Question about collars

[kayharley]

How many of you leave a collar on your Cairn all the time?

I never have but today Remy AGAIN managed to find some piled up snow that gave him a nice boost to jump the inside fence. He was still contained but thank God I closed the main gate to "freedom" when I brought out the garbage or he would be loose and not have any ID on him.

I can't even imagine that happening because I would die!

He never wears a collar unless we're out walking and I'm debating whether it is safer for him to have ID on him at all times. It is almost impossible to put a collar on him every time he goes outside because they go in and out constantly....a squirrel, neighbors cat on stone wall, poop/pee/play....

I did find some extra fencing and so I was able to add a little height to one of the fences but he's a clever little bugger........and he's making me neurotic!

[Mollyrocker]

no collars on either of my dogs unless we are off the property. too risky.

both girls are microchipped.

these guys play too rough.

[jimnconnie]

Both of our dogs normally wear collars & ID including license and phone # unless they are in their crates. They have dashed out the front door to freedom before, and although they are both microchipped, I have more of a chance of getting them back safely if they have ID on them. Most of us carry ID in our wallets or purses, I just think the dogs should have it too.

[Cairnmania]

Mine wear a collar all the time because I have "invisible" fencing with dog doors in my house so my two go in and out during the day as they please. There's nothing for them to catch a collar on - other than shrubs I suppose, but if they caught the collar on a shrub not only would it be low to the ground, but the branches of the shrub would bend or break. I'm a bit paranoid about collars and solid fencing as I know of someone whose dog died when it jumped up against a solid fence. The collar caught and hung the dog on the fence. Sorry - it's a horrible image, but it happened.

Oh, mine are past the age where I need to crate them - which is another danger with collars.

On walks they both wear regular collars with I.D. - and both are microchipped.

[Toby23]

Mine wear collars with id at all time.

There is a sign posted at our local shelter, a close quote is "Our dogs must be the cleanest, the owner's always say ' I just took his/her collar off for a bath' "

The minimum fine here for having the shelter pick up your dog is somewhere around a 100.00, but having your own numbers on the collar can be a real help.

A few months ago, there was a stray JRT wandering around our park at midnight. Some kids were trying to catch it and turn it over to the sheriff. When the kids did catch the dog, I saw it did indeed have some id on him. It took some detective work and a magnifying glass, but the address was figured out. Turns out, the dog and owner no longer lived at the address listed........here I was, knocking at someone's door saying, here's your dog, only to find out the current residents had just bought the house !!!

We did eventually find the correct ower and reunite them.

Accidents are unplanned for events. These dogs are creative and cunning when they decide to go for a walk without us. One day last summer last while sitting at our mobilehome park community pool, there was a tan streak running on the deck at mock one speed........It was Toby coming to find me !!! Both dogs had gotten out, probably by a door that hadn't been shut tight or whatever ! Good boy Toby decided his best bet was to find mom ! He got showered with hugs and kisses and "good dog Toby's".

[Tracy A.]

I leave Mett & Bratt's collars on all the time- But they are not crated while we are away- They have the Kitchen/Garage/Dog Run- Becasue we use a harness for walk, the collars are on loose enough that if they did get caught on something they could pull out of the collar without much effort.

I always fear that if they manage to escape and didn't have a collar on I might not see them again.... "Oh look at the cute poor homeless dog, Lets take him home" is my fear.

[Scruffys Mom]

Mine wear collars with ID all the time. No one ever expects their dog to get loose. As I am part of a local rescue, I can not tell you how many dogs, that are family pets, end up at a rescue because they have no tag. As many rescues do not advertise, it is impossible to locate them unless you know of all the local rescues. Many of the dogs could have been returned to the home that lost the animal if it had been tagged. As far as micro chipping, I have very negative comments (and a few positive) about the chipping process. There are many microchip companies. Few are well organized. I found a small designer dog on a bike trail a few weeks ago. It was loaded up with fleas, sunburned paws (I live in FL) and had not eaten in days. It was a sweet, well trained dog that was somebodies pet. It had also been chipped. PetSmart gave me the wrong chip company and wrong ID #. Fortunately I understood the incompetence I was dealing with and took the time to go to a vet and have the dog scanned. They gave me another number and the woman who answered the phone was clueless in helping me and told me she could only give info to the owner. Go figure...... Long story short, after getting thru to a supervisor, I discovered the owner never registered the chip info which happens all the time. My dogs are rarely ever crated. They use their crates all the time, but rarely do I mandate the crate unless I have company over. If it is the dangling charm ID that concerns you, there are nylon collars with a plate ID that you can find on line. With the 3 dogs you have, the likelihood of an unexpected accident is tripled in your case. You have children and grandchildren, I believe, and you can not expect them to be as responsible as you are.

