How tight are your dog's collars?

[Kilter]

I'm just wondering!

My guys don't wear a collar but if they are wearing a buckle, I have it fairly snug - two fingers can still fit but they can't pull out of them and I have control.

The house I nanny at has a boxer and her collar is very loose - as in why bother putting the collar on the dog in the first place. She'll scratch and it'll come off, she'll get into something and I'll try to walk her away with her collar and she puts the brakes on and pops it off. Drives me crazy. And what's worse if she gets loose outside, she doesn't listen well at all and has started to check out the road (which is why I keep her on leash... oh that and she attacks the kids because it was cute when she wasn't full grown).

So, loose or snug?

 

[stardogs]

Limited slip. It sits loosely when not in use, but if you grab the ring it tightens up to prevent escapes. When they do wear a regular collar it sits midway down their necks, so not super loose, but more than 2 fingers can fit.

 

[JacksonsMom]

I prefer a bit looser vs. tighter. But not too extreme either way. I can fit two fingers through his leather collar, but it's still not too loose to easily slide over his head. We walk on harnesses though, so sometimes collars are kept a bit looser.

 

[Torch]

Just barely two fingers. I like them snug. But I also take collars off or loosen them when not walking.

 

[Fran101]

Merlin only wears his collar for ID purposes when we are out and about (he wears a harness for walking and I take off his harness when he is off leash so he wears a collar as ID) so it's usually snug but not really tight at all, he could slip out if he really wanted to.

 

[Cali Mae]

Moses just wears his on walks and it's pretty loose, probably two or three fingers.

Cali doesn't wear a collar anymore, just her harness (which has plenty of extra room although a size smaller wouldn't be comfortable getting on over her head). When she does wear a collar, when I sometimes take pictures, it's pretty loose even though it's frequently on the last hole.

 

[Saeleofu]

Logan - naked at home and a martingale that tightens enough to not slip off in public (but still fits loosely when not "active").

Gavroche - tight enough he can't slip out, but he has a big head, so it's still comfortably loose.

Super loose collars drive me NUTS.

 

[ruffiangirl]

Mine tend to be fairly loose, but the collars are there just for tags, I don't walk them one their collars, nor do I ever attach a leash to them, if I am in a pinch I will use the handle of the leash and make a slip collar instead.

 

[Southpaw]

Mine are on the looser side. I can pretty much make a fist under Juno's lol but it's not like... hanging on her. It doesn't slip off. I mean, she could back out of it if she wanted to, but it would have to be much snugger than I'd like it to be in order to prevent that.

I do keep Happy's more snug than Juno or Lucy's. She's just the one dog I wouldn't want to back out. The other 2 it's not the end of the world, they're not going anywhere, they'll listen to me. Happy, she can't hear me anyway lol and I have no doubt she'd just take off.

But they wear their collars 24/7 so I want them to be comfortable to wear.

 

[Raegan]

Marsh's collar is quite loose. It's also a center ring collar, so it can move around quite a lot. It doesn't pop off but if he really struggled he could probably slip it. I like a loose collar, I want to be able to grab it easily.

 

[JessLough]

Roseys collar was always super loose. Then again, she knew better than to try and slip it

 

[SarahHound]

Mine have martingales at the moment, and they are tight as can be, as Lucy is an expert at wriggling her way out if she wants something.

 

[BostonBanker]

Meg's is pretty loose. I can pull it on and off over her head, although I've never had her scratch it off or anything. It's more for having something to buckle a leash to, and having her tag on. She doesn't try to back out of it or anything.

I'd do the same with Gusto, but he's an expert at backing out of collars! His is pretty snug - two fingers is probably about right. Just tight enough that it can't get over his head.

 

[LostAndConfused]

Merlin only wears his collar for ID purposes when we are out and about (he wears a harness for walking and I take off his harness when he is off leash so he wears a collar as ID) so it's usually snug but not really tight at all, he could slip out if he really wanted to.

basically this. The buckle on it is one of the snap buckles and I take the collar off when he is in his crate. I want the collar loose enough that I can put it on without clipping his hair in it.

 

[MilliesMom]

Millie wears a loose harness as she can't have anything tightening around her neck. She no longer walks, she wanders aimlessly from tree to tree. Don't think it would occur to her to go anywhere if the darned thing magically fell off anyway.

The other two wear tag collars below their properly-fitted Martingales (one inch between the two slip buckles when tight). If it weren't for the Martingales, their tag collars would just slip right off every time they put their heads down to sniff the ground.

At home they're naked exhibitionists.

 

[Sekah]

Mine don't wear collars at home. While walking, I'll switch up the gear I use with them depending on the weather, where we're going and what I feel like using that day. Pee breaks are on limited slip collar/leash combos. The bulk of our longer walks are off-leash anyways.

When I use a collar it's loose enough to slip over the dogs' heads. I haaaate tight collars. I don't like how the skin will pucker around it when a dog moves, and in longer haired dogs it breaks the fur underneath and you end up with a permanent collar mark.

 

[chaospony]

Mine are all in martingales and I always make sure they are fitted just right. Both Trin and Robyn often jerk back if they are scared or startled out on a walk.

 

[Emily]

Limited slip or martingale, always. Neither of my dogs are bad about backing but I don't want the first time to be the last time. Right now they're sporting White Pine limited slip collars, which are very soft and easy on their fur. So, quite loose and comfy, but snug when it counts.

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

I have a client with a golden puppy an I can fit my whole wrist in the space between the collar and the neck but he told me that he was getting a bigger collar because its too big. lol

 

[release the hounds]

usually collarless anyway, but otherwise i just slip a fursaver over their head, so it can't be too tight