What kind of collar do you use on your Cairn?

[kayharley]

I've always used the small "rolled" leather collars that have the metal buckles because they seemed to be the most comfortable. The breeder I got Elliott from gave me a small nylon one with a plastic buckle/clasp. He seems to be getting used to it somewhat and only has it on when he's outside the crate but I'm having anxiety about him chewing the nylon or having the plastic buckle part break when he's on his leash.......in other words, I'm being a nervous nellie where my little guy is concerned. I'm even leary of letting him loose in our fenced in yard with Madison because I don't want him out of my sight. There is no way I could ever keep up with those two....maybe the 11 year old but not Trouble 1 and Trouble 2.

[bradl]

We've always used rolled leather collars once they're past about four months. Only little puppies get nylon or snap collars and then really only so they can be identified by color while gamboling about - never out of sight.

[Eliz222]

This is what Scout and Finch use now. They are nice and sturdy. It has the snap closure too....should I worry about the connection breaking??

Petsmart collars

[hallswel]

We have always used the leather rounded collar with metal buckle. That is what the trainer said to get and that is what we use.

It stays on all the time and when I walk Reb I have a cloth choke collar that I use or I can attach to his leather one. He doesn't pull on the choke collar but will on the leather one so I prefer to use the cloth for walking. We did not get him chipped because they chip dogs in an acupuncture point so I just make sure his leather collar is always on him. Not that I will ever use acupuncture but I don't want to rule it out.

I don't know to much about collars just what I have been told by othere

[MikeC]

We use the rounded leather collar for Duffy also.

MikeC

[Milopup]

I am a bit embarrassed here, but my pup still uses a nylon harness and nylon leash when we are taking walks. For his tags, we have a nylon collar with a snap buckle collar.

I hope we transition to leather one day, but at this point he still chews them.

[bubba]

We use the rolled leather collars for both Cooper and Yoda. As puppies, they both had the nylon collars. Yoda was never bothered by his nylon collar, but Cooper had quite a time with it, hopping around, trying to get it off. When Yoda graduated to his leather collar two weeks ago (at six months), he acted like it was an alien being and he was possessed trying to get it off.

I recently saw a new leash I am going to get them that helps in the leash pulling while walking. The end closest to the collar is elasticized like a bungy cord and it is supposed to correct them from pulling. Of course, my poor dogs have not been on a walk since August when I smashed my foot, so it could be a whole new experience for all of us once it heals and I can walk normal again!

pat.

[bradl]

Milopup - we use a harness for most walks too. We mostly use the leather collars for ID and rabies tags. We use a harness for walks unless we're training, and then we use a training collar.

[Milopup]

Thanks Brad - you always make me feel less stupid and less like a bad mommy.

[toomanypaws]

We're getting into the holiday spirit around here. Kiara, Abbey & Hannah have red leather collars w/ fake rinestones/diamonds on them. Before that Kiara & Abbey were wearing nylon collars from Big Dog. Abbey's was pink and said "It's not easy being the princess." Kiara's was purple and said, "I AM the princess." Little Hannah just outgrew her pink leather collar w/ pink rinestones.

For walks, they all have the type harness that hooks around the neck and the body for extra security. If the neck somehow breaks, I still would have the dog by the body and if the body strap broke, I'd have her by the neck. One can never be too safe w/ a cairn.

[kayharley]

Thanks.......I think a harness is my next investment for the "troop"...at least for the 2 younger ones.

Last year we had a nasty dog in the neighborhood try and attack my poor older Winnie as we were out walking. Winnie slipped out of her collar (should have been on tighter) to get away from this beastly dog. I tried to pick her up before all this started but it was too late because I didn't see it coming. Luckily Winnie knew my "panic voice" when I said "Stop" and I was able to keep the situation under control and she went no further than 50' away from me. I called our animal control officer as soon as I got home....we have a leash law here in CT and the owners thought they were above the law. Haven't seen that dog loose since.

Now had it been the puppy or Madison (terror 1 & 2) in that situation, I would have never been able to get them to stop running.

[Milopup]

toomanypaws,

does your harness connect to the leash at both the neck and the body? mine only connects at a "d" ring at the body. i would love to get one that someone connects in two places, for extra security. if yours does, can you tell us which brand it is?

thanks.

[derecskey]

Well, I certainly feel out of place, but we always have and always probably will use Nylon collars with snap/break-away connections for Bella. I guess our reasoning is two-fold.

#1) More selection and nicer looking collars, if you really look around.

#2) If she ever gets into a trouble situation, tangled, caught, hanging by her collar, etc, we can unsnap her to free her.

[Milopup]

Just make sure you don't get a true "breakaway" collar, like those used for cats. Many chain stores mix the collars up, and the true "breakaway" collars will unsnap when pressure is put on them - not what you want when the pups are pulling on the leash. When I was first buying a collar for my pup, the smaller ones were the ones which would fit - but alas most were for cats. I almost bought one, until I noticed the "Breakaway" feature. Not all cat collars have bells!

[toomanypaws]

The harness I bought for the girls is for dogs. I got them online at doggie-gifts. They come in a variety of colors.

[Brodie's buddy]

Derecskey, I agree with your thinking. I do not see myself ever buying a true 'buckle' collar again. I lost a puppy because he had one on. If he'd had a breakaway type, he'd be alive today. I had 2 puppies; they were rough housing late at night (outside) and Chianti ( that is 2.5yrs old now) must have grabbed Giovanne's (her brother, that died) collar and then did a flip, she had her bottom jaw tangled in his collar and there were 3 twists between her jaw and his neck. we could hardley get a knife or sciccors slid in to cut it off them. His neck was broken and he died before we could get them loose. They were 6 months at the time. They were not cairns,( which doesn't make it any less tragic, but they were bigger dogs) they were Berners. Big bears. That was hard to get over!!!