By Dawn Barbi
Keeping Your Hound Safe!
Hound collars are different from other dog collars, they are thicker, and there are a couple of reasons for this -
A hound's head is much narrower than a normal dogs head, and if you put a normal collar on a hound you run the risk of them being able to back out of it. Also a hounds neck is much more delicate than a normal dogs, so the thickness of a greyhound collar helps spread the pressure.
Here is a little advice, based on what can go wrong - As a newbie to hounds last year the owners bought a buckle hound collar - it was black leather and they though it looked very smart. Unfortunately though nobody had warned them about the 'backing out' problem with Greyhounds. Their dog was missing for four months, in part due to the type of collar the dog had.
For your own peace of mind and the dogs safety, a slip collar, like the Martingale type is very much recommended. Typicaly a rescue dog sometimes can have fears and issues which we don't expect.
Honestly there is nothing worse than taking your dog for a walk only to find him or her freaking out at a funny shape on the ground which probably turns out to be a leaf. Then you're left holding an empty collar attached to a lead while you watch your super-speedy greyhound race off into the distance, in fear and panic.
Slip collars only tighten when they need to, if the dog pulls, and it`s also a very good option for a dog that has a sensitive neck. As with any collar, it's important to make sure it's properly fitted and not too tight, but still not able to pass over the dog's ears. This is why slip collars are such a good idea as they are pretty much self-adjusting.
A martingale collar is made with two loops. The large loop is placed around the dogs neck and adjusted to fit them loosely. The lead is then clipped on to a D ring on a small loop. When the dog tries to pull their head out of a collar, the tension on the leash pulls the small loop taught, which makes the large loop smaller and tighter on the neck, preventing escape.
Basically its a collar which has a loop that tightens if the dog pulls or tries to wriggle out for any reason. But for the majority of the time it sits comfortably on the neck. Please note it`s important that these collars should not be left on an unattended or unleashed dog.
Here are a few examples of what you can find at the GAGAH Happy Hound Store on this site, plus there are also some smart new leads to go along with your beloved hounds new collar.
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