Collars, a very scary incident.

TheresaW

TheresaW

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Our 2 both wear collars with their name tags on, have them on 24/7 unless they’re being washed.

Both were just having a mad 10 minutes, as they do all the time. Luna started screaming, and at first OH thought Aled had hold of her and was refusing to let go. We both jumped in, and straight away realised her collar was caught in his mouth and neither could get free. Somehow we managed to get her collar undone with neither of us getting bitten. Am shaking now thinking what could have happened if we weren’t here. Both dogs are fine, collars are off, and will be left off unless we are going out. They are both walked on harnesses, but will put the collars on “just in case”.

Not something I ever want to witness again, and I know the what could have beens are going to be with me for a long time.
 
what a horrible experience for you, so shocking :( Mine all wear 'house collars' at the request of the greyhound rescue charity I got them from, but I know this isn't without problems as you have described - for me it really is balancing the 'pros' and 'cons' of them
 
very scary-glad both are ok and no lasting damage (apart from your mental trauma!). mine only have them when out on a lead. there have been bad accidents with them with single dogs left alone too. have a stiff drink and put it down to experience!
 
Eeek scary! I stopped putting a collar on my staffy when she decided to start literally walking through metal gates (took us years to figure it out!!!) and she had got caught once on it and we just happened to be watching and were able to rescue her...or shed have been dead. Thankfully her escapes were not to roam, but to sit at the other side and wait to be let back in...the tit. So none of my dogs wear collars now.
 
Ours will definitely be left off now, or like Daisy, if we go away. Our holidays are with the dogs, so we will be with them anyway should something ever happen again. Our garden is secure, so no worries of them wandering off. I think Luna could possibly have been killed if we weren’t here. Both were panicking and pulling in opposite directions. Maybe Aleds mouth could have been seriously injured as well.

Both are ok, still friends, and for them, its already forgotten about I think.
 
The American style ring centre hunting collars prevent this kind of hanging up - they're specifically designed to fold and pull over the dogs head if needed
 
druid said:
The American style ring centre hunting collars prevent this kind of hanging up - they're specifically designed to fold and pull over the dogs head if needed
Click to expand...

(your link doesn't work, sorry!) - anyway, had a poke around and seen a few of them on Google.

Being daft here, how would they prevent the situation that OP has outlined??

Sorry if I'm being batty, but I can't see how they'd have helped?? Or what the point of them is TBH, but perhaps I'm missing summat here!

Oh well....... (scratches head).
 
I was not there, but when a teenager we had 2 dogs, one big and one small. They got on really well, no aggression.

One day they were playing and the little one must have flipped or something as his collar was in a fig 8, tight around his neck and also around the big dog's lower jaw, stuck behind the canine teeth.

Mum was there but the collar was impossible to undo. The neighbour heard the commotion, and came over the fence, but by the time the collar was cut off the small dog had stopped breathing.

God bless our neighbour, who performed CPR on the small dog, including mouth to snout with cupped hands. He did start breathing again, but it was such a shock.

No collars when dogs are playing in our house. Only for when they go out.
 
Link is in second post, the ring allows a pivot point for the collar to come over the head if caught up - seen them work in the situation the OP outlined while I was working out in USA and then bought them for the section of my own dogs that wear collars.
 
I think it would be best not to have collars on tbh, in the house and garden at least. (Says she who doesn't even own a collar). If someone wants to steal your dog while it is in the garden a collar makes it easier to grab it, as well as the awful thing you had to deal with, Theresa.
 
Thad sounds terrifying OP.

My sisters dog got his collar stuck in his own mouth once. That was bad enough and we wondered how awful it would have been if she’d been out at the time.
 
We had exactly the same happen to us many years ago, one Dog flipped over holding the other one’s collar. It was tight round the lower jaw. We were all in the garden and two held the dogs still while the third ran to the house for scissors. It was still a hard and scary job to sort. One dog had a bleeding mouth and the other was unconscious. We did revive her.
No collars while playing at home.
If you don’t own any collars Clodagh, do gundogs have an exemption from the law? I know they don’t wear them working but I thought all dogs were required to wear a collar when out in public?
I keep my collars fairly loose so they can come off over the head but this doesn’t help if they get twisted over something.
 
Chiffy said:
If you don’t own any collars Clodagh, do gundogs have an exemption from the law? I know they don’t wear them working but I thought all dogs were required to wear a collar when out in public? .
Click to expand...

They should wear them in public but I rarely go out in public. The nearest to 'public' is the neighbouring farms (only further away if working). If I go to the beach they don't wear one as they would be swimming. They wear them when out and about as pups, but by 6 months they don't. I fully accept they should do and do think I ought to have one they could wear on car journeys.
 
None of my dogs ever wore collars until about 11 years ago when it was told collars with ID tags ''had'' to be worn. I did, dog got caught up in the hedge, collar broke (luckily). Never did again until recently when I'm trying to do it right, and the springer wears hers only when out in public. It's a cheapy, so hopefully it too will break if it has to!!
 
The exact same thing happened to a friend of mine about 20+ yrs ago but with her 2 collie puppies, mine wear a collar when a lead is attached and that's it.
If we are walking and other people's dogs are wearing half checks hanging nice and loose then mine are not allowed to play with them.
My lurcher does have harnesses and they come off when the lead does too, I hate to see dogs running round playing with loose straps in harnesses, it would be so easy for a broken leg or jaw if they get caught up.
 
I have a PetSafe KeepSafe Breakaway collar that I sent for from the US. I bought it for a dog that liked to go swimming. A friend's dog got his collar caught on a branch in the river and she had to swim out to free him. As I don't swim I was anxious to avoid this scenario.

In addition to the collar "buckle", it has a special link that comes apart under pressure. There are rings on both sides of the link and you attach the leash to both so that it does not come apart if the dog pulls when being walked. I found it did not come apart easily so I filed it down a bit. Luckily it was never tested. You can probably buy similar collars here now but that was the only one I could find at the time.

I think it was designed for the scenario the OP described.

My dogs have always been "naked" at home and only ever had a collar or harness on to go out for a walk.

Breakaway collars have been available for cats for many years but we seem to be lagging behind when it comes to dog safety.
 
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Mine never wear collars for this reason. I know of someone who lost a GSD in just the scenario you describe, couldn't cut through the collar in time and the dog died whilst they were struggling to free him.
 
Another angle is (not addressed to the OP in particular, be careful and always supervise when dogs are hooning about, if you let your dogs hoon about with others. For a variety of reasons.

(Awaits post telling me that my dogs live in Guantanamo Bay :p)
 
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