Some very clever, fearful, or aggressive dogs make a habit out of pulling their
collars off so they can escape. Most dogs who are able to pull their collars
off are narrow headed breeds but if the collar is loose enough any breed can
figure it out.
If you have a dog who frequently tries to escape her collar you have a few
options.
The easiest solution is a martingale
collar. A martingale collar tightens behind the ears when a dog pulls- making
it impossible to squirm out of a collar. When we are working with a rescue dog
that has a tendency to slip our of their collar, we keep them in a martingale
style collar all the time unless they are playing with other dogs indoors or
are crated (two situations when a martingale collar should never be left on).
Some people don't recommend keeping them on 24/7 because a dog could theoretically
get a leg caught, but we adjust them so even if they are pulled all the way they
can't choke the dog, just tighten to prevent escape. There is still a danger
of choking, but each owner must evaluate the danger of the dog slipping a buckle
collar and running against the chance of getting the collar caught on something.
If you choose not to use a martingale collar you should consider putting your
dog in two collars whenever you leave the house- one collar with the leash attached
and another collar, with ID, not attached to the leash which that would stay on
if the leash-collar was escaped.
If you have a dog that absolutely escapes at every opportunity you may want
to consider putting a dog blanket on the dog whenever he leaves the house with this writing on the side: “If
I am alone, I'm lost. Call 555-1212”
