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I'm kinda taking this topic from another forum, but I'm curious what border collie/Aussie owners use! Do you have a collar width or material preference for your dogs?

 

On my 45 lb Lancer, I just use a 1.5" nylon collar that buckles, but I've been wanting to switch to traditional leather, maybe to 2" width.

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I've bought Nelson many leather collars, but because we live close to the ocean (and he swims rain or shine) they never last. I use a Silverfoot martingale collar 3/4 width. He only wears a collar when we are out on a walk, as soon as we get home I take it of, since his neck is so furry these allow me to put them on and off quicker without me fighting with the buckle and his fur.

I use a Silverfoot quick release (or no collar at all) when we go hiking since he likes to take off and chase squirrels and I don't want him to choke. Collars are made in Squamish and I love the patterns.

Silverfoot-QuickRelease-Martingale-Colla

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I have also used the Gun Dog Supply collars. I like them due to their very reasonable price which (importantly) includes a riveted ID tag. 3/4" width works well.

 

Having said that, I have several other collars of various materials and designs. It gets boring to see the same collar all the time - although one dog is rather hairy so the collar design is lost, and the other dog (a smooth coat) has a long ruff which also covers the collar.

 

I usually see the 2" collars on greyhounds/whippets and similar breeds, not border collies.

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Hello everyone,

 

I know that many people prefer center ring collars (such as the collars that have been linked from Gun Dog Supply), but I personally do not like that style collar. I feel that when a leash or tie out is attached to the center ring, the buckle will put pressure directly on the dog's throat should they pull. I would rather have the smooth collar material against my dog's throat than a metal buckle. I use 3/4" leather collars on my dogs (not the center ring type).
Regards,
nancy
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I made the mistake of buying a leather collar for my first dog and in no time it was hard and salt stained from frequent immersion in sea water. Since then it has been 1 inch cushion webbing or nylon for all my dogs except the little ones and they have half inch.

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I use a center ring Gun Dog Supply collar as well. I use a leather one (the slightly more expensive ones, I like the pretty stitching!) and they've worked great. I live in Colorado, which is about as far away from the ocean as you can get. As such, they've held up beautifully and have only gotten prettier with age. My oldest is 2 years old, which is young by many people's standards, but I'm in love. And the brass plate looks beautiful, plus I can't stand jingling tags. I keep his rabies tag on my keys in case I need it.

 

If my part-trout-part-dog ends up being too hard on his collar with hoses, stock tanks, etc. I'll be sure to get a tuflex collar.

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Like NCStarkey, I am not fond of the center ring collars, even though they look nice. Because we live in the desert, and do not do water things, leather works well for us, and I get them at Ryan's Pet Supplies. these are good quality, and last for years and years, and are very inexpensive. They also have a nice selection of nylon collars, also very inexpensive. (Their shampoo and brush selection is excellent as well and I get all my grooming supplies from them.)

 

http://www.ryanspet.com/collars-leads-training-restraints-collars-leads-harnesses-leather-collars-leads-ci-120-26.html

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I also like the center ring for that reason, Julie. My trial dogs have their fancy collars from The Kenyan Collection, and I miss the center ring feature more than I'd have thought when using them.

 

The TufFlex ones I use from Gun Dog Supply have both center and D rings...if there is concern about pulling you could try using the D ring. I'd guess excessive pulling on any collar has the potential for injury. I wouldn't tie a dog that was prone to pull like that with any type of collar.

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Rather than start a new thread, I thought I would just add to this one.

 

I just came across a new, very cool looking collar (saw the ad in BARK magazine).

 

Here is the link: http://www.memapets.com/product/alu-collar/

 

I don't think anyone 'here' is going to run out and buy one of these, so this is just an FYI. :)

 

I won't say anything more so as to not influence reaction to the collar.

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What I like most about the center ring is that the ring always sits on the top of the neck and it's easy to attach a leash with one hand. I guess no regular collar is going to be entirely comfortable for a dog who pulls.

 

J.

That's a good point.

My dogs don't pull, so maybe I should change my attitude toward the center ring collars. :-)

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Don't know if it's the length of chain I use, where it's attached along the fence or just my dogs, but when they are tied out the pressure would be on the back of their necks of they pulled. (The chain is hanging down, clipped to the center ring, buckle has rotated to the back of their necks.) Generally though, my dogs just hang out when tied to the fence.

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I use lupine collars as they are guaranteed for the life of the dog so I only have to buy a collar once. However I can't speak to the strength of the collars as I don't use them as tie-outs or for leashes. My collars are only used to hold a Boomerang dog tag. If my dogs are on a leash they are wearing a non-restrictive, roman-style harness made by Lupine. My older gal Rose came to me with spinal issues so I'm pretty careful. If my dogs are waiting for their turn at herding lessons (yup, I'm a townie and newby sigh. . . ) or another training activity they are chilling in a kennel or the car.

 

Bethany, Rose, and Loki

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I also use Gun Dog Supply I have these collars http://www.gundogsupply.com/durhuncol1.html, on Rievaulx the collar fits nicely but I found on Brody who was a very average 40lb border collie it was a little heavy, it just seemed a bit big so next time I would get the 3/4" one that Liz uses. My dogs have all swam and found nylon collars smell and leather doesn't hold up.

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My dogs rarely wear collars once they are fully "stay home" proofed - around 1.5 years old. Before that they wear them only when outside. For puppies and juveniles I prefer 1/2 and then 3/4 nylon with flat buckles and large top mounted rings - they make them here with all the other tack type stuff and there's always a bunch lying around and, as Henry Ford once noted, you can get it in any color you want as long as it's black. Works for me, I do not like fancy or colored collars at all. Just a personal quirk.

 

I needed to get two new dogs licensed the other day and had to wait for the clerk and read, for the first time, the local dog bylaws. As it turns out, sheepdogs, specifically, are exempt from the requirement to wear collar or tag and there is no fine for a sheepdog found wandering as long as a tag and inoculation records can be provided upon request and the dog does no harm. It's an old law but it made me smile.

 

Back to topic - older dogs get leather collars, plain black 3/4 or 1" with simple buckle and top mounted ring. They don't last long, whatever they are made of. As others have noted, proximity to sea water is a factor.

 

I dislike a collar on a long haired collie so I avoid it when possible.

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In the UK we don't have dog licensing or any obligation to have dogs immunised against anything but every dog is supposed to wear a collar with an identification tag when in public. The exceptions are dogs while they are working, and that includes sheepdogs, gun dogs, packs of hounds etc.

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I thought I would correct an apparent mistake here.

 

The center ring at the back of a collar is NOT necessarily intended for clipping in the leash. The original intent of that design is to provide more flexibility in the collar so that if a dog gets something caught in his collar trapping him (bit of fence or post or branch, etc.) he is more likely to be able to twist free. Nowadays folks do use it for a leash point; but anywhere you attach the leash, the collar can shift so that the ring is towards the side or back anyways (and thereby have the pressure across the throat that someone noted earlier).

 

Most center-ring collars that I've seen (and all that I've used on my dogs) have a normal D ring up front for attaching a leash.

 

Personally, I use two collars on Golan. Around home and town he has a nice rolled leather collar with a brass plate on it with his name and my phone number. I admit that's a vanity item, to appeal to MY vanity. :rolleyes: For out in the woods he wears the same 3/4" center-ring collar that Liz P. linked. When I had my very big Labrador, he usually wore a 1" center-ring leather collar with brass plate, and for hikes or SAR work he wore a synthetic center-ring collar with ID plate. We had a blaze orange colored collar for work, which I also hung a bell on to track him in the woods.

 

If I were to be sensible and bought only one collar, I'd use the one Liz P. linked.

 

We've bought collars from several good places, but Gun Dog Supply is the place we've returned to most often for collars, whistles, and some other items.

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Actually, I don't think anyone said that the center ring is intended for hooking a leash. What was stated was that the ring on the back of the neck was convenient for hooking a leash one-handed. I believe somewhere on the GDS website it actually explains the value of a center ring collar for enabling a caught dog to twist free. But for general purposes, I do attach the leash to the center ring (the few occasions I attach a leash at all) because it is right there and easy to do with one hand.

 

J.

 

I thought I would correct an apparent mistake here.

 

The center ring at the back of a collar is NOT necessarily intended for clipping in the leash. The original intent of that design is to provide more flexibility in the collar so that if a dog gets something caught in his collar trapping him (bit of fence or post or branch, etc.) he is more likely to be able to twist free. Nowadays folks do use it for a leash point; but anywhere you attach the leash, the collar can shift so that the ring is towards the side or back anyways (and thereby have the pressure across the throat that someone noted earlier).

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