Ok, now I want to go home and take off all my dogs' collars. I have martingales on everyone. They are all crated separately, and not wearing tags (I've had a dog catch his tag on the wires of his crate). I like knowing I can grab a collar in a pinch. I also has my phone # written in marker on them. (No tags that way).
Shoot, there is no perfectly safe way to id dogs, is there?

That poor dog and the poor owner. What a horrible experience for everyone there.


Edited by Lisa skinner (08/26/2010 09:50 PM)
Edit reason: spell check, I need you!

Gut wrenching and so very sad for the dog and owner. The OP has done a service to those of us that were unaware that this could be a problem. This was not even on my menu of dog safety items.

Accidents happen and nothing in this world is without risk. Risk of no ID tags to me is a bigger risk than getting hung up by a collar, therefore my dogs wear a collar. Risk of needing to restrain my dog by her collar is greater than worry about being hung up so that collar isn't a break away. I do use collars with a snap though. I'm not a fan of using choke chains as collars but I do know people who use them that way for a variety of reasons.

It is amazing the amount of panic something on the collar can put into a dog that is otherwise completely level headed. Late last month my eldest hung up his dewclaw in his tag ring while he was crated. He was amazingly paniced to the point he was rolling around like a snapping devil on his side shrieking. This is a normally very calm dog who couldn't quite figure out what magical boogyman was eating his leg starting at the toe. I was able to fix the issue just by releasing the black snap holding the collar. Problem solved and the panic ended almost immediately.

You're right, the panic level is astronomical. My little Hoppy caught her foot in the towel she shredded in her crate. She became so upset, she had a seizure. (BTW, since switching to a better diet thanks to Leerburg, her seizures have all but stopped w/o meds!)
Oh, she no longer gets towels in her crate. Poor beastie has to sleep on the bare floor of her crate.

What a sad and terrible accident to happen. But, fact is that keeping choke (or any training) collar on a dog when not actually training is a well known safety issue that Rick either didn't know abut or, unfortunately, chose to ignore because nothing had happened in the past.

Let this sad occurence be a lesson to all of us to follow safety procedures at all times.

My thoughts are with Rick at this difficult time.

 Quote: Ross Rapoport

Between this and the story about the dachsund chewing off the toddler's genitals, I'm experiencing a new wave of paranoia as my puppy pick-up date approaches.

what???
geez, i missed that one i guess.

Thanks everyone I will let Rick know everyone's kind words and your thoughts are with him.
I feel very lucky that my dog Zoey works so well with me I don't even need a collar any more. I do use them but they don't do much me much good when I'm working with her at 50 plus yard distances.

I'll add myself to the list of condolences for the poor guy who lost a dog to this accident - I can only imagine how frightening it must have been to watch his dog suffocating and not be able to undue such a seemingly simple tangle... but like many who have shared experiences, I too know 2 dogs who got twisted up on a collar while playing - this one was a simple nylon buckle collar and the only reason the choking dog didn't die was that someone had a leatherman on hand to cut through it... don't think the story would have ended that way had the collar been a metal choke.

There are indeed too many freak accidents out there to protect against all of them, and while this is a tragic thing, I wouldn't put blame on a dog owner for leaving an ID collar on their dog while it's playing with another dog (training collars like pinch/prong excluded) - we could discuss the advantages of properly fitted vs too loose, or nylon vs metal, but I agree that the potential benefit of ID collars while outside outweighs the risk in supervised situations. If tangling is that worrisome, the collar should be nylon/cotton and a jack knife should be in your pocket at all times. My own dog is naked in the house, but always with collar/tags when outside (nylon choke).

~Natalya

I'll carry a leatherman and some dykes just in case some freak thing happens, whats a few more items in my dog back pack anyways couldn't hurt. Had I been there with such tools it might have turned out better

I have a HS prong with quick release and two D rings that leash clips onto. Therefore the snap doesn't bear the pressure of a pulling dog.

In my case I have a soft compliant female dog, haven't even been able to get her to oppose me for Mike Ellis "leash pressure" work (I pull, she immediately comes in my direction with no oppositional reflex to overcome), so no safety issues with prong.

I would like to have a similar flat collar: with greater security than plastic quick release snap due to 2 d rings that are joined by leash clip, but also the ease of removal with the quick release buckle.

I have only seen them with cheap nylon that gets greasy quick and looks, well, not reflective of the esteem in which I hold my dog. Any ideas. something like the hemp collars here but with the extra D ring. AM