Why would you?

[noludoru]

No matter how well-trained, a dog can lunge or there can be some crisis or emergency where the collar needs to hold. I agree with the others . . . for tags, that's one thing. But I wouldn't trust a plastic buckle to hold Sarama at 42 lbs, let alone a large dog. And even if Sarama had perfect walking manners (which I confess she doesn't) that doesn't mean that something unforeseen isn't going to happen that will require holding onto that collar for dear life. A squirrel leaps out under her feet and darts into traffic. Another dog charges out and attacks, and I need to hold her collar while holding off the other dog with my other hand (this has actually happened). In fact, that's why even her "tag collar" is leather and buckled. I might need to grab it for some reason and that reason might well be life or death.

This is exactly what I was trying to say.

Neither Breeze nor I believe that all 100lb+ dogs need prong collars, or even back-up, necessarily. . . Just that you should take into account the size and strength of your dog (whether it's 40 or 130lbs) and buy and use appropriate equipment on them. It's not for all the times YOU can control YOUR dog. It's for the one time you can't, or the situation is totally out of your control, or it could save your dog's life. When you have solid training in most situations I think that's great, but your collar and lead should be your back-up if training doesn't work. If you have a 1-inch plastic buckle collar on most dogs over 60lbs, that's not adequate back-up.

It really is just common sense.

 

[Cheza]

*My dogs aren't super obedient. They come when I call when they're offleash but they take a minute to get to it, and one of them ( Cheza ) can be a reactive, holy terror on a leash*

Those who don't know me, I have 3 Danes. One's deaf and so her recall is sketchy at best. That said, I walk all three of my dogs in gentle leaders, they have plastic buckles and I've never had one fail.

I own a prong collar, I've never used it on any of the 3 other than an initial fitting.

This however, is how I know that the collars I use now won't fail. This isn't to say like Becca said that the snap gets funked up etc., but the collar itself won't. Story below.

I've had one collar break. It was a martingale style that I bought at a dog show and it was the hardware that failed. The D-Ring that attached the collar to a lead actually snapped. We had Cheza tied out the front of the house because we were doing yardwork. A dog went by on a leash that she took offense to, she lunged, and the d-ring quite literally snapped. We apologised to the person who was understandably a little nervous about a 120lb white dog running to her, collected Cheza and put her back inside.

A couple of days later, her first 2hounds design collar showed up. Same design, martingale with no buckle, sighthound style. We tied her up outside once again. Funnily enough, the same owner, same dog walked by. She lunged... The D-ring bent... but didn't snap. Remember she was tied so there was no give on the lunge. All 3 of my dogs will wear 2hounds collars for the rest of their lives, I have great faith in their product.

Cheza is the bad one on a leash, Lyra is generally ok, and Nel is fine, I have to move her around dog shows in a paracord slip to show her and she does just fine. I walk them in gentle leaders because I walk 2-3 at a time and they get less tangled that way

I don't use a backup method (what is this, birth control) with them because I trust the gear I walk them in.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Lucy's best collar is a $10 one from target with a (*gasp*) plastic buckle. I've bought expensive etsy ones, leather collars with the preset holes, and martingales, and the one I feel safest walking her on is the cheap one from target. I usually use a harness to prevent her from strangling herself when squirrels go by, but for a quick night time walk I just use the cheapy plastic buckle. 3.5 years later, it's still going strong. And this is a dog that would have pulled a train when we first got her.

Guess I'm irresponsible. (Although she's only 25 lbs, so I don't think anyone's worried about her)

 

[AgilityPup]

*My dogs aren't super obedient. They come when I call when they're offleash but they take a minute to get to it, and one of them ( Cheza ) can be a reactive, holy terror on a leash*

Those who don't know me, I have 3 Danes. One's deaf and so her recall is sketchy at best. That said, I walk all three of my dogs in gentle leaders, they have plastic buckles and I've never had one fail.

I own a prong collar, I've never used it on any of the 3 other than an initial fitting.

This however, is how I know that the collars I use now won't fail. This isn't to say like Becca said that the snap gets funked up etc., but the collar itself won't. Story below.

I've had one collar break. It was a martingale style that I bought at a dog show and it was the hardware that failed. The D-Ring that attached the collar to a lead actually snapped. We had Cheza tied out the front of the house because we were doing yardwork. A dog went by on a leash that she took offense to, she lunged, and the d-ring quite literally snapped. We apologised to the person who was understandably a little nervous about a 120lb white dog running to her, collected Cheza and put her back inside.

A couple of days later, her first 2hounds design collar showed up. Same design, martingale with no buckle, sighthound style. We tied her up outside once again. Funnily enough, the same owner, same dog walked by. She lunged... The D-ring bent... but didn't snap. Remember she was tied so there was no give on the lunge. All 3 of my dogs will wear 2hounds collars for the rest of their lives, I have great faith in their product.

Cheza is the bad one on a leash, Lyra is generally ok, and Nel is fine, I have to move her around dog shows in a paracord slip to show her and she does just fine. I walk them in gentle leaders because I walk 2-3 at a time and they get less tangled that way

I don't use a backup method (what is this, birth control) with them because I trust the gear I walk them in.

