Pet collars and leashes for security

Most pets need collars for security reasons. Aside from being very convenient whenever you need to restrain your animal friend, they are also helpful if you want to identify the pet as your own. Almost all collars can accommodate attachments or can be engraved to hold important specifics like your and your pet’s names, address and contact details. All of these will be a great help if ever your pet will wander around the neighborhood on its own.

On the other hand, not all pet owners have invested in good leashes because they think it’s unnecessary. If you want to be a responsible owner, at least keep one around the house because they will keep your pet more secured. Leashes are necessary if you want to take your pet out for a walk or to keep them from running unsupervised. It is also needed if you want to be respectful towards your neighbors because they might not be a pet lover like you.

Various types of collars available:

It's important to understand that any particular collar can be effective, ineffective or harmful, depending on the handler and also on the individual dog. It's vital to learn as much as you can about training and educating your dog, choosing training tools, matching the tool to the individual dog, and using such items properly and humanely. In addition, proper fit is crucial.

1. Buckle collars. Every dog should wear a buckle collar, indoors as well as outside. After all, even a canine homebody could feel compelled to dash out a door or run off when feeling insecure or frightened. This collar provides a handy "handle" for catching a loose or overly rambunctious dog, separating animals who don't get along, and for attaching the dog's I.D., dog license and rabies tags. If the tags clatter too much for your liking, you can mute the sound by affixing clear packing around them.

Buckle collars are made of leather, cloth, nylon and other materials. Choose a collar for sturdiness and comfort over looks. The collar should be adjusted tight enough so that it cannot slip off the dog's head; it should be just loose enough to allow you to slip two fingers between the collar and the dog's neck.

2. Training collars. These include metal chain collars, choker collars, braided or rolled nylon slip collars, and cloth slip collars. A key benefit of this type of collar is that it self-adjusts, when used with a leash, around the dog's neck, giving the handler control and preventing the dog from slipping out of the collar.

However, training collars are among the most incorrectly use tools ever invented. So it's worth taking obedience classes to learn how to use them correctly. 

Hint: if your dog continually pulls when you're walking her with a training collar, you're not using it properly. Don't feel bad; you have plenty of company. Other signs of misuse: the dog is choking, gagging or wheezing during walks.

3. Snap-on collars. These can be fine for gentler, less rambunctious dogs, but the closure can give way with stronger ones. As for stretch collars, we do not advise them for dogs, since a dog could back out of the collar.

4. Martingale collars. Also called greyhound collars, these nicely designed devices serve as a gentler, relatively comfortable but still effective alternative to chain, slip, choker and other training/walking collars. The Premier Collar, made by a company by the same name, is just one example of this buckle collar, which typically looks like two loops of material. The leash is attached to the extra, smaller loop. This self-adjusting collar tightens if the dog pulls or tries to slip his head out, evenly around the dog's neck without risk of choking the animal. Martingale-style collars provide control to the handler while preventing injury to the dog. It's a humane and effective choice for many dogs, and is bidirectional -- you can it use it without adjustment no matter which side of body you heel your dog.

5. Pinch or prong collar. This one has metal prongs on connected links of the collar. When you pull the leash, the prongs press into the dog's neck, in effect applying pressure to many points around the neck. The prongs should have vinyl coverings on the tips or the handler could injure the dog. Even with coated/covered prongs, many people misuse or overuse this restraint, reducing the potential effectiveness of the device and causing injury to the dog, immediately or over time. And as with training collars, when using pinch and prong collars, they should never be left on a dog.