Tiggy2,

Check your private messages.

Did I read correct? 11 dogs in a pack roaming a house and your questioning the why/hows of this situation.

There is a simple solution that has just recently been brought to the world of dogs and is now sweeping the nations.

Common Sense

So are we questioning the possible hazards of collars when 2 or more dogs interact vigorously or one’s sanity for having several dogs living in a single household?

If there were only four dogs in the family this wouldn’t have happened??

I only have one dog at the moment but even so, his collar comes off in the house. I doubt that there is much inside that his collar could get caught on but I decided when I first got him, not to take the chance. I only put his collar on when he needs his tags or when he needs to be leashed.

When I get my new puppy for SAR, neither dog will be wearing a collar inside.

I understand that some people want to be able to hold the dog by the collar when someone arrives at the door but I've found it much more effective to just hold the dog by the back legs like they do in flyball. I got this dog from the pound and he was collar shy so I had to find an alternate means to handle him. Of course he's now trained to sit behind me while I deal with whoever is at the door so I no longer have that worry <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Natalie
http://vegamalinois.tripod.com

K9Man,

The answer to your question is sure it could happen with four dogs, sure it could happen with 2 dogs. The point is that the more dogs you have living together the better the chances are of these freaky things happenning. There is no way anyone...I don't care who you are, can possibly have control over all these dogs all the time. I said earlier that its tough focusing on the safety of collars aspect of this when you get the visual of the safety of the environment that was CREATED by a PERSON in the first place. There must be issues ever minute going on in that house. It's very hard to look at the story in a credible manner.

Dogs teeth getting caught on collars has happened to my dog two or three times playing with other dogs.I'm always supervising play time so it doesn't get to far,but it can easily escalate because they start to panic.Not having thumbs is a bummer.Collars getting caught on fences can cause the same problem. The point is a dog is like a infant and they should be supervised all the time.

Ok, Chuck, I’m just looking at this differently than you are. I see this as a story that demonstrates what can happen with dogs wearing buckle collars when as few as two of them engage in roughhousing.

As the thread progressed, people suggested ways to help prevent this type of thing from happening, hence, a creditable & helpful topic <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

As far as what else goes on in a household of 11 dogs; I’m sure there’s a few issues every now and then. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Fair enough.

Hi List Members!! Discussing the problems brought on by collars left on dogs brings many situations to mind. The most common is a dog left tied, unattended, jumps the fence, hangs himself. I am the one they call out to pick up the remains. Thinking I knew it all, (and lecturing the public on the importance of leaving a tag or identification on your dog), I was leaving for work one day. One of my rotts was not there to say goodbye, everyone gets treats when I leave. Being suspicious of this, I went into the back yard to find her. She was cowering in the bushes, almost choked to death, with her leather buckle collar entangled in a decorative plant stand I had on my rear patio. Somehow the collar had gotten hooked on one of the decorative scrolls and evidently, as she backed away to get unhooked, it had spun and tightened. I purposely had left buckle collars loose on my dogs so if they had gotten hooked on anything, they would have pulled off. Well, so much for that faulty thinking!! I don't leave any collars on my dogs now. I will be microchipping, already have tattoos. There's no safe way to leave a collar on a dog. IMO. Susan, your friendly dog-catcher!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The point of my post was the possibility of the deadly danger that can occur when a collar (be it a buckle type or adjustable) is left on a dog to enlighten those who may have never given this any forethought and to maybe prevent this situation from occuring within your household be they single or multidog living enviroments. I should also add that when this near tragedy occured; some of the dogs were keeping me company in another room while the others were scattered between the living room, kitchen area and bedroom of their own choices, and none of them "joined in" to add to the problem. After the collar was disentangled from the besenji's mouth; a couple of the older dogs approached and began to offer comfort/grooming to the besenji and border collie.

To clarify Chuck's misinformation and assumptions:
While it is true that I have a multidog household;
there are presently 10 K-9s that share my home consisting of border collies, shelties, labs, wirehaired terrer, besenji mix and GSD. The majority are well into their adult mellow years (6 at 8+ years old) that enjoy the company of four youngsters (besenji mix 2yr old, border collie 1yr old, wirehaired terrier 3yr old and gsd 5 months. I have the time, energy, resources, room and support to provide a quality home enviroment. If you'll notice from the breed discriptions...the overwhelming majority are of mellow type dogs with the exception of my GSD pup. She is learning the rules of the house and is in obedience training. The older dogs have the run of the house and the younger ones are crated at night and during the rare occasions when there is no one at home. The dogs are separated into two supervised groups for potty and playtime in their 1 1/2 acre fenced area which is entered via my mudroom for feet/body toweling prior to entering the main house. All wait their turn in an orderly quiet fashion with the exception of wet body shakes and tails wagging. Granted..rainy days are tough..but..new chew hoofs are always on hand for their supervised entertainment when they are not taking their daily naps.

I have taken this accident to heart and have removed all collars (buckle and adjustable) which will be replaced with the breakaway types to further insure the safety of my dogs. New ID tags are on order that will be mounted directly onto their collars rather than the "S" hooks that presently provide identification.

If my original post can save someone some heartache; my mission is accomplished.