Honestly, after a d-ring bending, I wouldn't use that product anymore. Especially not that collar (not saying you do or don't use the same collar anymore). If it's weak enough to bend, it's weak enough to break. And as for that collar, the d-ring is way weaker now, because it's got that weak point from being bent.

 

[Danefied]

This is exactly what I was trying to say.

Neither Breeze nor I believe that all 100lb+ dogs need prong collars, or even back-up, necessarily. . . Just that you should take into account the size and strength of your dog (whether it's 40 or 130lbs) and buy and use appropriate equipment on them. It's not for all the times YOU can control YOUR dog. It's for the one time you can't, or the situation is totally out of your control, or it could save your dog's life. When you have solid training in most situations I think that's great, but your collar and lead should be your back-up if training doesn't work. If you have a 1-inch plastic buckle collar on most dogs over 60lbs, that's not adequate back-up.

It really is just common sense.

I'm sorry, I'm still not getting the point.
Did you read my post?
In my life, most emergency situations happen when my dogs are OFF leash, half the time with no collars either. How can a collar be back-up for when training doesn't work, if the dog is OFF leash?
And more importantly, if I have had "out of control," emergency situations resloved while the dogs are off leash, why do I need to worry about what equipment they're wearing?

 

[Cheza]

Oh I don't use the same collar anymore, I bought new ones lol. It was more of an example. The d-ring was pretty thin too, the next set of collars I order I might ask them to use a thicker one.

I also don't have a reason to tie the dogs out anymore and when they're outside the house on a leash they have a face harness on. It's more... if there were some reason I had to secure a dog by a collar or haul off from a dog fight, I have no fear about it breaking in an emergency type setting.

 

[Fran101]

I would just like to pop in and say NOT EVERYONE KNOWS that plastic buckles break easily...

Frankly, I didn't know this until I wandered into this thread.

I would never buy one, simply because I think they are really ugly but I certainly didn't know they had the tendency to break.
and I don't think I'm stupid for it lol I just didn't know.

I don't think having an 100 pound dog on a plastic buckle is just total "Oh I don't care if he break it or runs off"
it might just be the person has no idea..

maybe next time you see someone having some trouble (large non trained puppy on buckle collar who is pulling at everything)
say how cute the pup is and mention that they might wanna be careful because those buckles sometimes break when used by enthusiastic puppies

 

[Cheza]

I'm sorry, I'm still not getting the point.
Did you read my post?
In my life, most emergency situations happen when my dogs are OFF leash, half the time with no collars either. How can a collar be back-up for when training doesn't work, if the dog is OFF leash?
And more importantly, if I have had "out of control," emergency situations resloved while the dogs are off leash, why do I need to worry about what equipment they're wearing?

I understand you're ticked, I have 3 Danes and it annoys me to no end when people freak out because "your dog is huge". Thing is, people have fears like heights, water, enclosed spaces, etc. It doesn't make sense to ME, but I wouldn't lock a claustrophobic person in a closet with me.

You have to respect that when you are off your property people are going to be fearful of your (large) dogs. If you're confident in how they behave, great, you don't have to spend more time on this thread and your dogs are truly ambassadors to sizeism (lol). Mine are only well behaved about half the time, so I take extra precaution when I'm off my property with them because quite frankly they scare the **** out of a lot of people and whether I like it or not, I have to respect that.

 

[noludoru]

Honestly, after a d-ring bending, I wouldn't use that product anymore. Especially not that collar (not saying you do or don't use the same collar anymore). If it's weak enough to bend, it's weak enough to break. And as for that collar, the d-ring is way weaker now, because it's got that weak point from being bent.

I'm gonna agree with this. 2HD does not sell the heavy weight D-rings (to my knowledge) for the 2 inch collars. Collar Mania does. I would heavily recommend that you try one of those, just because of the D-ring. Both companies make collars well, but CM has the products that are stronger - and I have quite a few collars from both sellers (4 from 2HD, 5-6 from CM.)

I worry that if she bent one of the thin 2-inch D-rings she could break it.

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

I would just like to pop in and say NO EVERYONE KNOWS that plastic buckles break easily...

Frankly, I didn't know this until I wandered into this thread.

I would never buy one, simply because I think they are really ugly but I certainly didn't know they had the tendency to break.
and I don't think I'm stupid for it lol I just didn't know.

eh, all gear can break, even back up gear. This is why I feel more people would benefit from learning how to react before the dog reacts and redirect attention before the dog can become fixated.

 

[Cheza]

I'm gonna agree with this. 2HD does not sell the heavy weight D-rings (to my knowledge) for the 2 inch collars. Collar Mania does. I would heavily recommend that you try one of those, just because of the D-ring. Both companies make collars well, but CM has the products that are stronger - and I have quite a few collars from both sellers (4 from 2HD, 5-6 from CM.)

I worry that if she bent one of the thin 2-inch D-rings she could break it.

On a lunge tied to a solid surface with no give, I'm surprised it didn't snap in half heh. I didn't know they don't have a size up... I thought they did. Something to consider when I make my next order...

