The first time I brought Obi, my Jack Terrier home, I didn’t remember to buy a crate for him. We spent two weeks bonding without collar, until I wanted to relocate to another neighborhood.
I bought a crate and collar for him. I had many questions I wanted answers like should I take my dog’s collar off in the crate.
I have a good vet friend, who made it easier for me to take care of Obi the first few months of his life. She had a few words about dog collars for me and I am sharing them here.
Dog Collar Danger Is Real.
It is a common belief that we should wear collars with their current identification tag on our dogs. Do you know that putting collars on dogs can be dangerous sometimes?
For many years, I was among the group that believed that dogs should always wear collars until the day my dog’s identification tag got tangled between the wires of the crate I put it in.
You may not be able to imagine the dangers associated with dog collars. It can lead to sudden accidents. After the experience I had with my dog,
I decided to find out if it is their collars strangle a common experience that dogs, or if it is a sudden accident. That was when I discovered that it has happened to some other dogs too.
It looks like dog collars always get tangled with a lot of things. In some cases, dog collar strangulation has led to the death of some dogs. Dog collars getting tangled with other things or getting stuck has been so rampant.
Today, dog collar manufacturing companies had to come up with break-away collars, to stop these ugly experiences. I am sure no company will spend millions of dollars to produce a thing that does not meet the need of buyers. The research the companies did was very wonderful.
I do not mean your dog will get strangled because it is wearing a collar. I am saying that there are chances that its collar may strangle your dog. Every precaution you should take against this happening to your dog is worth it.
About 15% of our clients have reported having the experience of their dogs begin strangled by their collar.
I have the opportunity to talk with dog owners daily about their dogs because I am a dog trainer. I understood that dog strangulation by the collar is a daily occurrence.
By my estimation, 15% of my clients have had the experience of their dog collar getting tangled with wires in their dog crate, fence, furniture, and even when they were playing with fellow dogs.
Dog Accidentally Strangled By Collar During Playtime.
It was about 20 years ago that I heard of a dog being strangled by a collar. This happened when two dogs were playing together. Each of the dogs was putting on a collar. As they were playing, one of them pulled the collar of the other.
The dog’s muzzle immediately got tangled in the other dog’s collar. The tangled dog started to agitate and panic. As it panics, it tries pulling away, worsening the matter. The other dog that was wearing the tangled collar started to choke. The collar almost strangled the dog.
Good enough, someone standing nearby had a pocketknife. He had to cut the tangled collar to fee both dogs. You can imagine how horrifying the situation would have been for the dogs.
Strict Collar Removal Policies
Many businesses that have to do with pets have rules guiding them regarding the conditions collars can be removed. When I was working as a veterinary technician, I was under the obligation to remove collars from dogs, even when they are undergoing clinical examination.
Large retail grooming companies’ policy is that dogs should be removed from the collar before they are put in kennels. The collar will have to be kept in a plastic sleeve beside the kennel.
When I was a staff of the pet grooming industry, the employment of many of my colleagues was terminated for disobeying this rule. There is a trend in dog collar accidents.
Dog Collar Safety
It is only under supervision should a dog wear a collar. That means you should remove the collar from your dog anytime you put it in a kennel, when it is playing with other dogs or when you left it to move about within your yard. Putting a collar on your dog always is not worth the risk.
If You Must, Use a Break-Away Collar.
You may for any reason not be comfortable with your dog moving about without wearing a collar, you can buy a breakaway collar. There are some of them in the market. The breakaway collar looks every inch like the normal collar.
It has a provision where you can fix the dog’s identification tag. The only difference is that a breakaway collar will unsnap anytime the collar is tangled with anything, and your dog will be set free.
The manufacturers of breakaway collars have improved their quality and services over the last 15 years. In time past, the mechanism of breakaway collars was super sensitive.
In those days, if a dog should do a thing as common as sneezing, the collar would unsnap. Presently, break-away collars are wonderful safety tools. A lot of them are very versatile.
They are designed to have two D-rings the dog owner can use while on leash walks. The D-ring design disables the break-away option. The break-away option is activated immediately after the leash is removed.
FAQs
Should I take my dog’s collar off in the crate?
Do not put a collar on your dog unless you are there to supervise it. You should wear off the collar from the dog whenever you want to put it in a crate, when the dog is playing with other dogs, or when it is left to walk around the house. Wearing a collar on your dog unnecessarily is not worth the risk.
Can I leave the collar on my dog in a crate?
Ideally, your dog should be naked while in a crate. The reason is that if you wear it with a dangling dog tag or collar, it can get tangled with the crate bars. This poses a strangulation risk for the dog.
If you must wear a collar and a tag on your dog while in the crate, let it be a breakaway type of dog safety collar and lay-flat dog identification tag.
Should I take my dog’s collar off at night in a crate?
For safety reasons, do not leave the dog collar on your dog at night. Unfortunately, thousands of dogs get strangled by their collars every year. If, by chance, the collar on your dog gets tangled with things like its crate or a chair when you are asleep, your dog stands the risk of being strangled to death.