Adj Dog Collar

Posted by admin in Puppy Products on December 10, 2008 | no responses

Adj Dog Collar

The martingale collar is becoming more and more popular with dog owners. Once they were only worn by the sight hounds. Greyhounds, salukis, whippets and such have narrow, slim heads and can easily back out of a conventional collar. They can not do this with a properly fitted martingale collar. Martingales are a semi choke collar that will tighten enough to not allow the dogs head to slip out. But only if they fit properly. An improperly fitted collar can lead to disaster.

To properly measure your dog you will need a soft measuring tape. If you do not have a soft tape, then use a piece of string and measure it against a hard measuring stick when done.

You will need to measure your dog in a couple of places. First at the widest part of the head, usually right in front of the ears. This is because conventional martingales do not open to go around your dogs neck, but rather they slip over the head. Second at the place on the neck where you want the collar to sit. This is critical to ensure a proper fit on custom made collars. There is some leeway with adjustable martingales, so measure your dog and find the collar size where your measurements fit in the middle. Most manufacturers should be willing to help you with sizing.

To ensure that your collar is adjusted properly, do the following test. Place the collar at the narrowest part of the dogs neck, pull up on the leash d-ring (found on the smaller of the 2 collar loops). The slides attached to the larger loop should come together to about a couple of finger widths apart. They should not touch. If they do, the collar is too big and the dog may still be able to back out of it.

If your dogs head is much bigger than it’s neck, then a conventional martingale collar will not work. In that case there is an alternative. The Clip Martingale, 1/2 Martingale or Combo Martingale is a cross between a regular clip collar and a conventional martingale. The clip martingale does come apart to attach around the dogs neck usually with a clip-type closure. Made to tighten only part way like a martingale collar, the clip martingale is also available in many widths, making it a versatile alternative to the conventional martingale collar.

Jill Taylor – http://www.dogsuppliessite.com