# on the subject of collars



## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

I've never used a collar on any of the 3 dogs I've had as an adult, ( a black lab, a husky/lab cross, and now Ruby). Personally I struggle to see the need for one when I walk my dog. Ruby's chipped and her recall is excellent at 7 months old, so why would I need to stick a collar on her? All opinions are welcome and appreciated.


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

Well apparently you could get tazered. That's one reason. (read redbirddogs post.) I wish I lived in an area that I could freely let my dog off leash (off collar, naked, etc. However living in a metro city it has it's challenges. I let Axel roam off leash at suitable and respectable area's, one such area is about 5 blocks from my house in a small park which is not occupied very often. I will throw the "chuck it" with him for awhile which he extremely enjoys. I received a letter from the city of Seattle last week stating Municipal Code 18.12,080 (offense relating to not allowing a or permit any dog to run off leash except in designated off-leash areas.. It was a warning, I phoned and complained and apparently someone took pictures of me and my dog and followed me home and gave them my address.. Really? Really? I could not believe it, people have nothing better to do? How was I disturbing them? anyway's i did not receive a ticket because they did not catch me in the act per say? But this is the reason why I am very careful to have my dog on a leash and with a collar.. My dog is excellent also on recall, but I can't control the non-dog lovers and animal control people in my neighborhood. Unfortunately.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Are you talking about a regular collar or an ecollar?
If its a regular collar. First where I live any dog without a collar is considered a stray and does not have to be returned to its owner if picked up. Mine have my cell phone number on their collar even with them being chipped. It could be the difference between getting your dog back quickly or having to wait till someone has the time to take it to be scanned for a chip.
As for an E-collar.
The biggest reason is safety. My dogs had good recall to but let a rabbit or deer cross their path and it was just to much for them not to chase. Some of the fields have busy streets close by and I'm not going to take a chance on my dog getting hit by a car. Without the ecollar their recall was 90-95 percent on the first whistle. Is that small percent that could get them hurt.
They now have a 100 percent recall and remote sit.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I have to admit that Kobi's recall can be pretty disappointing... he is a stubborn little guy who does not like to listen, thus obedience has suffered. Fortunately with the e-collar he is 100% reliable. He's fine normally, but if he is paying attention to something else I'm non-existent. And sometimes he'd rather engage in chasing games than come back to me.

raps - I do stuff like that all the time. I'm very careful to only do it in wide open areas with nobody around. If someone starts to approach me, I will call Kobi back and put him on his leash. I actually let him off his leash a lot on our morning runs on the bike trail. Technically I shouldn't since it's a public trail and I could happen upon someone around a corner, but I run so early when it is dark that I've only run in to one person in the past few months.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

On the collar I have "Vizsla". my city and state, my cell phone, and the word "chipped" and that is it on the brass tag riveted to their leather collars. I was told if you have your name or the dog's name, dog nappers can learn to call your dog to them. 

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2012/01/hidden-treasures-diablo-foothills.html

Just paranoid enough.

RBD


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

Redbird- Where do you get your wonderful pictures? Are these places you take your dogs basically in your backyard? Or do you have to drive for like 100 miles? Either way, they are beautiful, and I am envious. I did drive the Oregon coast a few weeks ago and found some beautiful beaches for Axel to run and enjoy.

Kobi- Yes I am also very careful with Axel when he is off leash, and I will quickly put him "on leash" if I see anyone who looks like animal control, or if children or other dogs come in the area and it does not look appropriate for Axel to be off leash. But I can not control if people are taking pictures from a house across the park and following me home. haha


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

@raps702- The city of Seattle WOULD do that. That is frustrating, i wish people would mind their own business! 

We live up in Mill Creek, and we let our puppy run off leash in the parks here if there is nobody around. Actually, a lot of people do it, and sometimes he gets to play with other dogs. One of the good things about him being scared of strangers is that he really doesn't bother anybody else, and will come when called and let me put his leash back on...I haven't had any complaints from nosey neighbors...YET 

I do always make sure he has his collar on so if he does get away, other people would know that he has a home and he wasn't dumped or something! The tag probably doesn't matter since he is so skittish I doubt anybody would ever be able to catch him.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

TexasRed said:


> Are you talking about a regular collar or an ecollar?
> _*If its a regular collar. First where I live any dog without a collar is considered a stray *_and does not have to be returned to its owner if picked up. Mine have my cell phone number on their collar even with them being chipped. It could be the difference between getting your dog back quickly or having to wait till someone has the time to take it to be scanned for a chip.
> As for an E-collar.
> The biggest reason is safety. My dogs had good recall to but let a rabbit or deer cross their path and it was just to much for them not to chase. Some of the fields have busy streets close by and I'm not going to take a chance on my dog getting hit by a car. Without the ecollar their recall was 90-95 percent on the first whistle. Is that small percent that could get them hurt.
> They now have a 100 percent recall and remote sit.


yep, seemed to have lost my question as regards collars over the pond, ( mind you it is wine o'clock here in uk lol), but as far as I know it's fine here to have an uncollared dog, but I was wondering if it was legit in the USA to let a dog off lead/leash without a collar


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

jjohnson- I don't think everyone is like this, most people are dog lovers around our neighborhood (Magnolia). Axel is now 14 months old now and this is the first time I have ever had a problem. I just wish the person would of approached me and talked to me respectfully before taking pictures and phoning the city and complaining. Anyway's I'm not too worried I have lots of other hidden parks around our area where nobody can see you from the road. I am sure you have some nice areas around Mill Creek to let you dog off leash. (must be nice)


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

harrigab said:


> yep, seemed to have lost my question as regards collars over the pond, ( mind you it is wine o'clock here in uk lol), but as far as I know it's fine here to have an uncollared dog, but I was wondering if it was legit in the USA to let a dog off lead/leash without a collar


It's perfectly fine to let a dog run around without a collar. Most areas in CA have 6ft leash laws, so we (my hubby and I) keep a collar on Riley just in case we have to clip her leash on if a ranger is spotted. We also have our address, phone numbers, and "REWARD" printed in large letters on her tag. I'm not sure if you have this problem in England, but people here WILL steal a dog.


