use those collars for walking, and for ID purposes. I assume you couldn’t use these collars for walks (unless the release mechanism requires human intervention?) and while ID loss is preferable to strangulation it kind of defeats the purpose of having the collar to begin with…
On February 17, 2010 at 7:52am, Deb Mendez said...
I think if you clip a leash through the rings, then the collar won’t stretch. No leash holding the rings together, then it can stretch open. Never seen one in action, but that is what I am thinking!
On February 17, 2010 at 8:06am, Dr. V said...
Deb’s right- there are plastic clips on either side of the elastic, so when the leash is attached it cannot stretch.
On February 17, 2010 at 6:45am, Rwan Hardesty said...
I also wonder how these collars would work on dogs that have bigger necks than their heads (like Enzo). We have to use a martingale on him because otherwise, on walks, he slips out of regular collars and goes running.
On February 17, 2010 at 8:07am, Dr. V said...
Yep, that would probably not be too helpful for him. But if he can slip out of any collar anyway all collars would be safety collars for him!
On February 17, 2010 at 9:45am, Ashley said...
Brody and Pru are two peas in a pod when it comes to terrorizing excited dogs. Pru loves to hassle her two lab friends when they are kenneled and stir them into a huge frenzy then run to my lap gloat. I can almost picture her sticking out her tongue as she does so.
On February 17, 2010 at 1:08pm, Denise from Tazlab said...
So glad for the conversation! Not to quibble but the D rings, while they look like plastic, are a strong nylon, and very tough.
On February 17, 2010 at 7:09pm, Dr. V said...
Thank you for the correction Denise! I didn’t realize that.
That makes sense.
On February 18, 2010 at 8:51am, Tisha_ said...
Almost every cat we’ve ever had has managed to get the break-away part of their collar stuck in their mouths. I have no idea why that always seems to happen, but it does.
On February 18, 2010 at 8:56am, Dr. V said...
Really? Apollo would get his off every single time. After we lost the third one I gave up.