[Shorefeet]

Mine wears a collar at all times because she has escaped from the yard on 3 seperate occassions. Each time she came running back into the yard when called, but we were lucky.

I need to ask as an honest question. What is the danger of the dog wearing her collar in the crate?

[Jessica H]

Mine only wear harnesses with id tags when we leave the property. They don't usually bolt for the doors and if they do they are in the garage. They are micro chipped as well.

Scooter pulled that stunt last year. He managed to get over the fence where the plow had piled the snow. I looked out the window and he was as high as the snowmobile trailer. I was so panicked that I threw on slip on sneakers and I ran out (25 degrees) and he was running on top of the snow cos it was so frozen. I chased him thru my neighbors yard and he wouldn't stop. I kept sinking into the snow which was up to my thighs and extremely tiring, my shoes and socks came off and my shins were bleeding from the hard crusty ice layer. He would stop until I got close enough and then run, I finally caught him (by grabbing his tail) and then my adrenaline was gone. I was so tired I had a hard time getting back to the house. When I got back in the house my feet were literally blue and I didn't find my socks until spring. It was HORRIBLE. Now he is not allowed in the back yard until the snow is lower. They have a small area with a fence which I shovel so he can not get over the fence. I learned my lesson the hard way. Normally he comes when I call him but that time I think he was so excited he was running on top of the snow.

I've thought about leaving a collar on them all the time but I think they are fine. There are no doors they can bolt out of that aren't fenced in. I need to buy collars and I never think of it when I am out.

[Hagar]

Renny had his first collar put on when I got him, and he keeps it on full time.

It's only taken off for baths and when I need to put on a new tag. He Fights like mad whenever the collar is taken off for any reason. His collar has his City license tag, current Rabies tag, and an ID tag with his name, my city and state, and my home phone number on it.

According to a recent change in the city animal ordinance, if he should get loose, having a City License tag will get him a free ride home. Without the license, the fine starts at about $ 100.00 bucks. Since I occasionally travel out of state with him, having my city and home phone on his ID tag will give me at least a chance of getting him back if he should get lost on a trip.

I use a separate padded collar for our walks, and at walk time, he will stand still while I slip it on, because he really enjoys our walks.

[Pepandfriend's mom]

I leave Pepper's and Henry's collars on all the time. I don't crate them normally, and I have those plastic carriers rather than wire crates if i do need to confine them. When Pepper got out several years ago, he had the collar with current county rabies tag on and some good Samaritan checked the tag against the database and got him back to me the same night.

Now he has a few more pieces of "hardware" on that collar: a microchip tag traceable to my vet and me,and his name with my phone number on another tag. It IS understandable to me why folks who do have their dogs in wire crates would have this concern about them hurting themselves. But I would rather keep the collar on.

Pam

[maggie]

Mine have theirs on all the time.

[Mollyrocker]

These are just the two of the dangers of keeping a collar on, especially with dangling tags..these have either happened to family and friends dogs or happened to dogs I used to petsit.

Collars getting caught in heating grate and dog nearly strangling themselves trying to get free(dog fell asleep over the heating grate and tags got stuck), dogs playing and teeth or paw gets caught in other dogs collar and they nearly kill each other getting free and the owner gets bit trying to free the dogs. Collars with dangling ids can get caught in metal crates as well.

I know microchip isn't fail safe, and I take all the precautions I can on Cricket not getting out of the yard. My dogs are far too active with each other(wrestling) to allow collars on in the house and in the yard.

[Becky2259]

My dog wears cloths all the time and after reading this I think I will sew tags on his clothes just in case he ever goes missing. It has never happened in 6 yrs but like you said you never know.

thanks for this posting

[TNA]

Our two have their collars on all the time. It includes their city tag, rabies tag, and the microchip ID Tag, as they are both microchiped as well. We use halters on walks with their collars.

[Tuckersmom]

Tucker wears his harness all the time unless he is in his crate or if I leave him home alone - and he has a tatto not a mico chip. Can they track the dog with the micro chip, or is that just to identifiy them?

[Jessica H]

The microchip is just so they can be scanned and identified. It is not like gps tracking, lol, I wish!!!!

I think the microchip is good though because i feel if someone steals them then they still may go to a vet and there is a good chance the dog will be scanned for a microchip. If someone sees a tattoo they may be less likely to bring them somewhere that the tattoo could be noticed.

[bradl]

They are making pet-sized gps trackable collars these days. I think when the size and price comes down some more, they may actually become common.

Folks who dig to dogs use a Deben radio collar to locate their dogs underground, but by virture of size, range, and battery life - not practical for the average household.

We only put on collars when taking them places. Most are walked in a harness (if not training) or on a training lead if they are in training. All are chipped.