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## MAPLEBABY (Jun 26, 2011)

No kidding, really wish people have something better to do than following u home and ratting u out. 

A guy I met at dog park said he received a letter from city as well. He was playing chuckit in an open soccer field when no one was using the area and obviously someone reported him. No one followed him home but that person heard the name of the dog when the dog was praised for fetching and the description of the dog's looks.. Then city can search their database in the area and find the matching dog! When I was registering my dog with city paying $30, I thought it will be helpful if I ever lost my dog but unfortunately chances are higher someone can easily report you about something little like that. So lesson learned here : call your dog by a different name if u feel someone is watching u with no smile on.

The other day I was picking up my dogs poop and was about to walk towards a garbage can. A lady in the car rolls down the window and yells at me " you better pick up that f****** poo or I'm gonna call the animal control! My son doesn't want to step on that s*** after school!" I yelled back holding the poop bag higher " what do u think I got here ,chocolate cake?" She didn't say anything and just drove off but it wasn't certainly how I wanted to start my morning.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

threefsh said:


> harrigab said:
> 
> 
> > yep, seemed to have lost my question as regards collars over the pond, ( mind you it is wine o'clock here in uk lol), but as far as I know it's fine here to have an uncollared dog, but I was wondering if it was legit in the USA to let a dog off lead/leash without a collar
> ...


no kidding Ashley, I find that situation really really bizarre!, I'm sure there's instances of untended dogs getting 'napped, but surely if you're out exercising your dog nobody's gonna steal it are they??, don't forget I live in a place where we keep our back doors unlocked and neighbourswill leave an IOU note, pint of milk, etc etc etc....but never a dog!


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

MAPLEBABY said:


> No kidding, really wish people have something better to do than following u home and ratting u out.
> 
> A guy I met at dog park said he received a letter from city as well. He was playing chuckit in an open soccer field when no one was using the area and obviously someone reported him. No one followed him home but that person heard the name of the dog when the dog was praised for fetching and the description of the dog's looks.. Then city can search their database in the area and find the matching dog! When I was registering my dog with city paying $30, I thought it will be helpful if I ever lost my dog but unfortunately chances are higher someone can easily report you about something little like that. So lesson learned here : call your dog by a different name if u feel someone is watching u with no smile on.
> 
> ...


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

MY dogs always wear a a collar all the imfo + CHIPPED ALSO ADD needs special meds-never lost 1 but heard most people call if the dog needs medical help-if you run your dog off lead always use a split ring collar-rolls back if its hung-


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Kobi has his name and my info on his collar. He's not exactly obedient so knowing his name isn't going to help anyone ;D I'm think that if someone were to steal him they'd probably call me to come pick him up after a few hours ;D


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Stolen dogs could end up being sold to dog fighters or research, I read. 
So it's no joke, I keep my dog relatively close even off leash. If I cannot see him I hoof it in his direction. 
I actually stopped a guy who already had his hand on Sam's collar, ready to leave.

The needs special meds idea is cool, though.


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## anne_wilcrest (Oct 20, 2011)

I have my name, address, and cell on one side and on the back i have "reward", my email address, her vet's phone, 24/7 vet's phone, and "all vet fees will be paid" - in case we're in an accident and I'm unreachable (read: unconscious) I want our vet to know they can bill me!

The other thing I did - which I heard about here - was write my number on the inside of her collar in permanent marker - I thought that was such a great idea that hadn't occurred to me.

I want to make it *as easy as possible* for whoever might find her to get her back home - college kid who is uncomfortable on the phone; email me! old fashioned and who would rather walk her to my house; by all means! vet; scan her!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Jasper has a collar, but only wears it when he's not in his crate or at night sleeping (I don't want to hear the jingling in the middle of the night!). Jasper's collar has two brass ID plates, with two phone numbers on each, as well as "Reward if found" and "Needs daily meds" on each. One plate also has my name, and the other my city/state. This was recommended by the Gun Dog Supply website (where his collar is from). I figure if someone looking to steal a dog sees that he needs daily meds, they might not want to mess around with that. Or if an actual good samaritan comes across my dog, they'll be a little quicker to either get in contact with me or take him to the vet to get scanned. His rabies tag lists all his vet's info. To be fair, he's never really out of my sight unless we happen to be back home in the country, where it's clear I'm the only person out there for miles.

Dogs must be collared and leashed in my city, and uncollared dogs would be considered strays. Animal control would still scan for a chip, of course, but I'd prefer not to push my luck. 

When I was a kid growing up on a farm in rural Iowa, our dogs didn't have collars. It was a small community--everyone knew who everyone else's dogs were.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

well I must say that your replies have been very enlightening, will now get a collar for Ruby next time I'm in town


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Also try one that lights or glowes at night, at least you get some practical use out of that one. I understand in your case a regular collar is optional.


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