Edited to add: She had a running start too. She hit the end of a 20' cable tie out at full speed

 

[Giny]

I have no great advice to give except to say that those snap collars are evil. I keep getting my hand pinched by those darn things. Especially the metals ones. Ouch! LOL

BTW, it's not from using them on my dogs, but from customers dogs.

 

[Taqroy]

I just want to say that I have NEVER had a plastic buckle break. Even the first collars that I made, that had no nylon in them (they were prototypes lol) and were sewn with my incredibly crappy sewing machine were able to hold when we dragged my sister's 140 pound dog off my 50 pound dog. I know that it does happen, but it depends on the collar/quality/etc that everyone else already covered.

Disclaimer: I don't have a big dog BUT I have been around them and taken them on walks in the past.

If a 100 pound dog hits the end of their leash at even half speed and their collar DOESN'T break I'd assume that they're dragging the person with them. Even if it's a 60 and up pound dog I think it'd be pretty easy for them to drag their human or pull the leash out of their hand. If a dog is that intent on getting to something I don't think much is going to hold them back. *mytwocents*

 

[Cheza]

...
If a 100 pound dog hits the end of their leash at even half speed and their collar DOESN'T break I'd assume that they're dragging the person with them. Even if it's a 60 and up pound dog I think it'd be pretty easy for them to drag their human or pull the leash out of their hand. If a dog is that intent on getting to something I don't think much is going to hold them back. *mytwocents*

This, I'm generally lucky that mine don't ever "want" things badly enough that I can't keep hold of them. When I was trying out the prong, one of them slipped it. I'll stick with my gentle leaders

 

[Danefied]

I understand you're ticked, I have 3 Danes and it annoys me to no end when people freak out because "your dog is huge". Thing is, people have fears like heights, water, enclosed spaces, etc. It doesn't make sense to ME, but I wouldn't lock a claustrophobic person in a closet with me.

You have to respect that when you are off your property people are going to be fearful of your (large) dogs. If you're confident in how they behave, great, you don't have to spend more time on this thread and your dogs are truly ambassadors to sizeism (lol). Mine are only well behaved about half the time, so I take extra precaution when I'm off my property with them because quite frankly they scare the **** out of a lot of people and whether I like it or not, I have to respect that.

I am incredibly respectful of others with my giant dogs. If people look scared I make sure to remove my dogs and do whatever I humanly can to make scared person feel less threatened.
I'm not shoving anyone in a closet

What I'm saying is that my standards are HIGHER than the strength of a collar. I can't rely on collars when the visiting kid does a cartwheel, falls, and lands on top of one of the dogs - who's eating dinner. I can't rely on back up equipment when its my young children walking the danes 100 yards away at an open-air halloween competition.
I have to rely on training. So I make sure their training is reliable.
*Shrug* maybe I have a different idea of what a trained, safe, family dog is, but collar strenght just seems a poor litmus test for responsible dog ownership.

And yes, probably best that I stop posting since I get the feeling there's some in between the lines stuff going on that I'm clearly not getting LOL.

 

[Chewbecca]

And yes, probably best that I stop posting since I get the feeling there's some in between the lines stuff going on that I'm clearly not getting LOL.

You and me both.

 

[Danefied]

If a 100 pound dog hits the end of their leash at even half speed and their collar DOESN'T break I'd assume that they're dragging the person with them.

LOL, exactly, and said much better than I was able to convey!
My daughter weighs 60 pounds sopping wet, my danes weigh 130 and 140 respectively. Daughter walks dane all the time. If the dane were to lunge the collar holding would NOT be my first concern.
I wouldn't let my daughter walk "her" dog if I didn't trust the dog. I put my trust in the dog, not the equipment.

 

[Taqroy]

This, I'm generally lucky that mine don't ever "want" things badly enough that I can't keep hold of them. When I was trying out the prong, one of them slipped it. I'll stick with my gentle leaders

Ooooh. My sister's dog (german sheperd mutt with rottie markings) POPPED her prong off and **** near ate a Jack Russell last summer. I don't even know how it happened.

 

[Cheza]

I can't rely on collars when the visiting kid does a cartwheel, falls, and lands on top of one of the dogs - who's eating dinner.

* snort *

This made me sit and wonder what their reaction would be if that happened to any of mine. I came up with startled disdain and a healthy yelp as the response. If it comes to "nastiness" all 3 of mine are great with people, they're just highly rambunctious. I know I should work on it.

Training is definitely the upper echelon. I just don't take mine anywhere that level of obedience is required off leash.

 

[darkchild16]

I understand you're ticked, I have 3 Danes and it annoys me to no end when people freak out because "your dog is huge". Thing is, people have fears like heights, water, enclosed spaces, etc. It doesn't make sense to ME, but I wouldn't lock a claustrophobic person in a closet with me.

You have to respect that when you are off your property people are going to be fearful of your (large) dogs. If you're confident in how they behave, great, you don't have to spend more time on this thread and your dogs are truly ambassadors to sizeism (lol). Mine are only well behaved about half the time, so I take extra precaution when I'm off my property with them because quite frankly they scare the **** out of a lot of people and whether I like it or not, I have to respect that.

Im scared of a 100 pound dog when I have one.........:rofl: