This is not really a training blog, but rather an attempt to raise awareness of the risks of keep a collar on your dogs. First, I never keep a collar on any of my pets. All pets are microchipped and their rabies tags are kept handy. Some choose to connect the tag onto their dog's crate or kennel rather than a collar. The most likely event that causes strangulation is when the dog tires to go over a fence or even under and gets hung up and unable to free itself. The struggle causes the collar to twist and become even tighter and death comes terribly but quickly. The second most common issue is when two dogs are playing. One or both will often play bite around the neck. The lower jaw gets stuck under the collar and the canine teeth prevent the dog from getting free. One may end up with a badly broken jaw and the other, in its attempt to get free gets strangled. The third most common injury is when a dog is wearing tags on its collar, but is crated. The tags go through the wire crate but the dog gets trapped while twisting and flipping in its panic resulting in strangulation. The same situation with a house dog getting his tags caught in the floor heat/air vents. Tethering a dog in the bed of a truck, an elevated deck, or nearby tree can have deadly results when the dog attempts to jump out or over. According to a North American Veterinary Conference survey, 91% of veterinarians reported having seen or heard of one to five dogs injured or strangled by their collar within the last year. They also believed that only one in four dog owners knew the risks associated with putting a collar on their dog. Besides going without a collar, I would suggest using a break-away collar. In addition, get a metal plate engraved with contact information that is screwed flat onto the collar itself instead of tags. These types of accidents are horrific to witness, so prevention is key.
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