# Break away collars



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

After a family member lost a dog to a freak accident over the weekend, I'm rethinking the dogs collars for around the house. I like my dogs to have my cell number on them at all times, but I'm thinking its time to change to a break away collar. Who uses them, and how well do you like them?


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## zigzag (Oct 4, 2011)

I don't know if the safety factor is worth the risk. Collar could break away when the dog gets lose and then you would be relying on the chip. Our you worried about other dogs getting ahold of the collar? Or the dog getting hung up on a fence, tree, etc.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Owning 3 Vs you know they play rough with each other. Then take them leaping to catch squirrels off a 6 foot fence.
The insurance company said most fatal accidents of dogs are caused by dog collars. I would still use the center ring collars while hunting, but use the break away collars for around the house.


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## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

We just remove the collar when we come back from an outing but depending on the chance of your dogs escaping from your home or garden that may not be something you want to do. I presume they are chipped anyway.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Yes my dogs are chipped, but when I lost June in a field many years ago. It was my cell phone number on her collar, that got her back to me the same day.
My yard has a 6ft fence, and 2 gates you have to go through to get back there, but a cable man has left both open in the past. And I had my son not close the door all the way that leads to the garage, and the garage doors were open. When something like that has happened in the past it was only minutes before the dogs were back in the house. Even with the chances being small that they would ever escape the backyard, I like them to have a cell number on them 24/7. Most dogs without a collar on are considered strays in Texas. Now I would rather my dog be collar less, than strangle themselves, but looking at the Break away collars as a compromise. I'm just going to purchase them today, and see how well they work around the house.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

I don't understand V's "escaping". We don't have a fenced yard and let them out on their own. They don't run off, but stick to our property. Our previous 2 would go around the block, but no farther than that.

Yet I do hear about V's that have run off. Is it a matter of the individual dog? I.e., some run, some don't. Could it be environment - that a dog that is always fenced builds up a desire to see what's out there? It doesn't seem all that plausible.

Has anybody ever had both kinds - one that would run and another that wouldn't? (I don't mean in the field - I can see how any dog might become lost.)

Bob


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

When we are at home in town, Bristol sticks pretty close - she may wander to the next yard if given the chance. However, when we are at the lake, she prefers to run and run and run. We have caught her tracking deer, so back to the long lead we go. We actually had the trainer collar condition her and she is a totally different dog when she has that collar on.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

TexasRed, yes, please do let us know about your experience with the break away collars. Strangulation is a real danger to our furry pals.

I remember the tragedy that was told to us right here on the forums quite a while back. A young couple took their vizsla over to mom and dad's house for a visit. Mom and dad also had a dog of about the same size. The two dogs played vigorously, since they knew each other and were friends. Then one dog got his lower jaw caught under the other dog's collar. That dog suffered a broken jaw, and the other dog strangled to death before anybody could help them. I'll never forget that.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

mswhipple said:


> TexasRed, yes, please do let us know about your experience with the break away collars.


Yes, please do! Our pup still has hardly ever worn a collar because Dexter grabs her by the neck so much. And I worry about the pups at daycare when there's a lot of dogs and not so many humans to keep an eye on stuff like this. If he wrestles a lot with a dog at the park, I clip his tags to his car harness and take off his collar.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

mswhipple said:


> ...
> I remember the tragedy that was told to us right here on the forums quite a while back. ... That dog suffered a broken jaw, and the other dog strangled to death before anybody could help them. I'll never forget that.


Me neither. 

I think it was here that there was another story about 2 dogs getting tangled like that at a dog park. Scary stuff.

Bob


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## Saltwater Soul (Jan 17, 2013)

I can't emphasize how helpful it is to have the telephone number(s) on the collar. My wife lost our Maddie a couple of weeks ago in the woods. After some time of very panicked searching, she got a phone call from someone that had found her. They were able to meet up before she actually had to leave the area.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

off lead I would never have a pup without a split ring - rivited ID with cell phone # - this works - we can never protect our pups from everything - just a fact of life - high teck - never replaces that I as a owner - know the enviroment the pup is in & the risks that go along with it !!!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

We've only used breakaway collars with our indoor/outdoor cats in the past. They would work as intended within a day and you'd have the choice of replacing the collar or not. I think they would work much better with dogs that ideally aren't going to be running off and losing the collar out of sight. 



Bob said:


> I don't understand V's "escaping". We don't have a fenced yard and let them out on their own. They don't run off, but stick to our property. Our previous 2 would go around the block, but no farther than that.


I'm sure you're prepared with microchips and ID on collars, but I'd be careful of trusting your dogs that much. A few years back when I was in college, one of my sister's friends was living at our house and accidentally left the front door ajar while my parents were away. We had two chow mixes at the time, Peach. 13 and Autumn, 7. The older one had been a wanderer in her youth, but the younger had never had the opportunity or the inclination. On the off chance she ended up alone in the front yard, she would sun herself for a time on the porch and then knock on the door to be let in. They aren't velcro like our vizslas, but are extremely protective so to leave the house unguarded was very unlike them. Peach came back or never left, but Autumn went on a week long adventure. In our case it was an online posting that brought her back to us as she would never run up to a stranger.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Bob said:


> I don't understand V's "escaping". We don't have a fenced yard and let them out on their own. They don't run off, but stick to our property. Our previous 2 would go around the block, but no farther than that.
> 
> Yet I do hear about V's that have run off. Is it a matter of the individual dog? I.e., some run, some don't. Could it be environment - that a dog that is always fenced builds up a desire to see what's out there? It doesn't seem all that plausible.
> 
> ...


Its not like my dogs just run off, but they do like to explore. My street doesn't have much traffic, but the one it connects to does. I seriously don't know how far away from home they would go on their own. Half way down the street is as far as any of them have ever gotten.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Savannah wears a breakaway collar most of the time. For the most part I like it, but I still remove it when she rough-houses with any of her dog buddies.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I've ordered the collars, and just have to wait for them to come in the mail.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

TR - which ones did you order?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I ordered the 1 inch wide ones made by Petsafe, and then ordered brass name plates from gun dog supply.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Thanks! I am trying to figure out something new for our older dogs. The pups have breakaway collars but no name plates yet - just tags. The older dogs all have martingale collars.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

PIKE is now on his 4th Mendota split ring dura soft collar - this is a pic of the last 1 - they fade - get stiff - crack - but - in the field still the best 1 I have found - the brass tag has deep scratches - PIKE lives off lead & HUNTS ! I know of 8 times the collar has rolled back - PIKE soon 2 turn 6yrs - I did learn this - I will replace the collar every year !


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

REM - wrong pic, perhaps?


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Much better.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

MM3 - TY - LOL !!!!!!!!!!


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

TR & TY - no mercy LOL !!!!!!!!!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

MeandMy3 said:


> REM - wrong pic, perhaps?


Now were left guessing if it was REM, or PIKE that answered the question wrong.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

REM I love the center ring collars for hunting, or anywhere my dogs might come across a barbwire fence. The break away collars will only be used at home. If they pass the test, they will also be used if they are kenneled away from home.


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## v-john (Jan 27, 2013)

I have these. 

http://www.permatack.com/permatack_covey_rise_cd_007.htm

One collar is going on probably 8 years old. 

One collar was hung up on a fence, left there for two years and found again. He's wearing it now again.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Please note - like a gun you love 2 shoot - it fits = the least amount of tag end showing - less 2 get hung up on !!!! as the pup grows or gets OLD - get a collar that fits !!!!!!!!!


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

TR - still laughing after your PM - YES PIKE has his own web site ! if not in the field - off lead & hunting ! he might look 4 puppy porn ! still LOL !!!!!!!!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

R said:


> TR - still laughing after your PM - YES PIKE has his own web site ! if not in the field - off lead & hunting ! he might look 4 puppy porn ! still LOL !!!!!!!!


Now I'm _really_ curious what I missed!


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

V-John said:


> I have these.
> 
> http://www.permatack.com/permatack_covey_rise_cd_007.htm


I think they might be out of business.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

If you get a collar with a rivited ID - the first thing you do !!! is bend the ID plate to fit the shape of your pups NECK - 1 of the few times I am right !!!!! LOL


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Thanks for the reminder, I've been meaning to order these and this was the kick in the butt to do it. 

When our Sadie was a pup - about 9-10 months old she was at the dog park playing with one of her best friends. Her lower jaw got caught in the other dogs collar and it was truly unbelievable how tight that collar was. The other dogs owner was a 6'2" strong, young man and he could hardly get it off and that was with me holding Sadie steady so she didn't buck and pull.

We don't go to the dog park anymore, but at home our 2 V's wrestle and play daily. All around each others necks. Having seen it before, it's a matter of when, not if.

I should have gotten the collar then, but today, I'm ordering 2 - for each of my V's.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Well the dogs have been wearing the collars, and so far its been good.
The collars have stayed on the dogs through all of their rough housing.
You just have to remember not to grab them by the collar, or they will come off, but I guess that's the whole point of having them.
I'll update the post at a later date, on how well they are holding up over time.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

We are a couple of months into the dogs wearing these collars around the house. They are still holding up, and look as good as the day I pulled them out of the box.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

We ordered one for Birch a couple of weeks ago because Dexter is always grabbing her by the neck. She was always "naked" before but she's not chipped yet so I definitely wanted to make sure she was wearing a tag. It's held up well here too and I think I'm going to order Dex one as well for daycare. 

Curious to see if anyone has had them "break away" yet? It must take a decent amount of force (I've seen Dex get a pretty good hold of it but it didn't undo itself).


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Cash's has once. I was changing out collars, after unloading the dogs in the field. Cash ran under a barbed wire fence and caught the collar, left it hanging on the fence. I was right there, so it wasn't lost. I haven't had them snap apart in the house, even with the dogs doing a little rough housing. Mine are older now so it mostly wrestling, and a lot of noise. They would probably get upset if another dog grabbed them by the neck.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Well, our KeepSafe collar has not held up very well. The dogs really only wear them at daycare (once a week). The first collar we bought (it looks like it was bought around the end of last year) has already busted. A piece of the plastic buckle just broke. I've emailed the company to see if they will replace it. Considering they hardly ever wear them, I'm not too impressed. Although after another sad story of a V passing away (from one of the Facebook groups) during play with another dog who got tangled in his collar, I really need to use them often.


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

Ahh that facebook post was so sad dextersmom :'( . 

I was looking into these collars as well, even though collars are off inside, I still worry that something could happen outdoors! Is that a petsafe one? The one I'm looking at looks to have a different safety clip....


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I haven't had a problem with mine, and the dogs wear the daily. The only time they come off is if we are out in the fields.
I probably jinxed myself by saying they are holding up, but I would buy them again.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Watson said:


> Ahh that facebook post was so sad dextersmom :'( .
> 
> I was looking into these collars as well, even though collars are off inside, I still worry that something could happen outdoors! Is that a petsafe one? The one I'm looking at looks to have a different safety clip....


I know  That is the same collar. It's the on/off buckle that broke, not the breakaway clip. That picture is a bit misleading... part of the collar is not pictured since it's not attached anymore.


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

That's weird that it broke before the breakaway clip did. Let us know what Petsafe says.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Watson said:


> That's weird that it broke before the breakaway clip did. Let us know what Petsafe says.


Yeah, I haven't had any trouble with the breakaway clip yet (it's "broken away" a few times but can still be put back together). That's how I managed to get the collar off him without cutting it (the buckle broke while it was clasped so it wouldn't unbuckle). Hopefully it was just a fluke and the manufacturer will offer to replace it!


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Petsafe has offered to replace the collar as long as I send them the photo of the broken one. Good news!


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## VictoriaW (Mar 16, 2011)

We just ordered two of these as well...with two dogs now the risk of them becoming entangled felt much too high. Compared to the last time I shopped around the market seems to have really consolidated (a few older options no longer being made). I'm sad that I couldn't find them in blaze orange!

Hoping they do not come apart too easily....


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